effects of chlorine

[scubapeter]

I thought that I would pose a question to the experts.... I am in the process of installing a swimming pool in my backyard. I am interested to know what the long term effects of chlorine exposure would do to rubber parts of a double hose regulator vs. the newer silicone replacements? Other than a good fresh water rinse, is there anything that I can do to limit the harmful effects of the chlorine? I know that the pool won't take long to explore, but I figured that I won't be able to resist the occasional dip with a double hose.

[Bryan]

The new silicone parts will outlast all of us and aside from going to extremes there is very little you can do to harm it. Before the silicone stuff was made the samples were put through some pretty rough testing. Chlorine is rough on rubber parts but if they are rinsed and dried after use the deterioration should be minimal. Normally people run the pool at home lower on the chlorine scale than a commercial pool. Reason being is that a commercial pools sanitizer needs to be at a level at all times to keep up with a huge influx of people all at once....Think school buses of kids jumping in a pool all at once..If the chlorine level was low and all the kids jumped in, it would go to zero in a very short time.....Sorry to bore you with pool stuff

I test a lot of peoples gear in my pool and the last thing I worry about is the chlorine level harming it in any way. I run 2-3ppm and shock once a month. Keep it there and you should have no problems. Just my 2cents.

[YankDownUnder]

A suggestion:

Put a plastic tub of fresh water near your pool and in the shade. Perhaps under a tap would make it easier. Then just drop your gear in the fresh water and let it soak after you use it.

I asked a submarine engineer at Drager in Germany, about maintaining my rebreathers. His comment was that most people immerse their equipment in sea water (or pool water) for hours and assume a fresh water rinse will be enough. It needs to be soaked.

Provide yourself with a place to soak your gear and do after every use. I take my gear to dives in a plastic tub. When I return from the dive the wet gear is left in the tub and the tub is filled with garden hose. I leave the gear there over night then dry it the following day. I use a little BCD cleaner too. The result has been my gear looks well cared for and I have less work to maintain it. Steve

[captain]

I see this question pops up often. Tap water and pool water generally has to be between .5 ppm and 3 ppm. I have worked in potable water production and we used 1 ppm as a target set point, some times it was lower but we never let it get below .5, sometimes it was above 1. It was never possible to control it at an absolute value constantly.
The EPA sets 4 ppm as the high limit on potable water. The point being unless you use rain water or natural fresh water or measure the chlorine ppm in your potable water before rinsing you may be rinsing in water with a higher ppm or equal to pool water or
you can fill a rinse container and let it sit in the sun for a day and the chlorine will be gone.

[scubapeter]

Thanks for the great advise guys, I knew that I would get a straight answer here....