I swim (inside) at a local YMCA in Massachusetts and I just stick like chlorine after a swim. The water seems gross. Not sure if it is chlorine or saline based but I can’t get that smell off. My skin burns and skin is so dry after. Any good shampoo and/or products on the market that you can recommend?
I was out in San diego in an outdoor pool at the YMCA and the water was clean and refreshing what is the difference. It was an outside pool. What is the difference?
I swim in a nice clean indoor YMCA pool… but it still stinks… albeit for different reasons. My workouts seem to always coincide with a Water-robics class. There are some rather large ladies who use A LOT of perfume. That stuff just bubbles-up and lays right on the surface with no wind to disperse it. Every breath is like inhaling gasoline fumes!
I’ve got to change-up my schedule!
I swim (inside) at a local YMCA in Massachusetts and I just stick like chlorine after a swim. The water seems gross. Not sure if it is chlorine or saline based but I can’t get that smell off. My skin burns and skin is so dry after. Any good shampoo and/or products on the market that you can recommend?
I was out in San diego in an outdoor pool at the YMCA and the water was clean and refreshing what is the difference. It was an outside pool. What is the difference?
If your skin is burning and stinking from the pool, more than likely, chlorine is in the water. Saline doesn’t smell but has a tendency to cause wheezing in some. I found that Dove and an exfoliating rag rub off the smell pretty well. Also, use a good moisturizer or oil to keep the skin moist.
I swim (inside) at a local YMCA in Massachusetts and I just stick like chlorine after a swim. The water seems gross. Not sure if it is chlorine or saline based but I can’t get that smell off. My skin burns and skin is so dry after. Any good shampoo and/or products on the market that you can recommend?
I was out in San diego in an outdoor pool at the YMCA and the water was clean and refreshing what is the difference. It was an outside pool. What is the difference?
If your skin is burning and stinking from the pool, more than likely, chlorine is in the water. Saline doesn’t smell but has a tendency to cause wheezing in some. I found that Dove and an exfoliating rag rub off the smell pretty well. Also, use a good moisturizer or oil to keep the skin moist.
x2. Be sure to hit the shower ASAP after getting out of the pool. Don’t let it dry on your skin…
I’ve found a short run (long enough to sweat) after the swim gets most of the stink off. Also helps with my allergies. The outdoor pool does seem much nicer, but its closed for the winter.
Most likely the difference was between a typical chlorine pool and salt water chlorine pool. The salt water (actually between 5-10% salinaty of the ocean) still produces chrlorine, however the salt makes the water “softer”
Be glad you smell chlorine, its the residual smell that is porduced when the chlorine is killing bacteria in the pool. Much better than getting sick from the bacteria. Rinse well after your swim and lotion.
are you telling me stronger the chlorine smell means more bacteria in the water?
The actual smell is chloramine, which is the chemical reaction between the chlorine and the bacteria. There are EPA guidelines for the amount of chlorine needed in a pool (usually 2-3 ppm), and most puplic pools are required to have monitoring systems.
Check with your local YMCA pool and ask them how often the pool is monitored and serviced. Bather loads are usually high in these pools, and most have automated chlorine sanitizing systems.
So I guess I can’t tell you if there is a correlation to stronger chloramine smell vs bacteria. Maybe there’s a chemist here reading ST who does know…
You need to use a soap / cleanser that neutralizes chlorine. There are lots of expensive options but Suave and Loreal both make a kids “sports” version that only cost about 2$ / bottle. I use the Suave, smells like baby aspirin ( to me) and takes away most of that smell. Neutralizing the chemical should cut down on the dry skin but not completly stop it, for dry skin use something like Eucerin lotion.
All these items can be purchased at a local Target, Walgreens, etc.
Bingo, according to a water purification engineer I know. A good article below.
Clearing the Air: Chloramine Control for Indoor Swimming Pools
By Tom Griffiths, Ed.D.
Director of Aquatics, Penn State University
President, Aquatic Safety Research Group, LLC
Perhaps the most perplexing and controversial problem facing heavily used indoor pools today is chloramine production. Chloramines cause obnoxious odors as well as skin, eye, and respiratory irritation that many swimmers mistakenly attribute to chlorine itself. When chloramine levels become troublesome (0.3-0.5 parts per million (ppm)), people begin to complain. And while much finger pointing takes place, often little progress is made in correcting the problem. Swim coaches and competitive swimmers blame the pool operators, while pool operators in turn blame the swimmers; pool chemists blame the ventilation systems, whereas those in charge of air handling blame the water chemistry.
