Where are the Gyms/Health Clubs with Saltwater Pools in Charlotte, NC?

May 11, 2011 10:39 AM

Do you know of any health clubs or any other organization that offer memberships to their saltwater swimming pools in the Charlotte, NC area? Preferably the NE side.

I have dermatitis (eczema) and exercise-induced asthma. Since having my first child, I've had serious problems losing weight which is exacerbating my asthma. Swimming used to be the very best exercise for my asthma because the constant temperature and humidity would help stave off attacks. However, since having my child, I've developed this skin problem - so swimming in chlorine is right out. I've been searching all over for gyms, YMCAs and even hotels that may offer memberships to their pools - only they have to be saltwater filtered - no chlorine. So far, no luck. Any and all suggestions are welcomed. This has been driving me mad. Thanks!

posted by feeshbitZ to Health & Fitness (1 answer total)

Not many people know this, but saltwater pools use just as much chlorine as as traditional chlorine treated pools. They usually have less chloramines, but they're still not great for skin. (Wikipedia article here.) Additionally, saltwater pools have some nasty byproducts. In Australia (their birthplace), legislation is being passed that prohibits saltwater pools in many localities.

I realize that this is not an answer to your exact question, but I think it may help you. At our firm we're recommending the adoption of ionization treatment systems for pools. These pools use a copper/silver anode to produce ions to keep the pool clean. In SC, the department of health requires 1 ppm of Cl in commercial pools (still), but this is significantly lower than the amounts in the traditional chlorine pools. Private residential pools can run completely without chlorine if they're using ionization. In both commercial and residential systems that utilize this product, our clients report that swimming in these pools is like swimming in bottled water.

Around here, we use a local company that distributes these products. (Their name is Coastal Pure--you can google them; they have a lot more info on their website -- especially the section on, "Salt, Chlorine, and CYA [cyanuric acid].") A cursory search of their website shows that the First Union Center in Charlotte uses ionization in their pool. If you called them and got in touch with their maintenance people, I'm sure they could get you in contact with someone who would know the local pools that use ionization. (It's definitely a specialized market; many pool maintenance people/chemical sales company are against the ionization process because this costs them lots of money in chemical and salt sales.)

I hope that helps!
posted by Kronur at 11:47 AM on May 11, 2011