Afraid Of My Pool

[ajw22]

I think Judy will only find out what triggered her skin reaction if she tracks back and finds the manufacture of that one bag of salt that sounds like the trigger to it all.

This all is an interesting riddle to solve but the practical alternative is new water in the pool and then carefully monitoring and recording all chemicals added to the pool. Should this occur again she can then more closely examine the chemicals and test them as necessary.

Like I said earlier, once Judy has fresh water in the pool I would do some type of bucket or skin sensitivity test before any new manufactures chemical is used. That way the entire pool is not contaminated by something she is sensitive to.

 

[beachglass]

Thank You. Appreciate it.

 

[kimkats]

Judy, Dirk has a point. Run out and see if you can catch some of the "old" pool water and store it in a closed container in a dark place for later testing if you can find a place to do it.

 

[riley00dog]

Yes, I also think that finding the cause of the reaction is important. It is very likely something that op will encounter again elsewhere in life, and with true allergies, each reaction is typically worse until a threshold is reached that pushes you over into anaphylaxis. The allergist will likely run bloods that will determine the type of reaction it is. Hopefully it is mediated by other immune cells rather true IgA cells. A contact allergy would mean it’s fairly limited to a skin reaction. Op do you have a photo of your rash? Also have you ever had any other symptoms in conjunction to the rash, in particular problems breathing - wheezing, coughing, asthma like symptoms? I hope you are able to find the type of salt that was added that likely caused the problem. It would be really helpful to the allergist to have something to work with and also very important for you to know, so you can avoid it in other situations.

 

[kimkats]

OH take THE water to your appointment! If nothing else they could tell you where to get it tested!

 

[riley00dog]

OH take THE water to your appointment! If nothing else they could tell you where to get it tested!

Great idea Kim. As is the idea of saving a decent sample. It will need to be in a container that has no residual products that could taint the sample.

 

[beachglass]

Terrific Idea. Only problem is we started the transfusion today and the appt is on Wednesday. Can I put it in a container now and seal it. Will that work?

- - - Updated - - -

Well, I have two salt sources. The first was Pinch A Penny. They use "Salinity". The bag they used does have additives. I have to do more research tomorrow on what exactly those additives are. The second batch of salt was from our pool service. They gave me the name of the company based in Tampa, so I will be calling them tomorrow as well. One of the two caused the rash, thinking it was more likely the second batch since I did not get a reaction until that was added one week later after installation. Had no other issues except the rash on both my legs, hips to ankles, a bit on top of my feet. Also on both my arms and hands.
I do hope the allergist can pinpoint this.

 

[kimkats]

I would get and store the water and keep it in a dark, cool place.

 

[beachglass]

Will do. Thank you.

 

[beachglass]

Well didn't get to far with Pinch A Penny's source of salt. It is called Salinity. I called the source of the salt which is the manufacturer United Salt out of Houston Texas. Spoke to someone in the lab who was very nice but basically the end result was if I don't have the actually bag with a lot number on it, it is impossible to find out if they in fact were the manufacturer at the time as Pinch a Penny switches their salt source a lot. He did say that their salt is strictly sodium chloride and very pure. They do not add anything else into. I asked him why is the bag in blue which is what they put in labeled with Stain Inhibitor, he said the pureness of the salt helps with no staining??? To add, once it leaves the manufacturer it is then packaged by a company called Salinity, called them co-packers, before it goes to the distributor, Sun Wholesale in Florida. He did not know whether once it left there plant whether anything else was added to the salt. So, there you have it. I do not think that the first batch of salt by Pinch a Penny was the issue as for a week I was fine, until the pool tech put in the last bag. My next mission.

 

[riley00dog]

It doesn’t sound like that salt contained the additives you likely reacted to. On to the most recent bag of salt you added.

 

[beachglass]

Right, but again, because we don't have the bag and he stated that Pinch A Penny often switches manufacturers, it could have been another manufacturer at the time. Without the bag, we have no idea. He also would not commit to any answers as to whether or not once it left them if anything was put in it. Why would one bag not list stain inhibitor and the other does. Don't get it.

 

[jblizzle]

The impurities often found in the salt are metals like iron, I think, so those could cause staining. Odd the way they market it as inhibiting staining, when more realistically it should be that it will not cause staining.

 

[beachglass]

Very odd. Here are the two photos of the bags that Pinch A Penny uses. They used the blue bag on our pool.

 

[Dirk]

Marketing gibberish. Unfortunate. I ran into this while selecting my pool salt. There was virtually no way to determine at the point of purchase what was actually in the different bags. Nor at manufacturers' websites. There doesn't appear to be any regulations controlling pool salt content, or its labeling, so sellers don't do much to help us discerning consumers out.

I think you're doing some good due diligence. You might come up with a known additive that is causing your reaction. But there are so many points at which an unintended additive could have been introduced. That bit about Purity's salt being packaged elsewhere is not something I had even considered. Who knows what could have gotten into the bag, and when, and where, once it left the original manufacturer. That stuff is probably shipped in some massive container. Maybe a whole, rusty, train car. Shipping containers. Who knows. I just can't imagine the workers handling that all along its route are all that careful.

And at the end factory, they probably pull one bag every 1000, or 10000, or 100000, to do some quality assurance tests. There's no way to guarantee every bag of salt is pure. The label should ready "99% Probability 100% Pure." All kinds of things slip through, I'm sure.

I think it smart to follow the line of investigation you're on, but I think a full chemical analysis of the water itself is ultimately going to be the only way you know what's in your pool...

 

[beachglass]

You are so right . The process from the salt manufacturer to the actual store was crazy. I am bringing my sample of water to the allergist to see if perhaps he can help me with this. We are currently in the transfusion dilution process. Taking forever.

 

[beachglass]

What are they referring to when they say "Metal Deactivators" Anyone know. Just came across this when I googled, "additives in pool salt".

Spa salt is more pure and refined to enable it to dissolve more quickly in the spa water without leaving excessive undissolved solids behind. It also often times may contain metal deactivators and additives used to stabilize the chlorine and keep it from evaporating. In summary you will likely have far more problems than benefits if you use the incorrect salt.

 

[Dirk]

Good luck at the allergist's!

 

[kimkats]

What are they referring to when they say "Metal Deactivators" Anyone know. Just came across this when I googled, "additives in pool salt".

Spa salt is more pure and refined to enable it to dissolve more quickly in the spa water without leaving excessive undissolved solids behind. It also often times may contain metal deactivators and additives used to stabilize the chlorine and keep it from evaporating. In summary you will likely have far more problems than benefits if you use the incorrect salt.

WHAT??? That is saying is in the salt? "additives used to stabilize the chlorine" almost sounds like they add CYA of some sort. "metal deactivators"..............magnets? How do you "deactivate" metals??

 

[Saturn94]

So, “...with stain inhibitors...” is a statement of purity? What a load of poop!