Irritated eyes with FC at 7.5, all other params normal

[rlab]

Accidentally left the SWG turned up, FC went up to 7.5. Following the usual TFP advice I told the whole family it was fine to swim in, however all of us came out with irritated eyes. Never had this happen before at lower FC levels, all other params are fine.

FC 7.5
CC 0.2
CYA 65
PH 7.6
TA 100
CH 240

Starting to feel a little uncertain about the TFP wisdom around swimming in high chlorine levels. This isn't even anywhere near slam levels. Are irritated eyes expected at elevated FC levels, even if the water itself is "safe" to swim in?

 

[aussieta]

how low did your fc go before you turned swg up

 

[aussieta]

your fc is in 10ml sample but your cc is in 25ml sample?
are your calculations correct

 

[rlab]

Tested using lab calibrated palintest photometer, high chlorine model (accurate up to FC 10).

EDIT: Just checked FC and CC with Taylor, and confirms the photometer results.

FC dropped to 2.5 prior to this. I understand you are implying CC may be the culprit, but if levels are < 0.5 then that shouldn't be an issue?

 

[mgtfp]

Is there are chance that your pH test result is off? Or could your salt level be different to what it used to be?

 

[rlab]

Retested pH with Taylor and palintest, both agree around 7.5 - 7.6. Salt levels are fine (around 3300ppm using taylor).

I will do an OCLT tonight, but I am wondering if this is a case where I should just go ahead and SLAM even thou there are no indicators for it. Is that a bad idea?

 

[Dirk]

This is just anecdotal... I had about a 20% of the walls of my pool succumb to a haze of algae last summer. CC read 0.5. So maybe there's a time lag, or some other reason there is not a direct correlation between CC and what is going on in the water. The algae (first and only case since going full TFP) resulted from a misstep of mine that led to a lower-than-minimum FC. It stands to reason that if algae can "evade" a CC test, then so too can other pathogens... at least for the amount of time your family was in the pool.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Or you rub your eyes too much when swimming -

Bloodshot Eyes After Swimming or Sore Eyes From Swimming?

Every time I or my child, spend time in the swimming pool, we get sore, bloodshot eyes. Sometimes, I get a headache as well. Why do you think this is?

www.swimteaching.com

Most people don’t believe this, but rubbing your eyes when you come up from underwater is the most common thing people do and all it does is force chlorinated water into your conjunctiva and tear ducts. This leads to stinging and irritation.

Blink ... a lot. You’ll look stupid but it works.

 

[Dirk]

Most people don’t believe this, but rubbing your eyes when you come up from underwater is the most common thing people do and all it does is force chlorinated water into your conjunctiva and tear ducts. This leads to stinging and irritation.

I believe! I believe! When Matt taught me this I tried it and found it to be true. I also found it almost impossible to remember to do consistently. You have to practice until it becomes habit.

 

[mgtfp]

Retested pH with Taylor and palintest, both agree around 7.5 - 7.6. Salt levels are fine (around 3300ppm using taylor).

I will do an OCLT tonight, but I am wondering if this is a case where I should just go ahead and SLAM even thou there are no indicators for it. Is that a bad idea?

OK, looks like pH or salt are not the culprits.

How much time did you spend in the pool, was that longer than usual? And how soon after did you test CC? Is there a chance it was actually still higher while you were in the water? CC usually is the most likely culprit for for stinging eyes.

I think I would still run an OCLT first before slamming, to have a good baseline if the SLAM is actually changing anything.

I kept my FC quite high over winter and am dialling my target in from the top now. When we started swimming once water temperatures were bearable, FC was around 13 (CYA 80). No complaints from my son who thought the water was great and he was quite surprised when I told him that the chlorine level is much higher than at the public indoor pool we sometimes go to.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Most people don’t believe this, but rubbing your eyes when you come up from underwater is the most common thing people do and all it does is force chlorinated water into your conjunctiva and tear ducts. This leads to stinging and irritation.

Blink ... a lot. You’ll look stupid but it works.

or wear goggles?

7.5 ppm FC is *not* out of line with a CYA of 70.

 

[aussieta]

i deliberately run my fc higher as a buffer against unusual swimmer behaviour
daughters friends baby is not toilet trained
never had a complaint of red eyes
yes we learnt the blinking thing early on

 

[cowboycasey]

I keep my FC at between 7 and 9 at all times and have not had any issues except when we were rubbing our eyes... We can open our eyes under water and have no issues at all..

 

[wireform]

One of my pools had the SWCG higher than it should have been the last few weeks of the season @ about 10 FC and there wasn't and eye irritation at all.