How to Minimize Chlorine Exposure When Swimming

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Health » How to Minimize Chlorine Exposure When Swimming

We go to great lengths to remove chlorine (and other contaminants) in our drinking water and shower water, and it made me think about the effect of this common chemical in swimming pools and how much that exposure can affect us.

The Problem With Chlorine

You don’t even have to swim in the pool to be affected by some of the health risks. Chlorinated pools and other water sources also release chloramines.

Chloramine is a gas that smells like chlorine and you’ve probably smelled this in hotels with indoor pools.

Sweat, sunscreens, urine, and other chemicals and waste combine with chlorine to create chloramines. This oxidized chlorine gas and is present in the air around chlorinated pools and other water sources. As you can imagine, this is especially a concern in indoor pools without ventilation but can also be problematic in outdoor pools.

Negative Effects of Chloramines

A strong smell of chlorine is a pretty good indication that there are chloramines in a pool. This potent gas can also cause symptoms like coughing and sinus irritation. On the more serious end, it can cause symptoms like wheezing and even increasing asthma symptoms.

The CDC reports that:

Breathing of irritants may increase sensitivity to other types of irritants such as fungi and bacteria.

Even the American Academy of Pediatrics acknowledges the dangers of Chlorine. Their study of over 800 children revealed that chlorine exposure had a noticeable effect on children with allergies or asthma. They also found that even children without allergies or asthma were affected by prolonged or regular chlorine exposure.

What to Do?

Our whole family loves the water, so while not swimming and filtering our home water would eliminate chlorine exposure, I’m not quite ready to throw the baby out with the pool water!

Thankfully, there are a few things that can be done to help minimize chlorine exposure:

  1. Avoid chlorinated pools whenever possible. In many places there are options that use salt filters (though these still contain chlorine but in smaller amounts) or UV filters. There are often great places to swim outdoors in some places. Obviously, not swimming in water sources that use chlorine is an easy way to reduce exposure. Thankfully, our local indoor pool uses salt and UV filters and no chlorine.
  2. Use Vitamin C: Check out this great article and the attached lectures for a great background on how vitamin C helps neutralize chlorine and undo the damage of chlorine exposure. Turns out taking vitamin C (ascorbic acid) internally and making some type of solution to rub on the skin can reduce a lot of exposure. Turns out they even make vitamin C shower filters that are pretty inexpensive and which dechlorinate shower water. Since vitamin C is often used in anti-aging serums, this is a win-win solution!
  3. Protect the skin: Providing a physical barrier on the skin with an oil can also help reduce exposure. I like using my homemade lotion and adding vitamin C. It is great for skin and protects from chlorine exposure (recipe below!). A commenter pointed out that many public pools do not allow lotions on the skin before using the pool so check with the rules if you use a public pool and check with your pool instructions if using your own pool.

Do You Have a Pool?

If you have a pool and swim regularly, the effects of chlorine exposure can be even more pronounced. Thankfully, if you own a pool, you also have the ability to control the methods used and limit your chlorine exposure.

There are many great chlorine-free filtration options available now. If you are building a pool, you can start with one of these for about the same price as a regular chlorine pump and system. If you already have a pool, you can convert it relatively easily to a chlorine-free system.

Chlorine-Free Systems

Many places now offer UV based systems that require minimal or no chlorine to operate. These systems kill over 99% of bacteria on their own, so trace amounts of other chemicals can be used. Our method is to use a UV filter and pump system and use food grade hydrogen peroxide as a safety net.

The goal with hydrogen peroxide is to keep it at about 50 ppm. We use simple test strips to test and add about 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide per 1000 gallons of water every couple of weeks.

The important note here is to use food grade 35% hydrogen peroxide. The stuff from the drugstore is only 3% and you’d need a whole to shock a pool. 35% hydrogen peroxide is super concentrated, so use caution when handling it, but it is completely safe once in the pool because it is diluted so much.

Not only is this the most natural method I’ve found, it has been really simple to use and the only other factor we have to look at is balancing the pH. It is also pretty comparable cost-wise to other methods.

If you swim in a pool that isn’t your own or can’t convert to a chlorine-free system, something as simple as a de-chlorinating lotion can help. It can also be helpful to shower in a shower with a vitamin C filter before and after swimming.

