Would a high calcium level result in itchy skin?

[moore887]

I was talking to a couple at the pool store the other day and they were getting their water tested to see if they could figure out why their skin is always itchy after swimming. I looked at their results and asked if I could do a test too. When I got to there house their pool guy was there and I watched as he put three chlorine pucks in the skimmer. I carried out a test:

FC=2
pH=7.6
TA=50
CH=500
CYA=10
SALT 2900ppm

pebbletech pool less than a year old. 12000gallons. SWG appears to be working.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I don't know if calcium would cause itching or not.....but that is an unusually high level of CH for a Florida pool. Odd, huh? You'd think it would be diluted with rain and occasional drain downs.

Is the pool guy using calhypo sticks in the skimmer? Why would he be adding pucks (or sticks) to the skimmer if they have a salt system???

Their CYA is far too low..... might as well not have it adding chlorine if you're going to let the sun take all your FC away too....

How does the water itself look?? You tested FC....but did you test for CC?

Maddie

 

[moore887]

The owner told me that the pool guy was adding chlorine pucks to the skimmer. I recall my father in law saying that his first pool guys was doing that years ago. Roll on twenty years and the skimmer has more leaks that a sieve.

I've never heard of calhypo sticks. I assumed it was pucks going into the skimmer because the pH was pretty low which is unusual for a newer pool with a salt cell. The water looked absolutely fine. It's clear, there doesn't seem to be any scaling or gunk on the tiles. It's my baby now, so I will start next Tuesday by dropping in a robot cleaner and running a full test again. 500 was very high for calcium but because time was against me yesterday, I couldn't repeat the test with another sample. I will probably wash out the cartridge filter and fill a sock with CYA into the skimmer. I didn't test for combined chlorine.

 

[mknauss]

Our pool has had CH at or above 1000 ppm many times. No itchy skin here.

pH or CC is normally the culprit for that symptom.

 

[moore887]

Thanks Marty,

I'd say it will be a day at that pool on Tuesday. It's a fine looking pool but the owners are at their wits end because they love their outdoor space (it's like something out of a magazine!). They never had a problem until the pool company owner stepped down and the son took it over. Now it's five minute splash and dash every week. I will get that combined chlorine test done. I might even jump in myself to scrub the tile. Pool temp is 93F but that's the way they like it!

 

[cfherrman]

I'd trust those numbers from a pool store as far as I would trust a politician with tax money

 

[wireform]

The owner told me that the pool guy was adding chlorine pucks to the skimmer. I recall my father in law saying that his first pool guys was doing that years ago. Roll on twenty years and the skimmer has more leaks that a sieve.

I've never heard of calhypo sticks. I assumed it was pucks going into the skimmer because the pH was pretty low which is unusual for a newer pool with a salt cell. The water looked absolutely fine. It's clear, there doesn't seem to be any scaling or gunk on the tiles. It's my baby now, so I will start next Tuesday by dropping in a robot cleaner and running a full test again. 500 was very high for calcium but because time was against me yesterday, I couldn't repeat the test with another sample. I will probably wash out the cartridge filter and fill a sock with CYA into the skimmer. I didn't test for combined chlorine.

How is PH low @ 7.6??

 

[Flying Tivo]

How is PH low @ 7.6??

I believe he is saying it because the new pool and swg. Both drive up ph, but if the pool guy was using pucks then that is the result.

 

[JamesW]

The service person is probably incompetent.

The problem is not calcium.

We're missing some critical information.

Maybe the service person is adding something like EZPool or something else.

 

[moore887]

Some great feedback there gents.
I'm not overly concerned with the test results that the owners were initially given by the pool store. They use the same Taylor reagents that I use (although a couple of weeks ago I bought a bad bottle of R0011!). The only issue that the home owners relayed on to me, was that the store voiced concerns about the sample being "old". I think the sample had been in the owner's car for a day or two! Actually, the sample that I took, I wanted to toss it and get another one on account of the CH being at 500. That's something that the pool store can't do and a couple of the staff have told me it would be great if they could try another sample in some cases.

The home owners most certainly think that the service tech is incompetent. It was initially his father's business and he is trying to pass it on to his son. I remember listening to a podcast (not sure if it was pool chasers or David Van Brunt) there's a huge lack of young people taking up the pole and servicing pools. The larger companies here are sending people out to service 30 pools a day at super discount rates and destroying the industry. New clients that I go to, that have had pool service, are costing me a small fortune on initial chemical treatment because they have never seen more than a couple of gallons of chlorine or a handful of pucks.

So let's roll on Tuesday morning when I'm there for the first proper service. I will wash out the filter and get a load of conditioner in there. I will most likely open up the cell. With CH at 500ppm the blades could be clogged although the cell isn't throwing any faults.