Turned off my SWG, went BBB, wife said OMG

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M

moyer02

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LifeTime Supporter
Oct 11, 2010
73
Pensacola, FL
We've been fortunate that our pool water has nearly always looked good, thanks to the TFP forum and Taylor's test kit. The other day we were shopping at our military exchange and they were having a great sale on Clorox bleach. I've been wanting to try the BBB so I picked up several bottles of Clorox. My wife, who has lots of allergies and only uses fragrance free detergents and absolutely no bleach, looked at me like I had grown horns. I explained to her what I wanted to do and told her not to worry, I know what I'm doing and I have hundreds of experts standing by in case I screw it up. She threatened me not to mess up our good looking pool water.

So I turned off the SWG (I figured I'd give it a rest for the remainder of pool season), and did the BBB. I love it, my wife loves it, and the pool loves it. Life is good.

Now I haven't yet told her about adding borates, but I'm in the process of doing that (1/2 done). My wife also has eczema and I'm hoping the borates gives her some surprising relief.

This forum rocks!
 

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Looks great. Curious why you shut off you SWG. All it does is create chlorine from the salt in your water. I use a cheapo Intex SWG so that I don't have to mess with liquid chlorine unless I shock which is when I open and close the pool. As for the rest of the B's, good stuff.
 
What do you gain? Chlorox is just created by electrolysis of salt water. Same exact thing as a SWCG just on a larger scale.

If your water improved that much, maybe you had the SWCG set too low?

If I wasn't constantly draining and refilling my pool to lower CH, I'd be running a SWCG!
 

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257WbyMag said:
Thread title of the year nominee. :)
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I second that nomination!

Your pool looks good. Remember the BBB method is really about testing and appropriate action. In terms of chlorination, whether that is done with bleach or some other way such as the swg still fits the method.
 
I don't think there's anything odd about switching to bleach even if you've got a SWG.

I think a SWG could be the "trichlor floater" of the future for some of us who don't mind adding bleach every day and would like to extend the life of the SWG cell past the standard 5y.

There's something about a sweet smelling bleach pool that is just a little different than the SWG, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Not much different, and certainly not as different as trichlor (nasty stink, black stains on stuff... yuck) but I do know something's "different".
 
My only reason for turning off my IC-40 is to prolong its cell life. My first cell only lasted 3 years. Since I'm retired and home nearly every day, I don't mind dumping some Clorox. Of course, I'll turn it back on when I go out of town. ... thanks for all the nice remarks and feedback. I'm having fun with the BBB and actually enjoy the testing and balancing......maybe I ought to get a hobby........nah. :whoot:
 

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About your wife's eczema problem, by turning off the SWG and switching to liquid you will need to have a higher FC amount and this will be more harsh on her skin. By adding borates and running the SWG you can experiment with lower FC levels and see what works. This is probably the cheapest method to use to see if she has any problems with the eczema. I use this method along with Neutrogena hand cream before and after swimming for my eczema problem and it seems to work fine.
 
The bleach bath only helps if there is a bacterial infection along with the eczema. The bleach kills the bacteria and this helps with the eczema symptoms. The bath is recommended for only 5-10 minutes at a time and at most twice a week. If you do not have a bacterial infection then the bleach baths will not work.

The main problem with eczema and pools is that the water tends to dry out the skin and having higher levels of active chlorine will also dry out the skin. It comes down to how severe the eczema is and what treatments are being used on a daily basis. A high quality moisturizer such as Neutrogena is required to help control the eczema.
 
I have dishydrotic eczema, predominately on the soles of my feet. (I used to have eczema in arm joints, behind knees, etc. as well.) After I added borates, it has almost completely healed -- and healed more than it ever did with steroid cream rx, which I've now discontinued. I don't find the pool dries my skin out at all (and I keep my ppm chlorine between 4-6...overdose to 7.5 to maintain 4 during work day).

So I'm hoping it will have same effect for Moyer's wife, but I like the idea of a "blind" test to see if she notices the difference!
 
I also keep my chlorine in the 4-6 range with my CYA at 80 and the borates at 50. I haven't needed any steroid cream either in the last 4 months since my hand healed up. I do notice if I go swimming for more than an hour multiple days in a row the hand does start to crack and I need to apply extra moisturizer during the day.
 
ping said:
The bleach bath only helps if there is a bacterial infection along with the eczema. The bleach kills the bacteria and this helps with the eczema symptoms. The bath is recommended for only 5-10 minutes at a time and at most twice a week. If you do not have a bacterial infection then the bleach baths will not work.
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Dunno but he's had it for many years. Doctors were useless. Got the pool and it clears right up in the summer.
 
What a great thing, the BBB method is not only easy, once you read up on it and begin to practice it. Pretty much like everything else in life.
Not to mention that it makes your pool utterly gorgeous!!

But on top of it all, it helps out our health.
  • A. By wanting to use the pool more often, because it's so gosh, durn, purddy!!
    A2. Keeps us more in shape because of A.
    B. The borates, and sounds like the CL too, they help with the Eczema.

So it doesn't just improve and enrich our lives, it improves our health too.
FAAAANNNNTAAAASTIC!!!

I have Eczema too, it's on my hands and forearm, just above the crease, opposite the elbow.
I have planned on adding borates, but not this year, as I have to take mine down for winter, it can't stay up, as it has the inflatable PVC ring.
But I'm definitely doing it next year, sounds fantastic!
I love this place and I love my giant pond of water, my new big toy, err.. pool. ;) :D
 
ping said:
I also keep my chlorine in the 4-6 range with my CYA at 80 and the borates at 50. I haven't needed any steroid cream either in the last 4 months since my hand healed up. I do notice if I go swimming for more than an hour multiple days in a row the hand does start to crack and I need to apply extra moisturizer during the day.
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Is 80 cya too high, my pool has 80 as well, but is clear.I dont want to drain, should i be ok? fiber glass 17k 2 gal 12% liquid chorine a week normal? thanks
 

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