Help with ? about poor air quality in pool - coughing swimmers
Former Member
I work out at a small YMCA pool. We have had increasing problems with our swim team kids and some of the masters swimmers struggling to breathe in the pool area during workouts (more than normal!). We get an asthma-like coughing response when working hard, and some kids now get it as soon as they walk in the pool room. My observation is that the problem has worsened recently. When asking the obvious questions of the staff, there has been no known change in the chemicals, etc. We get mostly shrugs of denial from the YMCA.
This really concerns us as parents and swimmers about what we are doing to our athletes' respiratory systems.
How can I get this problem diagnosed? What sort of professional could evaluate the problem? It could be an air quality issue caused by a chemical treatment problem, or an HVAC air handling problem, or both. Poor ventilation has been one theory.
Any suggestions?
Parents
Former Member
Scansy's post is probably the most likely answer to troubleshooting your problem. I'm also in the building and design industry, and it sounds like the HVAC system may not be doing it's job. Most every indoor pools is heated and cooled using forced air. If the "return" ducts are inadequately sucking the used air back into the heating and cooling plant, there's going to be collection of stagnant air lingering in the space. It's probably doing it's job per code requirements (meaning that a certain number of cubic feet per minute is moving through the system), but perhaps not enough to get the chlorinated fumes built up by the pool side.
Talk to an HVAC engineer in your area as well. That's why the open door trick is working. But then again, the pool maintenance people might be overdosing the water. Do the swim suits have a very short lifespan in terms of losing their original colors? If a brand new suit goes from navy blue to grey in a short time, there may be the culprit. I've also heard that enforcement of the showering rule is a must before entering the pool. It's not just for health code reasons. Any washed off perfumes from deoderants, lotions, and conditioners will form a nice slick ontop of the water. That alone will send some people into coughing fits.
Scansy's post is probably the most likely answer to troubleshooting your problem. I'm also in the building and design industry, and it sounds like the HVAC system may not be doing it's job. Most every indoor pools is heated and cooled using forced air. If the "return" ducts are inadequately sucking the used air back into the heating and cooling plant, there's going to be collection of stagnant air lingering in the space. It's probably doing it's job per code requirements (meaning that a certain number of cubic feet per minute is moving through the system), but perhaps not enough to get the chlorinated fumes built up by the pool side.
Talk to an HVAC engineer in your area as well. That's why the open door trick is working. But then again, the pool maintenance people might be overdosing the water. Do the swim suits have a very short lifespan in terms of losing their original colors? If a brand new suit goes from navy blue to grey in a short time, there may be the culprit. I've also heard that enforcement of the showering rule is a must before entering the pool. It's not just for health code reasons. Any washed off perfumes from deoderants, lotions, and conditioners will form a nice slick ontop of the water. That alone will send some people into coughing fits.
