Skip to Content

Can You Swim with Chlorine Tablets in the Pool? (Answered)

Chlorine tablets are mainly used for cleaning purposes in the pool. Chlorine tablets play an important role in removing bacteria, germs and algae. In fact, the cleaning process of pool water is highly based on chlorine tablets.

Although many manufacturers have bought many modern alternatives of chlorine tablets, nothing beats chlorine tablets when it comes to cleaning the dirt of pool water.

However, most times swimmers get confused about whether they can swim with chlorine tablets in the pool. Therefore, in this article, we are going to discuss whether you can swim with chlorine tablets in the pool.

Can you swim with chlorine tablets in the pool?

You can swim with chlorine tablets in the pool if the chlorine tablets are in a container. Getting in touch with those tablets can cause rashes, irritation and eye problems. However, to be in a safe zone it will be better if you wait for 3 to 5 hours till the chlorine levels touch 4 to 6 ppm.

Chlorine tablets are widely known as disinfectant tablets which are mainly used to remove bacteria and viruses that grow in the water.

Chlorine tablets act as halogens and eliminate the germs that cause different diseases. Mainly the germs include bacteria, viruses and different sorts of protozoans which mainly live on the water and even on the wall of the swimming pool.

These pathogens can cause various diseases which can affect your health negatively. Therefore, chlorine tablets play a vital role by removing these pathogens from the pool water.

If you want to swim in the pool while chlorine tablets are being applied then it will be better if you wait for some time.

You can certainly swim with chlorine tablets but getting in touch with those tables can cause rashes as well as teary eyes. It’s better to wait for 3 to 4 hours after the chlorine has been added to the pool.

However, you can swim with chlorine tablets if the tablets are carried in a container to the pool. Because in that case the tablets will have a covering and the tablets will not be able to touch you.

Also, in the case of chlorine floaters, you are completely safe to swim with chlorine floaters. You won’t have to wait for 3 to 4 hours in the case of chlorine floaters, however, you might need to wait for 10 to 20 minutes for the chlorine to be mixed with the water.

Is it safe to swim in a pool with a chlorine tablet?

It’s not completely safe to swim in a pool with chlorine tablets. Because the tablets can cause rashes to your skin and can make your eyes teary when you get in contact with them.

Also, irritation can occur and can be a major problem when the chlorine tablets get in contact with your skin. Therefore, it is better to wait for 3 to 4 hours after the chlorine tablets are applied.

But make sure you check the stability level of the chlorine tablets on the water before you get onto the pool.

In addition, if you want to get on to the pool with the chlorine tablets applied on, then it will be better to use chlorine tablet floaters. Because you can swim the chlorine floaters as they are covered with plastic.

Can I leave a chlorine floater in the pool while swimming?

You can certainly leave a chlorine floater in the pool while swimming. Because the chlorine floaters are covered with plastic-type of coverings.

Therefore, there will be no chance of happening problems like rashes, irritation or teary eyes if you get in contact with the floaters.

Chlorine tablets can cause a high amount of rashes to your skin. Because the immune system cannot be able to identify the chlorine, therefore, it causes inflammation to your skin.

In addition, a high amount of chlorine can make your eyes super red. Also, it can make your eyes teary due to the high power of chlorine tablets. Therefore, if you want to swim in the pool then it is better to check the stability level of the chlorine in the water.

In the case of chlorine floaters, you might need to wait for 10 to 20 minutes in order to let the tablets get mixed with the water.

What happens when you swim with chlorine tablets in the pool?

Well, there can be lots of problems you can face when you swim with chlorine tablets in the pool. Most of these problems are temporary but if they are not taken proper care then they can affect your body negatively.

Most of these problems are based on inflammation, however, this can affect your body internally too. The problems that you can face are given below:

Rashes:

The immune system of our body cannot able to identify chlorine which is why it causes inflammation when the body gets in contact with chlorine. Also, getting contact with chlorine tablets can cause a high amount of irritation.

Irritation:

Similar to the rashes, the immune system cannot identify the chlorine rather it identifies it as a virus or bacteria. That is why it causes irritation to the skin in order to warn your body.

Teary eyes:

Chlorine can cause a high amount of reaction to your eyes which is very harmful. When chlorine mixes with saline in the pool, it causes irritation to the eyes and eventually, it turns your eyes red and watery.

Also, containing chemicals it can make your eyes sensitive to the light for a couple of hours. Therefore, always check the level of chlorine before getting onto the pool.

Breathing problems:

Chlorine can cause breathing problems by damaging the tissues that are present in your throat or lungs. The absence of moist tissues that are present in the lungs can cause breathing difficulties.

How long after putting chlorine in a pool can you swim?

You will need to wait at least 3 to 4 hours after you mix chlorine tablets with the pool water. Because it’s not safe to swim in the pool water when the chlorine is still in work to clean the germs from the water.

As getting in contact with chlorine tablets can cause different problems to your body such as rashes, irritation, breathing problems, damage of tissues, teary eyes, etc.

Therefore, make sure you check the stability level of the chlorine before you get onto the pool water.

If you don’t want to wait and you want to swim with the chlorine tablets then it will be best if the chlorine tablets are applied in the pool with a covering.

Because when the chlorine tablets are covered with something it will not directly get in contact with your skin. That is why, always check the stability level of the chlorine in the water before getting onto the pool.

How long does it take for a chlorine tablet to dissolve?

It depends on the size of the pool and the size of the tablet. Because the bigger the pool, the bigger size of the tablet will be and it will take more days to dissolve.

However, the average size of the pool contains 3000 to 4000 gallons of water and it will need at least one inch sized tablet which will take 4 to 5 days to dissolve.

However, if you have a bigger pool for example, if your pool contains 7000 to 9000 gallons of water then the tablets will take at least 8 days or more to dissolve. Also, normally 2 or 3 inches tablet is enough for 9000 gallons of water.

But if your pool has more than 20,000 gallons of water then you will need to keep the tablets in a floater. As the floater will be able to chlorinate such a vast amount of water.

Can chlorine tablets damage a pool?

Chlorine tablets are mainly used to chlorinate the water of the pool. However, excess usage of the chlorine tablets can damage the concrete of the pool.

Excess usage of the chlorine tablets can put a permanent stain or bleach on the concrete of the swimming pool. Also, an overdose of the chlorine tablets can take more time to dissolve which will create problems for the swimmers.

In addition, an excess amount of chlorine tablets can cause breathing problems as well as can cause watery eyes.

Also, throwing the chlorine tablets directly into the pool can leave a deep permanent mark on the floor of the swimming pool. Therefore, it is recommended by the experts that you should use floaters in order to avoid this problem.

Final Thoughts

You can certainly swim with chlorine tablets in the pool until the tablets come in floaters. Because chlorine floaters will not cause inflammation to your skin. In addition, it will be better if you check the stability level of the chlorine before getting onto the pool.