How to Make a DIY Dechlorinating Lotion

When we are going to swim, we apply a quick lotion barrier to the skin. (Skip to the end of this post to find a simple sunscreen recipe that will do double duty.)

How to Make Lotion

  1. Combine oils and beeswax in a pint sized or larger glass jar. I have a mason jar that I keep just for making lotions and lotion bars, or you can even reuse a glass jar from pickles, olives or other foods.
  2. In another small jar or bowl, add the vitamin c powder to the warm water and stir until dissolved.
  3. Fill a medium saucepan with a couple inches of water and place the jar with the oils inside the saucepan and turn on medium heat.
  4. As the water heats, the ingredients in the jar will start to melt. Shake or stir occasionally to incorporate. When all ingredients are completely melted, pour into a small blender or food processor. (Keep in the jar if using an immersion blender that will fit in the top of the jar.)
  5. With blender or food processor on, slowly add the water/vitamin C mixture until blended and emulsified.
  6. Store in an air-tight glass jar.
  7. Use before swimming (preferably after rinsing skin) to minimize chlorine exposure. This is purposefully a small batch since no preservatives are used and it will only last one swim season.
  8. Enjoy and be chlorine free!

Other Options (No DIY required)

Those who use sunscreen can add vitamin C powder to pre-made sunscreen to get the benefits of chlorine reduction and sun protection at the same time.

This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Shani Muhammad, MD, board certified in family medicine and has been practicing for over ten years. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor or work with a doctor at SteadyMD.

Do you worry about chlorine exposure? How do you avoid it?

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Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

180 responses to “How to Minimize Chlorine Exposure When Swimming”

  1. Karen Avatar

    As Ryan said, a salt water pool is a chlorine pool. It manufactures the chlorine in your pool system so you don’t need to buy or handle chlorine.

    This appears to be a good alternative freshwater system with good reviews and it is available in the US. enviroswim.com

    1. Warren Avatar

      I had a salt water pool at my home in Melbourne, Australia until 2015. The salt in the water is broken down by the electrolysis unit to create chlorine. I was unimpressed by the cost of running it, and the quantity and cost of the other chemicals that the pool maintainer insisted were necessary to keep the pool healthy. I considered the ozone and hydrogen peroxide systems but dismissed them because of the dangerous nature of the chemicals that must be stored on site to be fed into the pool. I was most impressed when I discovered that the Enviroswim system was developed at the request of the Queensland state government after several children died in public pools because the existing chlorine based systems did not kill some of the most dangerous bacteria found in public pools. When my salt chlorinator unit became unreliable due to an electronic fault, I replaced it with an Enviroswim system. Enviroswim uses an ultrasonic chamber to destroy large organisms in the water, and a pair of copper and silver electrodes to kill bacteria. The water is now almost completely free of salt. It has cut down my maintenance and power costs and virtually eliminated the need for chemical additives apart from a small amount of acid to balance the alkilinity from the concrete structure of the pool. The air around the pool smells better and the metal fittings do not corrode as quickly as they did previously. But, the major change was that I had to dismiss the previous pool maintenance company because they kept on adding chemicals that were unnecessary and interfered with the Enviroswim system. I have since realised that there are many ways of creating safe swimming water, but the pool equipment and chemical industry promotes the ones that ensure a perpetual flow of chemicals into my pool water and cash into their pockets.

  2. Susie B. Avatar
    Susie B.

    This is a general question. I just made your sunscreen and bug-off lotion bars and am very happy with them so far, so I will continue to use them. My question is do you have a quick and dirty way to clean the bowls, pots, utensils, etc.? I found the cleanup was messy and took a while, and I’m just wondering if I did it the hard way. Love your blog BTW!

    1. Amanda Avatar

      Use liquid Castile soap straight from the bottle. I used to loathe the cleanup job until I discovered this. It makes cleaning the oils and waxes off quick and easy. I keep an unscented bottle of castile soap around specifically for cleanup.

  3. elle Avatar

    Could you please share a substitute for the Vitamin C and Coconut Oil? My son has sensitivities to both. Thanks so much!