But who truly is to blame? And how is the problem fixed? In reality, everyone is to blame when chloramines are produced, and everyone has a role in controlling them. While a heavily used pool may never be completely chloramine free, you can greatly reduce chloramine production through good pool management practices.
Chronic chloramines and the associated smell and irritation are caused by a variety of factors. Despite what many swimmers assume, the major cause of these problems is too little free chlorine rather than too much! “Free” chlorine, used to kill germs and help prevent the spread of waterborne illnesses, also oxidizes natural waste products from swimmers, including sweat, body oil, urine and other ammonia-nitrogen compounds. If the free chlorine levels are not sufficiently high to oxidize these nitrogenous wastes, the free chlorine combines with them to form noxious cholarmine compounds. Whenever someone calls me with a chloramine problem, the first thing I tell him or her is that once they shock their pool (shock treatment will be discussed below) they should maintain a free residual of 0.5ppm higher than usual. This higher level of chlorine usually does the trick.
Another remedy that is rarely used but very effective is to enforce soap showers prior to swimming. A soap shower will remove excess body oils and sweat, thus greatly reducing the amount of body waste going into the pool. Some pool chemists claim that if everyone showered prior to swimming, it would reduce the chlorine demand by 50%. So perhaps you could get your swimmers to shower if you told them to shower, not because they are dirty but rather because their body oils react with chlorine to produce the smell they hate. Along those lines, competitive swimmers produce a great deal of sweat when they train rigorously. There is absolutely no way to avoid this, so you must plan on combating the perspiration that they will normally and regularly produce.
Even with the cleanest swimmers and the best water chemistry, though, chloramines can be a problem. If you have an energy efficient air handling system that re-circulates the air, often the chloramines are re-circulated and trapped in the building because they cannot escape. Air handling systems must bring in lots of fresh air and exhaust full blast when the pool is busy. If this is not done, chloramines will keep building. If the air handling system does not significantly exceed existing ASHRAE standards, then a heavily used pool will probably have an air quality problem.
Ever notice how you don’t notice chloramine odors at an outdoor pool? As they say, “No harm, no foul.”
Once you have an abundance of chloramines, they are not easy to get rid off. Just like algae growth in swimming pools, the key is prevention. And just like “Layers of Protection” for drowning prevention we also need “Layers of Protection” against chloramines. To help prevent and rid your facility of chloramines once they develop, you may want to experiment with a combination of the following:
“Shock” more often with free chlorine. Shock treatment involves raising the free chlorine level to at least 10 times higher than the combined chlorine level. Weekly is best for most pools but it may be required even more often for extremely heavily used pools.
Use a non-chlorine shocking agent like the monopersulfate-based oxidizers. These reduce chloramines without adding chlorine. Many pool operators find alternating between traditional chlorine and the non-chlorine shocking agents works best.
Add volcanic ash to your sand filters. This holds the ammonia in the filter tanks rather than in the swimming pools. Zeolite works well but must be regenerated to be effective in the long run.
Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) filters may also be added to your existing filtration/circulation systems to remove ammonia that produces chloramines in the pool water.
Anticipate heavy bather loads. When you know your swimming pool is going to be inundated with swimmers either by way of a swim meet, swimming lessons or a huge rental or party, take preventive action prior to the swimmers arrival.
Shock the pool and keep the free chlorine levels up extra high before the swimmers enter the pool. Insist that the group shower before entering. These preventive measures will do wonders in keeping chloramines formation to a minimum.
If you have a good clean source of fresh water, give your filters and extended backwash so that you drain off lots of water (up to 1/3 of your pool volume) and replace it with fresh water.
Vacuuming and brushing your pool daily also removes much of the dirt chlorine reacts with that your filters have not caught yet.
A word of caution – Many water companies are using chloramines to disinfect the water they supply their customers. If your source water is disinfected with chloramines, as many are, you have an uphill battle on your hands. The facility may need to strip the chloramines with a GAC filter as the water enters the building and before it enters the swimming pool.
Finally, most of the “ideal” ranges recommended for chlorine in public swimming pools are simply too low and just plain wrong. Heavily used pools often need 3.0 - 4.0 PPM in order to prevent chloramines. Try running yours higher for six months. You’ll be glad you did.
For more information, refer to Chapter 10: Superchlorination The Complete Swimming Pool Reference, Sagamore Publishing and www.aquaticsafetygroup.com
ps. That is why I also like to swim in the early morning, before everyone else gets in. The pool’s system has had 8 or so hours to clean itself versus trying to keep up with 16 hours of use with people of questionable hygiene. I have noticed a tremendous decrease in smell and skin irritability. Those special soaps are just masking a bigger, nastier problem.