Does perfect CL levels mean no irritation to eyes?

[rastoma]

If all water chemistry is an ideal range TC is at 0 and fc is around 3 or so, would mean no irritation to eyes?

Now I realize some people's eyes are more sensitive than others, but on average can you open your eyes under water with no burning? If so, what is the limit on TC that a typical person can tolerate before burning their eyes?

[JohnT]

TC can't be 0 if FC is 3. TC=FC+CC. Most people's eyes burn a little due to the low salinity of pool water compared to the eyes. That's why saltwater pools are more comfortable.

[rastoma]

AHHHHH.....

saltwater, hmmm. I would have thought salt would burn the eyes.

So do you need a special system/setup to have salt in the water or can you just add some salt to make it easier on the eyes?

[joelq]

The water in saltwater pools more closely match the natural salinity of tears than standard chlorinated water, so the eyes are much more comfortable in saltwater.

In order to automatically generate chlorine from saltwater pools, one needs additional equipment, but many folks on this forum have added salt into their chlorine pools just to make the water feel "nicer".

[JohnT]

AHHHHH.....

saltwater, hmmm. I would have thought salt would burn the eyes.

Tears are saltier than the water you swim in.

[MassAttack]

Tears are saltier than the water you swim in.

Unless you're swimming in the ocean

Actually, tears are at about 9000 ppm, ocean is at about 35000 ppm which is why ocean water stings. I was one of the folks who put salt in their pools for this specific reason. I brought my level to about 1200 ppm, and that reduced the eye stinging a lot.

[rastoma]

what kind of salt did you use? what are the measurements and calculations?

would there be any negative effects on my small 2200 gal. pool if I did this?

[MassAttack]

Check out http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3355

That thread has a lot of details. You can buy the salt at Lowes/Home Depot for pretty cheap. And you should use a salt water drop test to measure your salt content prior to adding salt. Like CYA, you can't take it out once it's in, so it's best to add it in stages. I put in three bags in my 33,000 gal IG, but I had over 600 ppm before putting any in because bleach has sodium in it. Also, since adding it my level has gone from 1200 ppm to 1500 ppm, again because of bleach. I wish I would have put in one bag less because I am starting to be able to taste it slightly (or it's all in my head :-)

[CarlD]

Don't forget: Low pH can irritate eyes too. So can too high pH. Other irritants like metals can also have a negative effect. Combined chloramines and salinity that doesn't match tears are only 2 irritants.