  4. Naomi Avatar

    Katie,
    I see you link to NOW ascorbic acid here and Camu pwdr in your Vit C face serum. I would like to order just one for both, which do you recommend. Obviously there is a large price difference but if the Camu is worth the money, I would buy it.
    Thanks,
    Naomi

      1. Antonio Avatar
        Antonio

        Your website is awesomely incredibly informative, thoroughly. Socially powerfully useful. We need seriously that sort of professionalism, objective thinking. Thank you. It makes you hero, socially. That’s what responsible economics, business itself is about

      2. Antonio Avatar
        Antonio

        By the way, a question about the lotion to protect against pool chlorine:
        Since it is commonly recommended to get your skin thoroughly wet before going into the pool, do you apply this lotion of yours before thoroughly wetting your skin?

  5. Zie Avatar

    Hi Kathie,

    Thanks for this recipe.i’ve tried this. I have few questions, it is like body butter consistency after you put the vit c mixture. Is there anyway to dissolve the vit c without water because i’ve tried to dissolve it with oil but it dies not dilute. I would like to make it as lotion bar. And can you please suggest me how to combine this recipe with zinc oxide so that i can have de-chlorine bar and uv protection as well?

    1. Rachael Luna Avatar
      Rachael Luna

      I second this request. A lotion bar style decolorinator WITH added zinc oxide as UV protection would be brilliant. Especially on the kids who will generally only tolerate one lotion application, particularly while waiting to jump in the water!!

  6. Ryan Avatar

    The thing is, don’t be fooled by the salt systems, they are simply a chlorine generator. They use electrodes to break the bond between sodium and chlorine. So, chlorine is still present and it actually is, in some cases, at a higher level than in a normally chlorinated pool. The REAL solution is to use a couple systems together like the UV system, an OZONE system and something to give the water residual fighting power like a copper ionizer. I’m using OZONE Joes, a UV system and a Go Chemless on my pool and I am chlorine-free! 🙂

    Great article, I agree, chlorine has GOT TO GO!

    1. Eric Mickley Avatar
      Eric Mickley

      Thank you for the advice. I am an active athletic 51 year old former competitive track athlete, Power Lifter and Jiu-Jitsu wrestler. I now have a hip implant (a BHR resurfacing) and I am having terrible problems with it since I bought my new house with its own pool. I am beginning to suspect it is due to the chlorine in my new pool dehydrating my body. My hip implant relies on a natural fluid barrier for the metal “ball” to “glide” in the metal socket, without this fluid barrier, my hip grinds during movement. I began to notice a correlation between my hip worsening and my time in or exposure to my chlorinated pool. I then read a doctors article stating that dehydration is the most likely cause of my implant grinding. I tried staying out of the pool for a few days and my hip returned to normal. It would be a major bummer if I could not use the new pool. I love swimming in it. Hopefully these alternative systems you mentioned will not dry out my body like the Chlorine. Thank you again for the advice.

  7. Kirsten McCulloch Avatar
    Kirsten McCulloch

    As my middle daughter’s swimming lessons are about to start back up (in a chlorinated pool I’m afraid), this post was well timed for me. Thanks for the lotion recipe, I will be making some up. And, thanks for the tip of making it right in a jar – I’ve never done that before. Awesome!

  8. Dawn Hurst Avatar
    Dawn Hurst

    I have felt frustrated with this very subject lately and
    wondered what I could do to protect my two year old daughter. My family thinks
    I’m crazy already, but I swear this dermatitis covering her wasn’t there until
    she took swimming lessons and swam in my in laws pool. Keep thinking since the
    skin is such a detoxifying organ and she is so clean that this is the reason
    for the reaction. I’ve been covering her in coconut oil which seems to really
    be helping, but all ears for anything else I can do.

    1. Joy Avatar

      if coconut oil isn’t doing the trick as rapidly as you’d like, i found jojoba oil to be extremely effective in treating my dishidrotic eczema and seabuckthorn oil helps to combat redness.

        1. Melissa Avatar
          Melissa

          I use almond oil on my skin after swimming, works amazingly! Though for extra sensitive dry spots (I have a pretty bad reaction to chlorine, but have no other options for swimming where I live) I have to use cetaphil on those areas. Only thing that works for me. :/

          Don’t tell our gym, but for those very small patches I cover them with a thin film of straight lanolin before swimming for a good layer of protection, it’s amazing! Those spots are also covered by my swimsuit, so I assume very, very little would make it into the pool. Unlike a lotion would, because it’s soooo thick and doesn’t wash off easily.

