Baquacil Alternative

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bethdorothy

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May 23, 2016
47
Carthage, Il
Is there a cheaper, non-chlorine alternative to the Baquacil chemicals? I have one child that is allergic to the chlorine, and just getting ready to place my $500+ order for baquacil makes me wonder if there's any household substitutes for the shock, sanitizer and algicide.
 
Welcome to TFP :)

We always ask how do you know for sure he is allergic to chlorine? It is usually because of public pools or very bad pools that have a high Combined Chlorine, did the pool "SMELL" like chlorine?

I have a test that you can do to see if he is allergic to a TFP pool the way we do here but post back if you would like to try it.

I hope this helps :)
 
Since he was a baby(he's 14 now), any time he's been in a chlorine pool whether private or public, his eyes burn horribly bad. The burning continues for several days. I have eye drops from the doctor we can use if he does swim, but he usually chooses not to. I do not want a chlorine pool. Just wondering if there are any household products to substitute for Baquacil. We've used it for 15 years with great success, but it's getting very pricey. We have an above ground 27'x52" pool with a sand filter. Our water is usually clear, sometimes if I neglect to add shock on time it clouds, but is corrected quickly. I have substituted baking soda for the alkalinity increaser. Just wondering if there's anything else out there.
 
This will test if it is chlorine :) Here is a link for the ABC's of pool water chemistry Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Run a luke warm bath about 80/85 degrees, about 40 to 50 gallons
put 1 tablespoon of regular 8.5% bleach in and mix

this is about 1.5ppm chlorine

Do the following in steps and if any reaction have him get in the shower and wash off, we want his safety in mind doing this..

see if the smell bothers him, let him put his feet in and see if there is any reaction
if none move on to getting completely in with his head out of the water, Monitor his eyes and see if anything is bothering him
let him splash water on his face with eyes closed 1 time, again monitor his eyes for a reaction

From what you are explaining his reactions are not from chlorine, it is from Combined chlorine (chlorine cleaning bad stuff out of the water) and PH being high (above 7.8) or low (below 7.2)

With a proper test kit and testing we can teach you to do yourself you can have a very sparkly safe pool for your family

I hope this helps :)
 
On another note, burning eyes is more often attributed to improper pH levels than to chlorine.

Due to my high CYA the first year I had my pool I had to keep the chlorine at around 15ppm (very high). No problems with our eyes unless I didn't remember to add the acid to keep the pH in check.
 
To get this out of the way: I don't like Baqua, it is far inferior to chlorine and much more costly (as you have noticed). We have found through the years that most pools are mismanaged and as such most people who think they have a chlorine allergy or sensitivity are just reacting to the bad pH or CC levels in these mismanaged pools. That is why we always get very weary when someone claims a chlorine allergy that wasn't diagnosed by a physician. I promise any questioning of your son's allergy is not personal, just from our experience.

Ok, that out of the way, if you have to have a chlorine-free pool then Baquacil is the way to go. Chlorine, bromine, and biguanide (Baquacil) are the only EPA approved sanitizers for pools. Now there is no regulation of private pools so there are plenty of other chlorine-free options out there but they do not provide nearly the bacterial kill rates as the three approved sanitizers so I would not even consider them. Biguanide is available under other brand names that might be less expensive than Baquacil brand, but aside of the oxidizer being hydrogen peroxide there are no easy off the shelf replacements for chemicals used.

So welcome to TFP and I hope you stick around. Even if you don't use the system there is a lot of great information available to browse. But I do promise, the system taught here is not like any chlorine system you have experienced before...
 
Beth,

Which Baquacil products are you using?

The sanitizer/algaestat is PHMB. That's the proprietary Baquacil chemical and there is no "substitute" generic for it.

The algaecide is typically a cheap linear quat algaecide (ADBAC) of differing concentrations. You can sometime find those in pool stores under various names. Not sure how much you will save by using a pool store chemical but you could prove compare.

The oxidizer/shock is nothing more than hydrogen peroxide BUT it's typically 27.5% concentrated in water. Standard drug store peroxide is 3% and outside of the pool world, it will be hard to find peroxide that concentrated (because a bad person can make acetone/peroxide explosives out of it).

This is why we advocate chlorine. Baquacil is a very expensive alternative and the fact that you've been able to get away with 15 years of use without a problem is well outside the norm. Most Baquacil users are dying to quit after three years when the persistent white mold and pink slime problems become impossible to solve.

I do believe your sons allergies are not allergies at all but the result of being sensitized to chloramines when swimming in improperly sanitized and managed pools. Once you understand pool water chemistry you'll never want to swim in any pool other than your own ever again. Most people incorrectly manage their pool water and the results range from gross/disgusting to potentially dangerous. Then, when problems arise, folks tend to blame chlorine rather than the person who did not properly manage their pool.

Anyway, that's my soap-box and you seem to be getting good results from Baquacil. I'm sorry the chemicals are so expensive but that's how Baq is...a VEEEERY expensive alternative.
 
cowboycasey said:
This will test if it is chlorine :) Here is a link for the ABC's of pool water chemistry Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Run a luke warm bath about 80/85 degrees, about 40 to 50 gallons
put 1 tablespoon of regular 8.5% bleach in and mix

this is about 1.5ppm chlorine
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that if you use city water, there is a good chance that it is coming out of your tap chlorinated, and unstabilized at that!
 

