Is it possible for someone to be allergic to either bleach, borax or baking soda? The reason I ask is because my wife's skin seems to get "itchy" after she has been in the water. Numbers are good ...

FC 2 ( added some after tonights water test to bring to 4-6)
CC 0
CYA 40
TA 90
PH 7.5 (last night 07/11/08)

Water is crystal clear!!

I itch a little after swimming as well so I'll be interested if anyone has info about this.

psychosomatic,

Add some tap water from a distinct looking bottle labeled "nopruritus". Tell her everyone on your "pool forum" recommended it. Gauranteed to work.

Let us know if this works.

Looks like your water is nicely balanced.

Had you thought of adding some solar salt? It will make the water feel soft and silky. There are a number of recent threads on the board about adding salt. Here's one of them: http://www.troublefreepool.com/can-you-add-salt-t6006.html

I found that adding solar salt eliminated dry and itchy skin. Can't hurt, might help.

AnnaK, you must be a mind reader! I was just looking up an old thread where I was reading something you had posted about adding salt to your pool water. Where can you buy solar salt and is it expensive to purchase?

I thought about it this morning after I woke up ...

You can get the salt at Home Depot, Lowe's, the X-Marts, ACE Hardware . . . It must be Morton's SOLAR salt in the blue bag because that's the one that is 99.9% pure and has no additives, cleaning agents, or metals. Sometimes there are sales, Lowe's regular price is $4.99 for 40#.

The average concentration used by people is between 1800 and 2200 ppm. By using Jason's Pool Calculator you can figure out how many bags you'd need for your pool. Add one 40# bag at a time and let it dissolve. Last year we added 160# to 12,000 gallons. I noticed a difference in the water feel at 120# last year and added the extra bag to see what would happen. It was much nicer at that concentration and I was happy with it, so didn't add more.

Salt is like CYA: it doesn't go away once you have it in the pool but it gets diluted from refilling.

Perfectly balanced pool water is good for the pool but is not necessarily kind to human skin or eyes. Many of us who've added salt have found that we have less trouble with burning eyes and itchy skin.

I would try raising the FC level before trying anything else. With CYA at 40, FC should be at least 3 at all times. Since you let FC get too low, it is possible that there is something in the water causing problems. Raise FC up to 7 or 8 and see if the itchy skin improves.

My wife has a liver condition called primary biliary cirrhosis that makes her skin itchy under normal circumstances but lately it seems the pool water intensifies the itching. Normally we keep the FC levels about 6 but we have had some personal things happening this week and the water wasnt tested as thoroughly as we normally test. She seems to be the only one it affects and there were several swimmers yesterday in the pool. Thats why I was asking about allergies to the B, B, B ?

Will raising the FC 1 or 2 ppm make that much of a difference? I was thinking the salt would make it feel softer and the chlorine and stuff wouldnt be so harsh on her skin ......

There is a chlorine allergy, but it is extremely rare. I have never heard of anyone allergic to any of the other common pool chemicals.

The largest effect on skin from a properly balanced pool is from the low salt level. Adding salt is very likely to help. Chlorine, at normal pool concentrations, is not particularly harsh. Chlorine only becomes a skin issue for most people at extremely high levels, far beyond what an outdoor pool would ever use. PH out of range can also be a skin issue, but your PH is fine.

Letting the FC level get below 3 is a risk, something might happen, nothing might happen. Raising it a little higher than usual after it gets low insures that you take care of anything that might have gone wrong.

Funny that I had read that thread last night and had already added solar salt to my shopping list for today as it sounded like it might help. It's sure worth a try. Thanks.

Do people that swim in your pool wsettle say they feel itchy after being in the water? I talked to the other half and she says its worth a try. She loves the pool and I would hate to see her NOT get in because it makes her feel itchy after swimming.
Can you get the test strips where you buy the salt or do I have to go to a pool store for those

I'm the only one that has complained about itchy skin but my skin is usually dry anyway and something in the water just irritates it a little more. I suspect the local pool stores will have the test strips but if not, TF kits has them for $9 for a package of 10.

TizMe,
Does she rinse off after being in the water, or let the pool water dry on her skin? Perhaps if she would rinse in tap water (the hose even) after swimming it would lessen the itching...

MQ , she does not rinse off after she gets out of the water. Perhaps I need to put in a shower. She would not be happy having to rinse off in cold water from the hose. She said she is willing to try the salt first since its going to be cheaper and see what happens

I added salt to my pool today and it makes a difference for me. My skin does not feel as dry when I get out as it has before adding the salt. A few days will tell the tale but so far I'm happy with the results.

I just added 120 lbs of Mortan's Solar Salt to my pool and it feels sooo good on the eyes, skin and hair!

I hope it helps her TizMe! Please let us know!!!

Told ya!

Hmmm.. I think I'm one of the very small number of unlucky people.
I have always been itchy in pools, as long I can remember anyway. The weird thing is that I start to itch while I'm still in the water. Every pool I can remember being in(a lot of hotel pools) Indoor and out make me itch. It mostly affects my legs, but the rest of me will itch to.

The ONLY thing that has ever helped me (and thank god for it) is Mary Kay Sunscreen. I'm not sure why, no other lotion or sunscreen will help. If I put on the sunscreen before I get in a pool I have no problem, but if it gets rubbed off in one area, I itch in that spot only.

The reason I think it is chlorine is because I did an experiment at the beginning of this summer. I started out with a slightly high chlorine level and I itched. I went in every day as it dropped and when it was nearly gone, wha-la, no itch. Although it just occured to me, that at the time of the test, there was no CYA in the pool (we use tri-chlor in the beginning of the year as an Easy way to maintain chlorine and build CYA.

I also did the experiment more recently but it was to see if chlorine was causing burning eyes. Our CYA is 60 and I let it go from 8 to 0 and I had a little itch until it went down to 5.

Sorry if I kind of hi-jacked the thread.

Why me ,
Adam

launboy, If you are on municipal water, do showers make you itch? If you are on municipal water there will be a much higher effective chlorine level in the tap water than there is in an outdoor pool (unless you have the right kind of filter).

Yeah, we have city water (from Lake Michigan). We also don't have a whole house water filter, just a pitcher. Nope, shower/baths don't make me itch. A little bit in the winter, but that's after I get out and dry off, so I attribute it to the dry air when it's cold.

Adam