          Also, to get the chlorine smell off, I use vitamin c powder mixed in water and spray on my and my husband’s body immediately after swimming, and then shower. I use it in my hair as well, works like a charm!

          I use about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon vitamin c to 1 spray bottle of water.

    2. Danna Avatar

      Have you tried an iodine supplement or kelp (kombu)? Iodine is a helpful halogen that will displace the other ones in the body: fluorine, chlorine, bromine.

      Dr. Jorge Flechas recommend about 12000 mcg daily. This is just under the 13000 mcg/day that Japanese usually consume on a daily basis. Might need to be on the watch for a detox reaction, but these levels are very safe.

      https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/04/iodine-deficiency-affect-childs-brain-function.aspx

      1. Lori Avatar

        I’ve read in many different sources that iodine is a weaker halide than any of the harmful halides like: chlorine, fluoride or bromide. So the harmful ones will get into the iodine cell receptors and block iodine from getting in.

          1. Lori Avatar

            Your observation about iodine being the heavier halide on the Periodic table and therefore the stronger halide sounds logical but…
            Actually, it’s the other way around. Iodine is displaced by lighter halogens, and they displace one another. For example, bromine displaces iodine, but chlorine displaces bromine, and fluoride displaces all of the above! For more information on various forms of iodine and more about halogen displacement, check out http://www.squidoo.com/IodineHealth

            Bromine — The Bully of the Halide Group

            When you ingest or absorb bromine, it displaces iodine, and this iodine deficiency leads to an increased risk for cancer of the breasti, thyroid gland, ovary, and prostate — cancers that we see at alarmingly high rates today. This phenomenon is significant enough to have been given its own name – the Bromide Dominance Theory.ii

            https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/05/another-poison-hiding-in-your-environment.aspx

            There is so much conflicting info out there. It’s so hard for a regular person to sift through it all and figure out what is accurate and what is not. When even the top experts have differing opinions, then it makes a difficult situation impossible! I guess you just have to pick which expert you are going to believe and try to avoid as many toxins as possible because unlike our grandparents, we are bombarded every day and our bodies weren’t designed to deal with this many toxins at once. When the body is overloaded and constantly trying to get rid of toxins, it can’t do what it’s supposed to do, like make necessary hormones, repair damage, etc.

  9. Simon Wilkins Avatar
    Simon Wilkins

    In response to Ghada629 – yes, oil will combine with chlorine in the pool, reduce the active chlorine in the water, increase the amount of disinfection byproducts in the water and in the air. The pool operator will need to counter this input of extra bather pollution by further increasing the volume of chlorine being added to the pool.
    The best way of reducing smells in chlorinated pools… is to wash thoroughly before getting in. Operators can only reduce chlorine concentrations as part of a combined effort with the general public. Cleaner swimmers equate to lower pool disinfectant requirements… Eg. less chlorine.
    If all the swimmers at a pool coat themselves with oil prior to bathing, the pool water quality will deteriorate rapidly. It wont be a very pleasant place to swim at all.

  10. Michelle Avatar
    Michelle

    We have some pools sterilized with ozone here in BC, Canada, which apparently does not eliminate but reduces the amount of chlorine used. I am sure your UV and salt water pools are the thing of the future. How great!

    I used to use ascorbic acid in the bath, then became concerned when I heard GMOs. By googling I came across a few brands that is non corn dervied and guarantee no GMOs. Have not tried any yet but they are out there if the NOW brand makes people uneasy. This is what NOW says on their site….

    For example, pure natural vitamin C is produced from corn by only five production facilities in the world. None are in the United States, where GMO corn is all too common. All are from Europe and the Far East, situated in countries that (to date) have restrictions that do not allow GMO food corn to be grown there. Our producers have given us statements to confirm that their corn sources are non-GMO, but the documentation doesn’t extend back to the farm level. Testing for GMOs has not found that any is detectable in vitamin C. We have done all that is currently possible to assure that our vitamin C is non-GMO, and continue to monitor the situation to ensure this is maintained in the future.

  11. Michelle Cohn Avatar
    Michelle Cohn

    Thanks for the great article! Is there a way to preserve your lotion recipe?

