Know your gear

How to solve the chlorine problem

The increase in the popularity of swimming at all levels is very good news as our local talent are keeping us in touch with the best swimmers on the planet. Ryk Neetling, Roland Schoeman, Suzaan van Biljon, Terrance Parkin and Natalie du Toit immediately spring to mind.

This popularity comes at a cost.

More swimmers mean more bacteria in pools. Longer training seasons result in more pools being heated, which is also great for bacteria …

The result? Pools are being more heavily chlorinated than before, whether with salt chlorination or gas chlorination, you can smell the chlorine when you open your car door 200m from your gym’s indoor pool. Even after you showered, the smell on your skin is still strong.

This results in a reduction in the lifespan of swimwear used in school and public pools. The proliferation of fabrics being marketed that offer increased chlorine resistance indicate how broad the problem is. Waternity (Arena) Chlorotuff, Chloresist, Endurance (Speedo) , Aquamax, Chloroban, and Durafast, the list continues…

The reality is that any fabric that has elastane (Spandex, Lycra) included in its make up, will break down and loose its stretch over time. The dilemma is that elastane is what gives you the fabulous fit that swimmers have become accustomed to.

New more chlorine-resistant elastics that prolong fabric lifespan are, however, being developed, for example Roica. They are a little more costly, but are well worth the investment for regular swimmers as they provide the tight fit of Lycra, but they last much longer.

A really serious swimmer training daily may need to consider a costume made from PBT. Made from 100% polyester, it has a natural stretch similar to spandex. It has a wonderful matt finish and colourfastness unachievable with nylon Lycra fabrics. It also lasts longer in chlorine than Lycra.

In some ways it is the answer to over-chlorinated pools, but because the fit of a Lycra swimsuit is hard to beat, swimmers will probably train in PBT, but still choose to compete in Lycra.

The bulk of swimwear sales are still made up from basic nylon fabric, but serious swimmers that train daily may need to consider something more durable and chlorine resistant — for instance, the Roica Resist or PBT Ultra options.