How do I neutralize pool chlorine?

[Flatliner]

Hi all,

I am looking for ideas. My son and I are going to be diving at the YMCA pool a couple of times a week this winter. How can we keep our gear safe from the chlorine? I have considered a large rinse tank with the chlorine treatment that they make for fish tanks but I don't know enough chemistry to know if this would be ok.

Does anyone have any home brewed neutralizer that would be cheaper and ok to use?

Thanks in advance.

[crpntr133]

If it is like most public pools you are probably going to have some odd colored gear. Rinse really well right after getting out and you might be fine.
They also sell a solution that is used for bathing suits and such. Not sure of the name but my GF used it for her swimming classes because the chlorine faded her first suit really bad.

[bperrybap]

I found that some pools are so overly chlorinated that
even immediate rinsing isn't enough.
I did some pool dives and the rash guard I had on smelled
of strong chlorine even after several washings/rinsings
and even drying.
I was amazed that the chlorine smell lingered.
I figured that it couldn't be good for the rest of the gear.
Since I have several large aquariums I tried using
some of the de-chlorinator I use on my fish tanks. It worked
like a charm. Removed the chlorine smell completely.
Now I use it on all my gear when I do my final rinsings in
the bathtub.

Top-Fin makes an inexpensive product that you can pick
up at Walmart.

--- bill

[wkowalski]

Sodium thiosulfate is a chlorine neutralizer. If you can't find it locally you can get it online (http://www.chemistrystore.com/sodium_thiosulfate.htm)

Wayne...

[quasimoto]

Goodluck! If it is as strong as most public pools you will have some funky colored gear. I have also heard that chlorine is hard on neoprene.

[James]

Originally Posted by quasimoto

I have also heard that chlorine is hard on neoprene.

That is true. Chlorine is hard on everything because it is an oxidizer.
Chlorine is not the only thing that can affect you in the pool.
If saturation index in the pool water is too high, it will leave a white residu behind when it dries. If it is too low, the water could be corrosive. The corrosion would show up in any jewlery you are wearing before it shows in stainless steel. It would also turn the pool water a copper green color becasue it would corrode the inside of the heaters too.

I know about pool chemistry because I used to work with computerized chemical controlers so I could tell you how it effects everything from the pump room, to the pool surface, to the air in the room the indoors pool is located, but I do not know enough about scuba gear to say how much it will be affected. I do know, however, that a swimsuit will fade over time even if you rinse off after getting out of the pool.

If you are just looking for something to get the residual chlorine off your gear the aquarium treatment should work fine. It cannot be too harsh of a chemical if fish can live with it. Thiosulfate can be found in most pool stores and its ph should be pretty close to neutral so that should not hurt anything. But rememebr, while your gear is in the pool is when it will be most affected by the chlorine and ph.

[jo8243]

They sell chlorine neutralizer at swimming pool shops, but I think most of the damage will be done while you're in the water, not afterwards. You want to rinse with fresh water and that should probably be enough.

[comet24]

Rinse it as soon as you get out of the water and that will do about as much as you can. The chlorine will do the damage while in the water. No need to spend money on Sodium Thiosulfate. For it to have a effect you would have to rinse the gear in a solution of it as soon as you got out.

Chlorine in public pools is normally around 3.5ppm. Most health department regulate it to between 1.5-5ppm some will let you go up to 10ppm.

[Lone Frogman]

Buy a test kit and test the water before you get in. If the chlorine level is too high don't get in. Bring your concern to the aquatics director. If they fail to act bring your concern to the health department. Burning eyes and strong chlorine smells means the combined chlorine is too high. When the combined chlorine gets too high, the pool needs to be shocked. High combined chlorine levels actually cause the chlorine to be less effective. Shocking the pool is the way to remove the chloramines and allow the free chlorine to do its sanitation.
I dive pools for work, some of the pools I dive for work have a free chlorine as high as 30PPM. Some of my gear has shown some fading, but in the last 12 years I have no equipment damaged by high chlorine levels. However I the rinse my gear inside and out immediately after using.

[Ramgib]

I know that some people will wet/soak gear in fresh water just before entering pool. They say it slows the obsorbtion of the cholorinated water. Not sure how true this is.