Itchy skin

[Pool Fool 2]

Hi. We opened our pool about a month ago. After finally deciding it does not have Black Algae but defiantly needs replastering (next year), I bravely went in. After about 15 mins of wandering around in the shallow end, I got out and noticed my skin felt a little itchy. I took a shower, but legs still a bit itchy. Later that night I took another shower and used soap on my legs. They still felt odd that night and the next morning. No redness or spots, just mild itch.

We have a chorine and Carribian Clear pool. It was closed for 5 years, but prior to that we swam in it without a problem for about 15 years. Ive read past posts on this topic, and am wondering if anyone has recently run into this issue and what helped them resolve it. After all the time and money and hope we've put into the pool this year, it would be a bummer not to use it because of itching.

Thank you for your help!

 

[mknauss]

Typically skin irritation is pH out of range or CC. I do not remember in your other thread if you have a proper test kit or not. Please post test results.

 

[tim5055]

Yup, itchy skin is usually pH out of range....

 

[Pool Fool 2]

Typically skin irritation is pH out of range or CC. I do not remember in your other thread if you have a proper test kit or not. Please post test results.

Yesterday's readings:

PH 7.4​ Alkalinity 90​ Chlorine/Bromine 1​

 

[Pool Fool 2]

Typically skin irritation is pH out of range or CC. I do not remember in your other thread if you have a proper test kit or not. Please post test results.

Hi. My test kit is ancient. I looked at the TFT kits. There's one for about 80.00 and one for about 150.00. Which do you recommend for daily maintenance? The pool maintenance company has been doing all the readings this year.

Thank you!

 

[mknauss]

The TF100 can do all the tests. It is in a basic box. The TFPro has all the same tests, a SpeedStir, and a nice organized kit. I have the TFPRO, the SpeedStir is really nice to have.

 

[Pool Fool 2]

The TF100 can do all the tests. It is in a basic box. The TFPro has all the same tests, a SpeedStir, and a nice organized kit. I have the TFPRO, the SpeedStir is really nice to have.

Thanks.

In reading past posts, some folks who have had itchy skin said that adding salt made all the difference for them. Is there somewhere that would explain why adding salt to the pool would make the water feel better and decrease/eliminate itching?

I'm heading to the TF store.

 

[mknauss]

Salt can make the water feel silky to some people.

 

[Pool Fool 2]

How much salt do you add to the pool to decrease itching? What kind of salt? Any idea of why this works for some people? Thank you!

 

[mknauss]

Most say to put 1500 ppm salinity in the water. Any plain water softener salt or pool salt will work.

Why? I would assume it depends on why you are itching. If it is chemical, such as low or high pH, high CC, etc, I doubt it will make a difference. If it is due to dry skin from high TA, high CH, etc, then it might work.

 

[Donldson]

Truth be told the issue could well be that the chlorine level is too low for your CYA level. It would be a very good idea to try diagnosing the cause first and adding salt if everything is balanced but the problem is not solved. While salt can improve the feel of water (a subjective metric) it will not correct a chemistry problem.