Chlorine Resistant Swimsuits

[ski diva]

Am I the only one on the planet who didn't know these existed?

I guess I can be excused since I only started lap swimming last summer. I had no idea they were out there.

I made the discovery only last week, when I went looking for a suit to replace the one I wore last summer, which was looking pretty sorry, indeed. It'd faded from a really pretty midnight blue to a much lighter shade. Truly, it was closer to white than blue. Anyway, the other day I went into a sports shop, and lo and behold: chlorine resistant suits! Speedo and Tyr make them. I ended up with a dark blue Speedo.

The sales person gave me some tips on how to take care of it properly, too: saturate it with non-chlorinated water before you get in the pool, and rinse with same right after -- don't use Woolite or anything like that.

I guess only time will tell how well it holds up, but right now, I'm delighted.

Anyone here have any experience with a suit like this? I'd love to hear how it worked out.

 

[num]

In my teens, I taught swimming and lifeguarded indoor and outdoor (pool and lake), and I really appreciated the chlorine resistance on my suits when teaching. Pools kill suits *fast* when you're in and out of the pool for 8 hour stints or even 4 hour stints every day.

 

[Swamp Dog]

I found a company that makes suits that wear like iron. H2O Wear (www.h2owear.com)

When I was teaching swim lessons at the Y another instructor told me about these suits. They also offer a discount for water "professionals." I just ordered another suit last night after realizing I'd been wearing the same one for about 5 years. The suit is fine but the elastic in the straps is cooked.

a couple of things to make suits last longer:

go easy on the suit spinner. A couple seconds to get excess water out is fine, but don't go overboard.

don't leave a suit rolled up in your towel. It will stay wet.

don't leave it sitting in your hot car, in your towel or not. Bring it in and hang it over something, shower stall, towel rack, anything.

hand wash, no washing machine or dryer.