Do your friends know that you’ve been swimming because you get out and your eyes are red? If you dread swimming because you don’t want to deal with sore, red and itchy eyes you need to know how to prevent red eyes from swimming. The best way is to talk with your swimming pool contractor at Imperial Pools, Inc. in Champaign, Illinois to let them know you’re having this issue.
You shouldn’t have to have dry, itchy skin or red eyes when you swim. In fact, swimming should always be a joy! If your pool contractor doesn’t know you’re having the issue, he or she can’t help you. If he knows about the issue he or she can make adjustments to the water and its chemistry to prevent that from happening.
How to prevent red eyes from swimming
You do need chemicals to keep the pool free of bacteria and keep the water clean, but you don’t need to have such high levels that your enjoyment is diminished. Here is what your pool contractor will do
- Determine the pool pH and alkalinity levels. Balances that are too high or too low, will lead to eye redness and skin irritation. Minimizing skin irritation can be accomplished by having proper chemical levels.
- You may need to test the water daily until chemicals are back in balance. It’s a popular myth that strong chlorine odor and eye irritation go hand in hand. They don’t. The smell of chlorine (which should be odorless) means that “free chlorine” reacts with bacteria, ammonia or other waste products in the water.
- Your pool contractor will test for both free and total chlorine. If DIY the pool maintenance you will add chlorine to bring the free chlorine up to 10 times the combined chlorine; if the combined chlorine is 0.2 PPM, you will add 20 PPM free chlorine. This process is called “breakpoint chlorination” or “superchlorination,” the point where the chloramine bonds break apart.
- If all the chemicals are in balance, it could be that you are sensitive to the chemicals in the pool water. Your pool contractor may recommend using an alternative cleaning agent like bromine or biguanide.
Give your pool contractor a call when you notice something out of the ordinary in your pool or in how your eyes and skin react when you get out of the pool. Here’s to an enjoyable summer!