I started tfp when we got our above ground pool a few months ago. With a chronically ill child who also has severe eczema, I need help. Lil man's skin looks awful because he wants to swim daily when not at Dr's. And if I skip a couple days of testing the pool water because we're at these appointments, I come home to a green pool. Please help. Should I just bite the bullet and switch to one of the chlorine free systems everyone keeps pushing me towards? I'm so confused.
help...I need a longer term solution
- Thread starter edgeuk8tr
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NO. Because those systems are not safe and could result in staining the pool.
Sounds like you should either look into an automated method of adding bleach or switching to a SWG.
Search the forum. There are many discussions about the chlorine-free systems as well as skin concerns.
A properly balanced pool should not be affecting the skin ... in fact I thought there were some threads saying that the pool water helped.
Here is one discussion: http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/49064-Turned-off-my-SWG-went-BBB-wife-said-OMG
Borates are another option that could help.
Sounds like you should either look into an automated method of adding bleach or switching to a SWG.
Search the forum. There are many discussions about the chlorine-free systems as well as skin concerns.
A properly balanced pool should not be affecting the skin ... in fact I thought there were some threads saying that the pool water helped.
Here is one discussion: http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/49064-Turned-off-my-SWG-went-BBB-wife-said-OMG
Borates are another option that could help.
What can I get so that I don't have to test and add bleach daily? Can I use a swg on an above round pool? Since it's turning green again, should I shock it again or just wait till next season? I'm about ready to turn the pump off and start over next year since it's getting too cool to use it much now. I'm just getting stressed on top of all the other things going on lol
Please add your pool details to your signature as described HERE as it will help us help you.
You can certainly use a SWG on an AG pool ... many members use the Intex ones that are pretty inexpensive.
You have to decide if you are going to clear up the pool now or in the spring ... either way you need to follow the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process. I do not know what you mean when you say "shock it"
You can certainly use a SWG on an AG pool ... many members use the Intex ones that are pretty inexpensive.
You have to decide if you are going to clear up the pool now or in the spring ... either way you need to follow the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process. I do not know what you mean when you say "shock it"
Ok let's see if I got the signature correct 
I meant to say slamming not shock...sorry that's the old school in me coming out. So we can do a swg?? That changes everything I think. We've been told they will rot the metal sides of an AG pool. Please point me in the right direction.
I meant to say slamming not shock...sorry that's the old school in me coming out. So we can do a swg?? That changes everything I think. We've been told they will rot the metal sides of an AG pool. Please point me in the right direction.Once you get a swg dialed in you shouldnt need to test daily and only add bleach when there's a problem. But honestly, I test at least every other day.
If you think an swcg might cause corrosion and you want to stick with liquid, you could look at an injection pump and tank. That's what I use and it works great. You still need to test the water every couple of days but it automatically adds chlorine at a set time each day.
Whether you go with an injection pump or a swcg you're going to have to spend a few days testing and adjusting one or more times a day until you get it dialed in and then you can go to testing every couple of days.
Whether you go with an injection pump or a swcg you're going to have to spend a few days testing and adjusting one or more times a day until you get it dialed in and then you can go to testing every couple of days.
Btw, I have eczema, and my pool does not exacerbate it...in fact, since the addition of borates, my skin is better during the swim season than any other time. But I do take the few minutes every morning to ensure that my chemistry is just so...the ph right at 7.4 (my pool's happy place), my chlorine around 6-7 in the am to allow for the drop during the day without going below what's recommended for my cya, etc. As a result, since recovering the pool when purchased as part of a foreclosure, I've never had algae at all.
Would it be possible for you to establish a morning routine when you get up to check and dose the pool? Because with a skin condition, I feel that testing, not delivery, is the key to being trouble free eg. You can get swg, but then will you really test it frequently enough to control rising ph...a common phenom with swg? For me, the daily addition of chlorine keeps me in the test regime YMMV.
Ps...the use of mild/diluted boric acid is actually a treatment for eczema, btw, which was one of the many reasons I added it to the pool. I know it sounds like more work, but there's a thread under chemistry 201 about adding it...it might also help stabilize your water a little against algae. In your shoes, I'd add boric acid from Duda diesel for the convenience of not having to find a zillion boxes of borax and then offsetting with muriatic acid...once and done. Then you top it up maybe once a season due to splash out and that's it.