    1. Howard Avatar

      Vitamin C is very sensitive to heat and oxidation and is readily denatured especially when exposed to water. I wonder if instead of straight vitamin C we might not use the fat-soluble form of Vitamin C which is Ascorbyl Palmitate. This is a food industry preservative whose components are, C which is ascorbic acid and palmitic acid. Our bodies convert excess carbs into palmitic acid.
      In the above formula, 2 tsp of vitamin C may be 10 grams of straight ascorbic acid. Whereas, 1 gram of Ascorbyl Palmitate would contain 400 mg. of Ascorbic Acid. An equivalent amount of Vitamin C in the lotion would mean adding 25 grams of Ascorbyl Palmitate. @ $18 per 8oz bottle, it’s affordable and interesting. I will see how the lotion looks as I slowly add the Ascorbyl Palmitate.

  12. Anin Avatar

    The review on that shower filter was terrible. Everyone said it leaked. I wonder if there is a homemade option or how one would go about making one…

    1. Nina Avatar

      My family uses the following shower head and we think it does a great job…
      showerfilterstore.com/shop/omica-shower-filter-removes-fluoride-chlorine-chloramine-lead-vocs/

  13. Laura Avatar

    I feel like chlorine is a moot point with all the fluoride in our pool water. Fluoride has a lower relative atomic weight (or mass) than chlorine, so it will displace chlorine (and bromine and iodine). Therefore that is my real concern and I don’t think there is much I can do about fluoride in my water. I wish I only had to worry about chlorine!

    1. JOAN Avatar

      hi

      LAURA THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT FLUORIDE, I DISTILL MY DRINKING WATER WHICH TAKES ALL NASTY ADDITIVES OUT LEAVING IT PURE WATER,IF ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE MINERALS, YOU CAN ALWAYS ADD THE MINERALS BACK BY ADDING ORGANIC SEA SALT. I WASH SHOWER WITH RAIN WATER, IF YOU HAVE A GOOD DIET YOU WOULDN’T NEED TO ADD YOUR MINERALS BACK TO THE DISTILLED WATER,AS YOU WOULD GET THEM VIA YOUR DIET! HOPE THIS HELPS.

      LOOK UP THE FLUORIDE FREE WEBSITE IN YOUR STATE! FOR MORE INFORMATION!

    2. Lori Avatar

      There are filters that remove fluoride from drinking water. The Big Berkey is one. The AlexaPro Pure is another – it is a brand new gravity filtering system. Both of these are portable so you can take them with you when you move. I’ve also read about a new technology that is currently in production and coming out soon. It is a stand-alone counter top reverse osmosis and filtering system that does not require being connected to your plumbing or electricity to work. So it too can be portable.

      All three of these water filtration systems have had 3rd party testing done that proves they remove all the contaminants they claim to remove, including fluoride, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, bacteria, pesticides, herbicides, chlorine, chloramines, etc.

      Sadly, it’s much more expensive to run a whole-house filtration system to remove all these harmful chemicals so we don’t have to bathe in them. But filtering drinking/cooking water has to be better than doing nothing at all!

      1. Tara Avatar

        Lori, you can use a shower filter (I like the Sprite brand, available on Amazon) if you don’t have a whole-house filter.

        1. Lori Avatar

          Thanks Tara for the suggestion. To my knowledge there isn’t a shower filter that removes fluoride and chloramines. If someone knows of one, I’d sure like to hear about it! I’m pretty sure the Sprite brand doesn’t. It only claims to remove chlorine on their website, which wouldn’t do me any good.

          Our water no longer has chlorine added to it. They switched to adding Chloramines instead a few years ago. I’ve looked into it. Most basic filters don’t remove or even reduce chloramines at all. But adding 1000 mg of vitamin C to the bath water and letting it sit for a short while binds up the chloramines making it less harmful. It doesn’t have any effect on the fluoride though. So short of heating my filtered water for the bathtub, which would take a great deal of time, I don’t have any other choice but to bathe in fluoride. Yuck!

          1. Tara Avatar

            Hi Lori, I didn’t realize you are dealing with chloramines rather than chlorine in your water supply. Our water here has chlorine added, rather than chloramine. So I use a shower filter, though as you said, that kind of filter doesn’t help with fluoride. I do have a whole-house filter, which removes chlorine/chloramines, fluoride, etc, and then use the shower filter as an extra layer of protection. Have you checked your local water report to see if the fluoride is from natural erosion or if it is added to the water? I use and recommend the Pure Effects filters — both the whole-house filter and the countertop and under-counter filters.

