New pool owner and now after reading some posts I'm freaking out a little and need clarification. On July 4th I added liquid bleach to my pool in the morning as my FC was at 1. PH at 7.2..It was the 4th and warm and my kids wanted to swim so I added bleach, ran the filter, and waited 2 hours. My FC level was around a 6 and I was against them swimming but my husband said it was fine. Our CYA level is low...getting cloudy only at 20 but I can still see the black dot. I have not added any more bleach to the pool and only using 1 tricolor puck in skimmer to raise cya level. We have had pool for 3 weeks and a TFP friend said to keep that in there to raise cya since we were at 0 and having to add bleach every day to maintain 1-3 ppm FC. Since Monday my FC level has been at 5, PH 7.2, and CYA only clouding at 20. After reading the relationship with cya and chlorine, was it ok that my kids swam with FC level at 6? I know it's already done and I can't change it, but just looking for answers. They are 12-16 years old so they are not drinking it or anything, but I'm reading about skin absorption etc. I'm just kicking myself for letting them swim with FC 6. I know I added too much but we had been struggling to keep it at 2 and with sunny steamy weather I wanted to be sure we would be ok ...ugh. Was this ok that they swam? Possible side effects?
Kids swam in FC level of 6...safe to swim?
- Thread starter poolfamily5
- Start date
- Jan 4, 2016
- 5,288
- Pool Size
- 44000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
We use a minimum of 30 ppm CYA partly because it's more reliable to read it at that level, and because at that level the chlorine is better protected from the sun. Readings around 20 are difficult to read as you noticed, so it's equally hard to answer. But in the event your CYA was at 20, then FC 6 would have been within the safe range that we use.
The pool is safe for swimming when:
- you can clearly see the entire bottom of the pool
- pH is between 7.2 and 7.8
- FC is at or above the minimum level and at or below the shock level for your CYA per this chart: Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart
So with CYA at 20, the shock level is 10 and not a problem for swimming, and 6 is well within that range. Chlorine is a very safe sanitizer when used per the chlorine-cya chart.
You might want to raise your pH a little. Although 7.2 is fine, it's at the lower limit for bather comfort.
The pool is safe for swimming when:
- you can clearly see the entire bottom of the pool
- pH is between 7.2 and 7.8
- FC is at or above the minimum level and at or below the shock level for your CYA per this chart: Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart
So with CYA at 20, the shock level is 10 and not a problem for swimming, and 6 is well within that range. Chlorine is a very safe sanitizer when used per the chlorine-cya chart.
You might want to raise your pH a little. Although 7.2 is fine, it's at the lower limit for bather comfort.
- Jul 3, 2013
- 9,028
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool SJ-40
it was fine 
at a CYA of "about" 20 you can swim in a FC of 8/9 if "about" 10 CYA swim up to 4/5 FC
If you want to be more safe and are worried with a higher level of FC just have them shower afterwards
My family was swimming in 32 FC and did not even notice a difference from the normal 7 FC but I had them shower...
at a CYA of "about" 20 you can swim in a FC of 8/9 if "about" 10 CYA swim up to 4/5 FCIf you want to be more safe and are worried with a higher level of FC just have them shower afterwards
My family was swimming in 32 FC and did not even notice a difference from the normal 7 FC but I had them shower...