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bethdorothy said:
Since he was a baby(he's 14 now), any time he's been in a chlorine pool whether private or public, his eyes burn horribly bad. Badly managed private and public pools cause burning eyes, and people mistake the smell of chlorine as a sign that the owners are keeping things clean. The fact is that if you smell strong chlorine at a pool it isn't a good sign- it means that the pool's chlorine is overwhelmed with contaminates and you're smelling the combined chloramines. As others have said, overly high or low pH is the cause of eye discomfort.

Just wondering if there are any household products to substitute for Baquacil. Plenty of substitutions for commonly sold "pool chemicals"...such as baking soda as you've discovered, regular borax and chlorine bleach from the laundry aisle.

We've used it for 15 years with great success, but it's getting very pricey. I just about fell off my chair reading you say you were going to order $500 worth of chemicals! OMG.. I probably spend between $50-100/year for my pool care. Maybe. I have a salt system chlorine generator that chugs along happily and makes our pool easy to care for. I've never once had algae or cloudy water.

We have an above ground 27'x52" pool with a sand filter. Our water is usually clear, sometimes if I neglect to add shock on time it clouds, but is corrected quickly. I have substituted baking soda for the alkalinity increaser. Just wondering if there's anything else out there.
Click to expand...

Before you make that expensive order, consider that this would be the time to switch to chlorine. People just aren't allergic to chlorine or he'd be unable to bathe or drink the water. I'm sure he's sensitive to the combined chloramines. I think you and he would enjoy the crisp, clean water a pool managed our way provides. And I'm positive your wallet would enjoy the savings!
 
Alright, I'm ready to switch to salt water!! We closed our pool last fall and it was FULL of water mold. I'm done with baquacil! Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. I have no idea where to even begin, or what salt system I need to look for. Thank you in advance!!!!
 
Good morning! I was just coming to share that link Lee posted. THAT is what you need to do BUT you must have a good test kit in hand before you can really start. Look in my siggy below for the test kit you will need. You do need to get the XL as you will have a fight on your hand and will be doing a lot of testing.

It WILL be worth it in the end. Better water and fatter wallet! WIN-WIN!

Kim:kim:
 
In case you're wondering about cost, after the baq is gone (good decision by the way), you can buy and install an SWG for around $800 (ish) and you will have bought all your chlorine for the next 7 to 10 years. At the end of 7 to 10 years, you can buy a replacement electrolytic cell for a few hundred. Or you can use bleach (or chlorinating liquid) and pour some in daily or every other day, for $80 (ish) per year. The costs are wild guesses, because I don't even know your pool size, but mostly want to give you a heads-up regarding the upfront cost. The SWG saves you having to go get chlorinating liquid and gives you free days between tests and manual chlorine addition, which isn't too big a deal either.

You can have a salt water pool either way, which improves eye comfort for some. (albeit pH and CC being much more important)

This article was a life-changer for me, in case it's helpful. You can ignore their comments about pool water chemistry, but the rest is worth reading.
Swimming Teaching: Bloodshot Eyes After Swimming or Sore Eyes From Swimming?

Good luck with the switch!
 
I printed that out yesterday. There should be little to no Baquacil left in the water since I didn't add anything at the end of the year last year. I was so disgusted that we had water mold again I just covered it up!

- - - Updated - - -

So I wouldn't HAVE to purchase a SWG? I'm not sure about adding bleach to the water. (We have an above ground, 27x52 round pool)

- - - Updated - - -

I printed that out yesterday, so will do that as soon as we uncover the pool. I added NO closing baquacil chemicals last fall as I was completely disgusted that we had water mold, AGAIN. I'm interested in which SWG works the best, and is most economical. (27'x52" round, above ground pool)

- - - Updated - - -

New to the whole chlorine thing.....the test kit is for chlorine levels? Baquacil has strips, this whole kit looks overwhelming! :D
 
Adding bleach is easy and not hazardous. Obviously don't pore straight into eyes band wear work clothes as splashes will cause deteriorating cloth. Just pour directly in pool. Or poor in measuring cup as if you were doing laundry then poor in pool. And splash on yourself just rinse in pool. All done
 
Beth we can and WILL walk you through each test. There are also videos so you can watch as you do the tests.

For now lets not worry about at SWG as you have to get all of the other stuff out of your pool with chlorine/bleach. Once we get your pool balanced with chlorine we can get you set up with a SWG if you want.

I do not have a SWG. I am a "jug slinger" LOL It is no big deal for me.

When are you thinking of uncovering the pool? You really need the test kit before you do so we can hit it hard and get it cleared up.

:hug: we are here for you!

Kim:kim:
 
Can you please update your signature with your pool equipment details. What type of filter you have matters. Also, did you use any of the Baquacil CDX product? The CDX tend to make the conversion process take longer. Keep your test strips as it will be good to know what your sanitizer (PHMB) levels are before starting; hopefully they register low to zero!!

As others have said, don't worry about SWGs right now, there will be plenty of time for that later.
 

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