            They remove fluoride very effectively (fluoride is particularly hard to remove, from what I understand, and the effectiveness levels tend to wane over the life of most filters, but the PE filters have very good fluoride removal capacity). I also like that the water is always available, rather than having to fill the Berkey over and over (I used to do that and am very happy not to have to any longer). The filters also remove radiation, pharmaceutical residues, VOCs, heavy metals, and many other offenders, in addition to the chlorine/chloramine and fluoride. If you are at some point able to purchase the whole-house filter from Pure Effects, that would take care of all the contaminants that are of primary concern for you (chloramines, fluoride), as well as all the other categories of contaminants (which I’m sure you would prefer to be rid of as well), and then you could add a shower filter just for removing anything picked up from the pipes in your home. I wish you well. I know it’s challenging to figure all these things out. I hope this info is helpful.

    3. annette Avatar
      annette

      fluoride is rat poison!
      when you jump into a pool full of chlorine.(base ingredient of bleach!)
      your liver and kidneys start to clean/filter the poison er sorry chlorine out of the water.
      so instead of the water cleaning you. You are cleaning the water!! with your liver and kidneys.
      get a bottle of domestos and read the label. quote..it may release DANGEROUS gasses (chlorine)

      1. Shasha Avatar

        Coumadin is rat poison as it thins blood, but Cl/F/Br are all in the same chemical family and block iodine which is needed for the thyroid. Yes…I have 2nd thoughts about swimming compared to a walk in the sunlight.

  14. Kristen Avatar

    This is perfect timing as we are moving into a house with a chlorine pool. It does have the option to switch back to salt water, which I really want to do. Is there still some chlorine present in salt pools? Is there anything to watch out for with salt pools and does it need to also have a UV filter? Thanks!!

    1. Kristen Avatar

      Also isn’t salt water just the same as chlorine since by the time the salt gets to the pool it is chlorine? I’ve heard salt water is the same as chlorine just a cheaper option. I think we’ll wait till we can get a UV filter with it as this would reduce the overall need for salt/chlorine.

      1. jake Avatar

        Actually there is a huge difference between salt being changed to “chlorine” and commercial chlorine used in pools. The commercial chlorine has several other chemical added to stabilize the concentrated chlorine because it is dangerous by itself, for shipping and handling. Salt on the other hand is stable and harmless and the concentration can be easily adjusted to lower levels in a pool.

    2. douglas Avatar

      salt pools..sodium chloride..na cl….add an electron to the water and there you have it…you have made sodium hypochlorite…bleach….thats all there is to a salt pool…you have made bleach…the chlorine gas is used to kill bacteria…and revert back to salt…and the process begins again…so yes there is chlorine in a salt pool

      1. annette Avatar
        annette

        I read somewhere that chlorine was Hitler’s poison gas!
        and a busload of school children was carted off to the hospital after
        the council put too much in the “new” swimming pool in winsford Cheshire.
        I have spent long hours on the phone trying to find a SAFE place to swim but to date have
        drawn a blank?
        went to the beach at new Brighton but the stench of raw sewerage soon changed my mind.
        please let me know if anyone finds a safe place to swim.

        1. Shasha Avatar

          Hi, My spa has Cl made on demand so it is less strong and taking a shower before swimming…get hair/body wet may prevent the stronger Cl from being absorbed. Iodine may help push Cl/F/Br out of the body. Yes…it is hard to swim in lake full of living microorganisms and sewage is not good. They used to swim at a quarry, but people urinated in the water and polluted it. Too bad. Fluorine in tap water also is not good…Nazi’s used F to make people more passive as it blocks thyroid like Cl/Br.

        2. jake Avatar

          Nope! The gas used by Hitler was Zyklon B (in the form of small lumps of diatomite soaked in prussic acid), and contrary to the “official” holocaust story, the only thing gassed was clothing and bedding to kill the typhus virus that was rampant in the camps. It is the reason that the bodies were so emaciated.

