Summer is coming and the kids are going to be spending a lot more time in and around the pool. Good times. Not only is having your own pool the best fun you can have in the warmer weather, swimming is undoubtedly one of the best forms of exercise for grownups and children alike.
However, and it’s a big however, if your children and their friends are swimming in chlorinated water, you are putting them at risk. More and more evidence is coming from all sides that chlorine is not only nasty, irritating stuff, it is hazardous to health – with small children being particularly vulnerable.
Look at this recent posting from Healthy Child, Healthy World, a California-based organization dedicated to protecting the wellbeing of children around the world.
“For many kids, the smell of a chlorine pool triggers immediate sensations of joy because it means that soon they’ll be one with water, swimming and splashing and having a blast. But, those telltale fumes could also potentially trigger a whole lot more, like asthma.
A recent Belgian study showed that use of indoor chlorine pools especially by children younger than 7 promotes the development of childhood asthma. More disturbing still, the researchers found that the kids who swam most frequently had proteins associated with increased risk of asthma at levels similar to those found in regular smokers.
More studies are needed indeed, but we do know that when chlorinated water comes into contact with hair, body products, sweat, saliva, or urine (regular ingredients at the public pool) it creates certain volatile disinfection by-products like chloroform (which is potentially carcinogenic and over time causes liver and kidney damage) and bromodichloromethane (which, again, has been linked to cancer and liver and kidney damage in animal studies).
The conclusion they reach is this: ”If you have your own pool, keep it chlorine-free”. The trouble with that is you have to have some form of water sanitation to protect the bathers and they don’t tell you how that’s done. They really need to know about the Enviroswim ES3, the world’s most effective alternative to salt and chlorine for swimming pool sanitation.
Here’s another report from the European Respiratory Society: “Swimming is generally considered to be a healthy leisure activity for both the young and old. Swimming is even often advised as the most appropriate sport for asthmatic children. However, for obvious reasons of microbiological safety, the water of public and private swimming pools must be disinfected. The most common procedure for water disinfection consists of chlorination. As with all human and technological intervention, the use of chlorine-based products to disinfect swimming water may lead to a number of unwanted effects, in particular the presence of chlorine-containing compounds in the air.
Consequently, chlorination may affect the respiratory health of either those who work as swimming attendants or instructors, or those who use the pools as customers, particularly children.
Acute exposure to high levels of chlorine gas, resulting from explosions, leaks or malfunctioning of chlorine-disinfection installations is a well- known problem. The health consequences of such incidents may be more or less serious. Severe manifestations depend on the intensity of the exposure (i.e. the combination of aerial concentrations and duration of exposure) and may include laryngeal oedema, asthma attacks and chemical burns of the upper and lower airway mucosa, and even chemical pneumonitis.”
OK those are some pretty long words and some of the more extreme dangers that could come from using chlorine for your pool water purification but you get the picture. The good news is that there is a natural, effective and eco-friendly way to make sure your swimming pool water is safe for your children. Not only is it clean, green and crystal clear, it’s pure joy for children who love swimming.
Please get in touch and we can tell you how it works. You and your family will be glad if you do.