I might have a chance to get some bracing and rolling time this winter at our local public pool and I was wondering if chlorine or any of the other pool chemicals cause damage to skirts, PFDs, hatch covers, etc. Thanks.
Outerware
fabrics will most likely get damaged.
The rest - probably not. Keep in mind, the stuff will bleach, colors will run.
Disclaimer - all my gear, except for hatches, is beat to s__t, chlorine damage might not be noticeable.
Take gear in Shower
Rinse the hell out of it when in the shower.
Drip dry in spare bathroom, downstairs, garage,
balcony, etc. - just don’t store it wet !
I try to use old stuff
My old PFD, old rash guards, reg. shorts not my good stuff. I use my good spray skirt, but at least i will only have to replace 1 or 2 items from chlorine damage not all of them. Some people say use the stuff you will be paddling in…my old stuff isn’t that different, just has different features that i like better. Go ahead and use the old stuff in the pool.
Ask if they have a hose-off area
The two pools I use both have a hose for washing the pool water off gear. I wash off the boat and paddle, then take the skirt, booties, and wetsuit into the shower with me. That takes care of it.
Have to admit that 81-degree water is a lot nicer than 50-something (or colder, ugh).
Around here
(Iowa) the water is about to turn crunchy.
Ice on the ponds this past wkend
here in New Hampshire. Lake won’t be far behind. Mighty chilly out there rolling on Monday.
countering chlorine
Our pool season has begun here in NC. Since I’ve got to put on dry clothes to drive home from the pool, I go straight from the pool to the locker room and take off my paddling clothes under the shower (preliminary rinse). I throw the wet stuff in a bag and go home. As soon as I get home, I fill the bathtub with water and throw my gear in – PFD, shorty wetsuit, skirt, paddling jacket, the works. I let it soak for an hour, then pull the plug. In the morning, the gear is pretty well drained and I hang it up to dry thoroughly – mostly outside on my deck in the sun but also on a drying rack inside.
So I’m with you: go to the pool and have a blast – but take care of your gear, so it will take care of you. (By the way, I think these same procedures work well for saltwater too.)
G in NC
Salt water definitely needs longer soak
Or multiple rinses and soaks. Things like sprayskirt edges tend to hold the salt in long after the main area is clean. Same for booties; one rinse isn’t enough to get out the salt.
Chlorinated water from pools seems to vary. One pool I’ve gone to requires at least two washings to get the chlorine out. The other one is OK after one good wash.
Rinse your kayak
prior to going and make sure all the sand and debris is out of it. Failure to do so may put use of pools in jeopardy for kayaks
Chlorine
How do you know if the chlorine is totally rinsed out?
don’t obsess
Just give a good rinse and air dry
Smell or white marks
If I’m going to use the gear the next day, I don’t try to get it all out, just do one rinse and hang it up. But if it’s going to sit longer than that, I want the chlorine out. Besides, it’s not an appealing odor.
Not an appealing odor?
Worse than the smell of wet neoprene in general?
hatch covers
does the chlorine deteriorate rubber hatch covers?? seat material, back bands or any foam should be rinsed too.
wash off the mud first
MUd on inside of boat will dirty the pool
To minimize the STUFF
You can leave the pfd at home. Less stuff to carry. Less stuff to rinse off.
Pool
I have used my stuff in pools for six years.
If I used neoprene, I rinse it. Nothing else cares.
never rinse
I never rinse anything and have seen no damage from 4 or 5 sessions a year.
Not a big deal
I read somewhere that the amount of chlorine in modern pools isn’t much worse than what is in tap water these days.