My wife has become alllergic to chlorine

[berkoboy]

Hi Everyone

New to the forum. I currently live on the island of Cyprus, but work as a truck driver in Canada, I know complicated. I have a 6x3m in ground liner pool. My problem is that after 3 years my wife has now found out she is allergic to chlorine in the pool. I have 2 weeks to sort this out before I go back to Canada, so she can use it over the summer while I am away. Any suggestions, anyone had the same problems with family members. The most cost effective the better! There is a recession on, even in the Med. I have just forked out installing solar heating so the budget is a bit tight.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

Most cases of chlorine allergy are actually a reaction to something else in the water, water conditions, or a reaction to things that grow in the water when the chlorine is allowed to remain too low. True chlorine allergies are rare.

Your pool water needs to be tested so you know where you stand. To give the best advice, we need to know the Free Chlorine, Combined Chlorine and pH at a minimum, and we also need to know how you chlorinate the pool.

In the meantime, if she doesn't already, have your wife shower when she gets out of the pool. That may minimize any issues she's having.

To get test results that are meaningful, you either need to find a handy pool store that knows what they are doing (not easy) or get a service quality kit. Taylor makes the K-2006 which is good, and another kit is available at TFTestkits.net that's good as well. Availability of both is difficult in Canada. The Taylor distributor in Canada charges about two or three times the US price for the K-2006, and because of the distributor's agreement with Taylor, the TF-100 kit can't be shipped to Canada. You might have better luck acquiring the kit in Cyprus and bringing it back with you.

 

[berkoboy]

Thanks for info John T. I think I should give you a bit more background. After returning from abroad the pool was covered in winter and when opened up it was green, then after various things, raising PH (trawled the forums for advice on that , but seems well covered so I wasn't going to start a new thread).

When everything nice and crystal clear we started using it and the rash started. So after your advice, pointing out that it is unlikely Cl causing it I tetested the pool. I wondered why the pool seem to come back in spec so quickly with me doing nothing. So I borrowed a neighbours test kit and these were the results ph 8
free cl .5
total alk 300

So I have added some acid brought ph down to 7.4.

My wife seems ok she also says the water feels different!

Thanks for help, and I have now bought some new chemicals for my test kit, which by the way is a blue devil.Any good?

I hope this solves the problem, were you thinking along these lines as well.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Hi there, across the pond.

I would say her rash was a result of your water being out of balance, and your chlorine is too low, actually. I would bet you have CC which is usually the culprit in these situations, and the PH/TA too high. Your chlorine level should be based on your CYA or Stabilizer level. Do you know what that is?

So read up in Pool School, recommended levels, etc., and I would stick to either kit John recommended, because when you need advice on your test results, we can help better when we are familiar with the kits, know what I mean?