It’s a common situation: we go to a public pool, get into the water, and before long our eyes are red as tomatoes. "They overdid the chlorine" is the most common complaint… but what if chlorine were actually a secondary agent? The other half of the equation goes by the name of chloramines, and their formation is the responsibility of the reaction between chlorine and organic matter. What kind of organic matter? Well… you know.
It’s been years since my last visit to a public pool. At least half a dozen doctors recommended I get back in the water to fix my health issues… to which I said "thanks" and "goodbye." First of all, I don’t have the time, and secondly, the local options don’t have very good hygienic discipline, to say the least. Recent studies indicate that an average pool can contain up to 75 liters of urine, and in hot tubs the concentration is three times higher. Some might think it’s enough to just throw chlorine in the water to kill everything, but the truth is that causes another problem: chloramines.
Irritated eyes in pools
Chloramines arise from the reaction between free chlorine and organic matter in the water, which in addition to urine also includes dead skin, sweat, saliva, hair, oil, feces, and the occasional food remains. The irritant factor of chloramines is considerable, affecting eyes, skin, nose, and respiratory tract. The classic "chlorine smell" in the pool is nothing more than chloramines in gas form, and the claim that there’s "too much chlorine" in the pool when the first signs of irritated eyes appear actually symbolizes the opposite: there isn’t enough free chlorine in the water.
At the same time, the presence of chloramines in a pool affects the quality of athletic practice among swimmers, and those with pre-existing conditions perceive more health problems. Of course, proper chemical treatment can reduce chloramine levels to acceptable parameters, and to this are added additional solutions such as ozonizers or ultraviolet light systems. However, what matters most at the end of the day is the hygiene of the swimmers.