My dishydrotic eczema on my feet used to be so bad they cracked and bled and today after a season of swimming they're healed and whole I don't even need medicated cream anymore.
Would it be possible for you to establish a morning routine when you get up to check and dose the pool? Because with a skin condition, I feel that testing, not delivery, is the key to being trouble free
eg. You can get swg, but then will you really test it frequently enough to control rising ph...a common phenom with swg? For me, the daily addition of chlorine keeps me in the test regime YMMV.Ps...the use of mild/diluted boric acid is actually a treatment for eczema, btw, which was one of the many reasons I added it to the pool. I know it sounds like more work, but there's a thread under chemistry 201 about adding it...it might also help stabilize your water a little against algae. In your shoes, I'd add boric acid from Duda diesel for the convenience of not having to find a zillion boxes of borax and then offsetting with muriatic acid...once and done. Then you top it up maybe once a season due to splash out and that's it.
My dishydrotic eczema on my feet used to be so bad they cracked and bled and today after a season of swimming they're healed and whole
I don't even need medicated cream anymore.Another comment re eczema and time spent in the pool -- one of my children has eczema, and his skin clears up every summer, apparently as a direct result of time spent in chlorinated pool water. We even have a sort of controlled experiment on this -- we've had a few summers when we didn't bother putting up our (former) small ring top pool -- the kids swam in a local pond instead, and spent just as much time outdoors and in the sun -- and in those years his eczema did not dramatically improve during the summer months.
Our pediatrician wasn't at all surprised when I mentioned this observation to him. 'Bleach baths' (i.e. a little bit of bleach in the bath water) is actually a treatment recommended for eczema --we've tried this also, but we don't do it consistently enough during the cooler months, and, honestly, the kid doesn't spend nearly as much time in the bathtub as in the pool so his eczema always gets worse when the pool season is over.
My son doesn't have severe eczema, so I don't know what additional concerns there might be in that situation.
It would certainly be worth aiming for a clean pool with consistent chlorine levels (by whatever method is most convenient for you long term), and seeing how that works for your child. If your child has open areas on his skin -- almost certainly the case with severe eczema -- I would think that good sanitation of the pool water (killing germs) would be even more important than in a typical homeowner pool. Chlorine is, as far as I know, the easiest and most reliable way to kill pathogens in the pool.
P.S. We don't do borates, other than what gets into the water by using borax (20 Mule Team) over the course of the summer to raise pH a bit.
Our pediatrician wasn't at all surprised when I mentioned this observation to him. 'Bleach baths' (i.e. a little bit of bleach in the bath water) is actually a treatment recommended for eczema --we've tried this also, but we don't do it consistently enough during the cooler months, and, honestly, the kid doesn't spend nearly as much time in the bathtub as in the pool
so his eczema always gets worse when the pool season is over.My son doesn't have severe eczema, so I don't know what additional concerns there might be in that situation.
It would certainly be worth aiming for a clean pool with consistent chlorine levels (by whatever method is most convenient for you long term), and seeing how that works for your child. If your child has open areas on his skin -- almost certainly the case with severe eczema -- I would think that good sanitation of the pool water (killing germs) would be even more important than in a typical homeowner pool. Chlorine is, as far as I know, the easiest and most reliable way to kill pathogens in the pool.
P.S. We don't do borates, other than what gets into the water by using borax (20 Mule Team) over the course of the summer to raise pH a bit.
I suggest installing a UV lamp. It will keep the water sterile even if you do not add any chemicals to the pool. The surfaces of the pool are not sterilized, but with a good water circulation the pool will stay clean. It has been argued that this UV lamp will not provide adequate sanitation on its own, but you can add chlorine before swimming. There are other benefits as well: chloramines are destroyed by the UV light and chlorine demand is kept low as the bulk of water is kept sterile. I have installed a UV system in our summer house in France and water is kept nice and clean for months at a time even if nobody is there to take care of the pool. I am using bromine instead of chlorine since the water temperature is gets high in summer. I am also using a black blanket. With little light the green algae do not grow fast, giving time to the UV lamp to sterilize the swimming pool water. In summer I did run the pump and the UV light for 12h a day.