        3. Patricia Broderick Avatar
          Patricia Broderick

          Swimming at the YMCA has been a Godsend for my mental and physical help. I’ve gone through 10 back neck surgeries so the pool has been extremely helpful. I’ve been swimming for along time but for some reason I have atopical dermatitis and I flare up if I swim what do I do??im on DUPIXENT for 3 months but still itching

      2. Mary Avatar

        yes this is true. We have a salt water system and would never go back to straight chlorine. The salt water system is programmed to begin chlorinating at night when everyone is out of the pool. It generates chlorine for 4 hours, at which time you can smell a faint chlorine aroma. By morning though, the smell has dissipated and the water disinfected. When we used chlorine tabs, the chlorine smell was very apparent all the time, bathing suits wore out quickly, and eyes were bloodshot from the water. With the salt water system, our pool water stays clean and swimmers are much more comfortable. Swimming in the salt water is akin to a pleasant relaxing epsom salts bath, and keeping eyes open underwater is not painful in the least. The concentration of salt in the pool is similar to the natural saline content of human tears.

        The cost savings is also a huge plus. Including the initial investment of the system and adding two to three bags of water softener salt each year, we cut the cost of disinfecting the pool, Pool chlorine tabs are quite expensive and we are saving money in the long run by not using them, not to mention the savings in not needing to replace bathing suits until out grown.

        There is much more sodium in the ocean than in a salt water pool. I feel, for my family that the salt water system is a huge improvement over a chlorinated pool. I am confident that I am doing what is best for my family

      3. Lori Avatar

        I’m no biochemist, so I don’t know anything about how sodium hypochlorite or “bleach” is formed in pool water but I have read that bleach is bioaccumulative in the body and we should avoid it because it is possible that it will bioaccumulate into dangerously toxic levels.

        Also, perhaps the largest danger from swimming in pool chemicals is in how it affects our gut microbiome. Anything that kills bacteria in a pool is also going to kill the beneficial bacteria in our digestive system because it is absorbed directly through our pores.

        Long-term swimmers frequently suffer from leaky gut syndrome and the swimming pool chemicals are at the root of the problem. Leaky gut syndrome can lead to things like IBS, skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis, and eventually many other autoimmune disorders. Daily probiotics supplements is absolutely necessary for anyone having long-term exposure to pool chemicals, and maybe even the exposure we get just from daily showering.

        Another harm is caused by the chlorine and fluoride from water getting into the iodine receptors that are located on almost every cell in our body. It displaces the iodine that we need for proper thyroid function.

  15. Sarah Dyer Avatar
    Sarah Dyer

    This is quite depressing for me to read. After 7 years of swimming competitively, I worked 30+ hrs a week in an indoor, chlorinated, swimming pool for 5 years. I spent about 2/3 of my time teaching lessons in the water (usually 4-5 hrs at a time) and the other 1/3 life guarding and breathing the very poorly ventilated air. I spent another 2 hrs as an aquatic director, so not as closely exposed but still–everyday–even my office smelled like chlorine! Hopefully I won’t see any severe adverse effects but I guess it’s too late for prevention at this point! Yikes!

    1. Erika Avatar

      It’s never too late to reverse the affects of any contamination. I’d suggest following a cancer diet for 3 months to detox, sleep by 10, take a walk in the sun every day, and you should be good to go!

    2. Deborah Avatar

      Well, if it helps..I not only grew up with a swimming pool since I was four, I also swam in college, became a lifeguard and swimming instructor for seven years, and also swam in indoor pools regularly in my thirties(even when pregnant!)…..and I am now 61. I haven’t swam for a long time due to severe injury and I am starting again today. It is very difficult to locate a non chlorine pool, and although I don’t like chlorine, swimming is an incomparable exercise and I believe the good outweighs the bad, given the info in these comments..we can protect our skin with better solutions now.

      1. Lucy Steinlage Avatar
        Lucy Steinlage

        Hey Deborah,
        I am 61 too! Same story for me although I have only been teaching for the last 8.5 years. I am trying to figure a natural healer for my skin; my skin isn’t so pretty, but I love the exercise of doing my water workout, 2000 yards usually…
        Let me know how you’re doing with you new water exercise!
        Lucy

      2. apz Avatar

        My mom was a competitive swimmer for 30 years, she swam until 6 months pregnant with me. And put me in a pool since 6 months of age…She is now 63 and on thyroid medication, I always wondered if the constant chlorine exposure had anything to do with her thyroid problems. I got her a Berkey filter to try to help reduce her chlorine and fluoride exposure.

