A chlorine-free pool is a more environmentally friendly choice for someone who wants to swim in a pool that’s better for their skin and hair. This choice also means you won’t need to worry about the distinct smell of chlorine, and it will require less maintenance than a traditional pool.
When you choose a chlorine-free type of pool water, it also has less exposure to any heavy metals, so it’s safer in that way as well. However, chlorine free pools are slightly different from traditional swimming pools. In this article, we give you things you need to know about chlorine free pools.
What Is a Chlorine-Free Pool?
As is the case with most trends, there are various reasons why individuals choose a low-chlorine or a chlorine-free pool.
Many individuals wish to live more environmentally friendly lifestyles, which usually involves less chlorine in their pool. Chlorine is a natural element on Earth, but it’s not used naturally in its purest form.
While a small amount of chlorine is necessary for survival, it can become hazardous in excessive quantities. Using less chlorine in your pool would undoubtedly make it more environmentally friendly.
Some individuals dislike the smell, stinging eyes, and skin irritation associated with chlorinated pools, although most of these symptoms are caused by the chloramines created as chlorine degrades.
Some feel that even at the low concentrations present in a pool, chlorine is harmful to young children, while others just want to save money on their pool chemical bill.
What Are Some Options for a Chlorine-Free Pool?
We’ve noticed that people assume saltwater pools are chlorine-free pools, but this is actually not true. You just don’t need to manually add chlorine to the water because the pool makes its own chlorine through electrolysis.
We recommend that if you truly wish to lessen the amount of chlorine your pool use, look for more advanced technology: UV treatment systems.
No microbe are immune to ultraviolet light, so we noticed that chlorine levels might lessen by almost two-thirds, that’s about 0.5 ppm, and that’s the same level you find in your drinking water. That also says that Ultraviolet light-treated pool consumes far fewer chemicals and requires less backwashing, which helps decrease water and heating expenses.
What’s the Goal With Chlorine-Free Pools?
The goal of chlorine-free pools is to:
- Make the pool more environmentally friendly by minimizing the amount of chlorine in the water typically used.
- To avoid skin irritation or chemical burns, and bleached-out bathing suits.
- To avoid the smell of chlorine.
- To prevent illness due to exposure to bacteria and/or viruses killed by chlorine.
- To be more cost-effective or not be as restricted by the amount of chlorine used.
- To lower pool chemical bill and cut down on pool maintenance.
How to Prevent a Chlorine Allergy?
The terms “hypersensitivity,” “reactions,” and “chlorine allergy” are often used interchangeably. However, the medical community doesn’t recognize the existence of “these terms” since it is not categorized as a disease and has no effect on the immune system.
This is quite unusual for us because there’s sufficient evidence we’ve gathered through our experience as pool owners that chlorine causes irritations or reactions to some people ranging from moderate to severe.
Here are some of our suggestions for those sensitive to chlorine:
- Ensure before taking a swim that the swimming pool chemistry is maintained correctly.
- People who suffer from skin irritations because of chlorine should rinse after swimming to wash out chlorine that’s left to their body.
- For certain types of skin problems, you may use a moisturizer before taking a dip in the pool
- If you have bronchial problems, it would be best to avoid pools with too high chloramine levels because they emit a pungent odor.
- Earplugs and goggles are helpful for people with sensitive ears or eyes.
- Always consult your family physician if you suffer any symptoms after a swim and ask about any measures that may be taken.
- Avoidance is, without a doubt, the best method to avoid chlorine allergy.
Are Chemical-Free Pools Possible?
Over the years of our experience, the truth is that the perfect “chemical-free pool” doesn’t exist, not even if you look in nature. Technically speaking, all matter, including the human body, consists of chemicals to function.
When people refer to a “chemical-free pool,” we assume they are referring to added chemicals that are naturally occurring. Still, under this impression, a chemical-free pool is not realistic or even desirable.
Even from a health viewpoint, operating a pool with no additional “chemicals” to battle germs and pollutants in the water is simply not safe. Without chemicals, a swimming pool is an ideal breeding ground for germs, viruses, and parasites.
Chemicals Are Important
Chemicals can be totally harmless, or they can be very toxic. For instance, to be drinkable, our drinking water contains liquid chlorine, fluorosilicic acid, aluminum sulfate, calcium hydroxide, and sodium silicofluoride. What matters is not always the chemicals present in your water but the concentration of those chemicals.
Tap water includes 4 ppm of chlorine, which is the approved amount deemed drinkable by the EPA. Although we consume these chemicals regularly, we rarely notice the taste and rarely suffer any harmful side effects.
In fact, these compounds are sometimes the only thing keeping us out from water-borne diseases. Chemicals are not the enemy. On the contrary, I’s our ally, as long as we utilize them wisely and in moderation.
Sanitizers Are Necessary
Each pool must have a specific amount of chemicals to be safe to swim in. Safety is far more essential than the romantic ideal of “chemical-free” and should always be the number one goal for pool or spa maintenance.
Almost any (sane) individual would choose a pool with chemicals fighting harmful bacteria and contaminants rather than an unsafe pool without added chemicals. This is why chlorine has been widely used in swimming pools for decades, and people would not use it if it weren’t required for safety.
Bottom Line
Certain companies advertise their pool products as “chemical-free,” but those companies are deceiving the buyer, or their products are unsafe for swimming. The reality is that it’s impossible to maintain safe pool water without at least some chlorine or an alternative sanitizer.
Read the articles below to learn what you need to do to worry less about your pool. Visit our website to read all our articles. You’ll find answers to your pool questions in no time with these articles. Here are a few of them. I hope you have a great time swimming!