UV lamps will not "keep the water sterile even if you do not add any chemicals to the pool." They do not kill bacteria and algae fast enough. Your isolated experience may say that an unused pool is kept clean with only a UV light, but an above ground pool that is getting used daily is a far different situation than a dormant, seldom used pool. Attempting to rely on a UV light is just not something we recommend for an outdoor pool. Outdoor pools get plenty of sunshine to eliminate combined chlorine compounds and in a properly maintained outdoor chlorine pool, CCs don't hang around long enough to make a UV light a good investment.
The answer is not spending money on a marginally effective product. The answer in this situation is a more reliable and consistent method of getting chlorine in your pool and daily testing. It would really take a change in habits and routine with testing and helped by a more automatic method for delivering sanitation such as a stenner pump for liquid chlorine or a salt water chlorine generator. That's what I would spend money on for added convenience.
My oldest daughter has eczema. It frequently is worse for her during the colder, drier times of year when the pool is closed. She has no issues after swimming in our pool all summer long. The only time she had issues after swimming in a pool was when she had swimming lessons at a local indoor pool for several weeks, then her eczema flared up until they were over. Next year, all the kids will get private lessons in our pool since I know it will be properly maintained.
The answer is not spending money on a marginally effective product. The answer in this situation is a more reliable and consistent method of getting chlorine in your pool and daily testing. It would really take a change in habits and routine with testing and helped by a more automatic method for delivering sanitation such as a stenner pump for liquid chlorine or a salt water chlorine generator. That's what I would spend money on for added convenience.
My oldest daughter has eczema. It frequently is worse for her during the colder, drier times of year when the pool is closed. She has no issues after swimming in our pool all summer long. The only time she had issues after swimming in a pool was when she had swimming lessons at a local indoor pool for several weeks, then her eczema flared up until they were over. Next year, all the kids will get private lessons in our pool since I know it will be properly maintained.
UV light will kill more than 99% of algae, viruses, bacteria and fungi that passes through the filtration system, so killing is practically instantaneous. Still as a whole the filtration system is not fast enough to allow the UV lamp to be considered a primary source of sanitation for the swimming pool. If one can take care of the pool with a daily routine, the UV lamp seems to be not necessary. It is a redundant system. Its value may be seen and appreciated in those instances when one is forced to abandon the daily routine or to go on holidays. The SWG or an automatic feeder may be the answer for some, but for me the UV lamp was the answer for me. How many of you can say: I will take now a 4 weeks holyday and I expect to come home to a nice blue water pool without paying $$$ to the pool company or without abusing a neighbor or a relative. I feel that my personal experience is not appreciated as I mention the UV system as a possible improvement to the filtration system. How many posts you can find under the mantra "Help, my pool is green" and how many of them do have a functioning UV lamp? One cannot expect the life to go on day by day without interruptions. Safety can be found in the redundant systems. For a modest investment + 50$ replacements parts every 2-3 years one have a nice backup system even if you have an automatic system.
Just blindly stating that UV is that effective is pure spin. UV is now the big savior on hit tubs....NOT! There is a reason that chlorine and bromine are the two recognized sanitizers. Any other "system" is an add on and a wallet lightener.
Having had several clients with eczema issues, I have found that SWG can in fact make the water softer and you can also keep th chlorine levels quite low if you keep cya low as well.
I am an severe eczema sufferer and I can tell you after numerous trips south, my skin is healthier after swimming in salt water.
Having had several clients with eczema issues, I have found that SWG can in fact make the water softer and you can also keep th chlorine levels quite low if you keep cya low as well.
I am an severe eczema sufferer and I can tell you after numerous trips south, my skin is healthier after swimming in salt water.
A UV lamp is for sure an "add on" as pooladdict stated. But my opinion is that a backup system that cost less than 1% of the swimming pool investment cannot be called a wallet lightener. I agree that a SWG is a better option for people with eczema, but if one has a septic tank and not the regular sewage system for waste water the garden will be slowly but surely killed - especially in warmer and dryer climates - by the tens of pounds of salt that will be discarded sooner or later. Still for people with eczema if it is better for the skin the garden might be less important. In my case the Mediterranean sea is not far away (only a 45 min drive), so I opted not to install a SWG.
I stopped testing my pool more often than once a week. By now, I know what a daily chlorine usage is and I add chlorine accordingly, that is, one gallon every other day in the summer. You should know that too by now. If you are away couple of days, add that many or more doses of chlorine. There is no harm having elevated chlorine level. If you have a smart phone, put adding chlorine as a recurring event if you are adding fewer than daily.
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