  16. Sterling Hutchinson Avatar
    Sterling Hutchinson

    Any tips for hair that is damaged by chlorinated pools? I recently was in a heavily chlorinated pool for diving lessons all day and came out with hair like straw. Usually coconut oil seems to do the trick but not this time!

    1. Erin Avatar

      I’m a swim instructor, and I use jojoba oil in my hair after washing.

    2. Shasha Avatar

      Take a shower before entering the pool so skin/hair are already saturated with water so the stronger Cl water can’t soak in as much.

    3. Sarah C Avatar
      Sarah C

      I swim a lot and have struggled with straw like hair. I use non-toxic shampoo and conditioner all the time anyway but after a swim, I coat my hair with organic coconut oil and let it sit for 10-20 minutes. Then I wash with my usual shampoo with some baking soda added in my palm. Usual conditioner and I’m all set with clean soft hair again 🙂 The baking soda helps remove the elements that are deposited on the hair shaft during swimming. This has worked for me even if a wait a few days to do this detailed regimen.

      1. lydia Avatar

        I read somewhere that if you soak your hair with club soda before swimming it… okay I can’t remember what, exactly, but it’s supposed to let less chlorine penetrate the shaft of your hair. Baking soda will do some mechanical damage over time – you might try club soda before hand to see if it helps.

        1. Shasha Avatar

          HI, Interesting! Try it and let us know if it helps. Happiness….

  17. Linda Sand Avatar
    Linda Sand

    Most public pools will not let you in if they know you’ve spread oil and wax on your skin. It clogs up their filters. That’s why they ask you to shower before entering the pool. Just hydrate your skin and hair in the shower before entering the pool then shower again after and you should be fine.

    1. Caitlin Avatar
      Caitlin

      Totally agree, and as an ex-lifeguard cleaning the scum off the pool this is definely not a good idea in my books.

      1. apz Avatar

        My private and expensive gym never cleaned the grease off the pool walls, right where I touch to turn. Never cleaned the tiles in the 15 years I went there. But those were very lazy lifeguards. I worked as a guard for a summer and did plenty of pool cleaning myself. Cleaning the tiles at the water line was literally a 30 min job.

    2. Sandy Avatar

      You should be fine? I don’t think that’s good enough. If your liver and kidneys are filtering this water I don’t think any amount of showering is going to help

  18. Laura Avatar

    Oh, this has me worried to anxiety. I do everything possible to keep my kids healthy which includes weekly swim lessons. Sigh.

  19. Hada Avatar

    Unfortunately I don’t have salted pools around me and due to my bad knees,i get a good workout in the pool in the gym 🙁 my question is,i heard that you’re not suppose to use oils I’m the pool cause it combines with the chlorine? Is that true? If it’s how can you use this lotion before swimming? I also heard you should shower in cold water before getting in the pool to hydrate your skin and it absorb less of the chlorinated water and drink plenty of water, which is hard to do right before cause than you end up leaving the pool alot to go to the bathroom 🙂

    1. annette Avatar
      annette

      when you jump into a pool full of chlorine.(base ingredient of bleach!)
      your liver and kidneys start to clean/filter the poison er sorry chlorine out of the water.
      so instead of the water cleaning you. You are cleaning the water!! with your liver and kidneys.
      get a bottle of domestos and read the label. quote..it may release DANGEROUS gasses (chlorine)

  20. Loewen Avatar

    Just the other day I couldn’t bear to get in a chlorinated pool because of the smell, now I KNOW that it’s bad for me! I have a question though, I thought most ascorbic acid/vitamin c supplements are genetically modified. Do you know that this brand isn’t? Or aren’t you worried about it?

    1. Caitlin Avatar

      I wondered this also, I have it in my cabinet. Did some searching and found out NOW does use gmo corn for vitamin c. The O is suppose to stand for organic, guess ill be tossing this out.

      1. Nina Avatar

        We have been using Native American Nutritionals Vitamin C and I’m pretty sure it’s non-GMO.

        Might give them a try 🙂

    2. Joe Avatar

      The best type of vitamin C that you can get is made be Pure Encapsulations and it’s called Ester C.

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