Pool Chemical Safety at Home

Applies to: Any home pool, in-ground or above-ground, using chlorine products, acids, salt-cell cleaners or other pool chemicals.

Why the label comes first

EPA says pesticide labels set who may use a product and where, how, how much and how often it may be used. Labels also tell you how to store the product, give first aid instructions, and list numbers to call for help.^[2][6]

CDC’s pool chemical safety poster for pool staff says to read the product label before each use, not just once. CDC’s guidance for aquatics professionals notes that pool chemicals can injure people when mixed together or handled without appropriate protective equipment.^[3][7]

Buying

• Read the label in the store to make sure it is the right product for the job, as EPA advises.^[6]
• Buy only what you need. EPA says not to stockpile and to buy only what you will use soon.^[6][8]
• Read the label even on a familiar product. In its guidance for pool-chemical makers, CDC notes that changing a container’s shape, size, color or labeling can lead to chemical-mixing errors.^[7]
• Check the packaging. CDC’s guidance for pool operators says to consult the chemical manufacturer if a container is damaged.^[7]

Getting chemicals home

The City of Calgary’s advice for carrying unwanted household chemicals to a drop-off is a practical model: keep them well marked and, if possible, in original containers with secure lids, set them in a plastic tub or tray rather than a cardboard box, and keep the vehicle ventilated.^[9]

Heat matters. CDC’s guidance for pool operators says to store pool chemicals below 95°F (35°C), in conditions the manufacturer recommends, and to protect them from heat sources and flames. Health Canada says not to expose chemicals to heat or flame.^[7][10]

Storing

Our storage safety card covers the shelf in detail. In short, CDC says to separate incompatible chemicals such as acid and chlorine, and to lock chemicals up to protect people and animals. A few extra points from EPA and Health Canada:^[4]

• Don’t store chemicals where flooding is possible or where a leak could reach drains or water.^[8]
• Keep them away from gasoline, fertilizers, pesticides, paints and other flammable materials.^[10]
• Never pour chemicals into drink bottles; children or others may mistake them for something to drink.^[8]
• Child-resistant does not mean child-proof. Close containers tightly and keep them out of reach.^[8]

Using: never mix, and chemical into water

1. Read the label and put on the safety equipment it calls for, such as goggles and gloves.^[3][10]
2. Work in a well-ventilated area. Open one container at a time and close it before opening another.^[3]
3. Measure carefully, with a separate clean measuring cup for each chemical.^[3][10]
4. Never mix chlorine products with acid, which can create toxic gases, or mix different pool chemicals with each other or anything else.^[3]
5. Pre-dissolve only when the label says so, and then add the chemical to water. Never add water to the chemical; a violent, potentially explosive reaction can occur.^[3][10]
6. Don’t eat, drink or smoke while you work, and wash your hands afterward.^[10]

EPA’s chemical safety alert explains why: a small amount of water added to a pool chemical can trigger an unwanted reaction, with heat and toxic gas. It also warns against mixing old and fresh stock, even of the same type. If your salt-system manual calls for an acid cleaning solution, follow it; Hayward’s AquaRite guide, for example, says always add acid to water, never water to acid.^[11][12]

After a spill

• Respond right away, as CDC says, and keep children away from the spill.^[4][13]
• Don’t put spilled chemicals back into their containers.^[10]
• Avoid raising dust when cleaning up a powder; Health Canada says the dust can react with moisture on skin.^[10]
• Use a separate container for cleanup so spilled product can’t mix with anything else.^[11]

If someone is exposed

1. If the person is not breathing, call 911.^[5]
2. Inhaled fumes or dust: get to fresh air right away.^[5]
3. On skin: take off clothing the chemical touched and rinse skin with running water for 15 to 20 minutes.^[5]
4. In the eyes: rinse with running water for 15 to 20 minutes.^[5]
5. Call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 without waiting for symptoms, with the product container nearby; the label has important information.^[5]

Poison Help is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.^[14]

If there is a fire

Disposing of leftovers and containers

• Follow the label’s disposal directions, and never reuse a pool chemical container.^[4][15]
• Ask your local solid waste agency or health department whether there is a household hazardous waste program.^[15]
• For chemicals in unlabeled containers, CDC says to contact your local or state hazardous materials agency.^[4]
• Never pour chemicals down the sink, toilet, sewer or street drain.^[15]
• State and local disposal laws may be stricter than the label, so check before you dispose.^[15]