Will Indoor Chlorine Fumes Damage Lacquered Ceiling?

[desertmarcy]

Hi all, it's been a while since I've visited this forum. Finally have my Endless Pool swim spa! It is indoors and the building has been constructed around it as the focal point. Everything in the room has been done for a "wet area" because of the pool humidity and also because it will serve a secondary function as tropical plants/orchid growing area. So... we put up a lovely tongue & groove ceiling which was stained and finished with lacquer. My contractor thought the lacquer finish would hold up best to the humidity. It is up and finished and does indeed look beautiful. Now the worry: I just talked with another builder today who said the fumes from the chlorine used in the pool will damage the lacquer finish causing it to turn milky and fail. He said this may take just a couple of years. He said the chlorine fumes will accumulate at the ceiling level. Needless to say, this was quite a shocker to me. I'm not using that high a level of chlorine, 0.5-1 on the Taylor pool test kit scale, but he said that doesn't matter.

What say you all, anybody with experience with this? If chlorine is indeed a problem, would bromine be as well? Help!

[footie]

Fun you should ask the question because I asked it 8 years ago when I built my house and put a swimming pool in one of those rooms. The painter found a latex paint that was suitable for the job, now in out situation it was more to do with splashing markers but so far no issues. I will tell you that the shower off the main room has it's ceiling painted in bathroom paint, eggshell I think and again no issues.

Hope this helps.

[Spa_Guru]

If you keep your chlorine level civilized, most any paint will survive, where things go poorly is when I go to people's homes and they are running chlorine levels so high they are bleaching floating toys white. Nothing survives that.

[Dr. Spa]

Going to be difficult finding someone experienced with lacquer...but many will chime in

[desertmarcy]

Fun you should ask the question because I asked it 8 years ago when I built my house and put a swimming pool in one of those rooms. The painter found a latex paint that was suitable for the job, now in out situation it was more to do with splashing markers but so far no issues. I will tell you that the shower off the main room has it's ceiling painted in bathroom paint, eggshell I think and again no issues.

Well, I'm asking about lacquer, not paint. I love the look of natural wood, so I don't want to paint it.

[quantumchromodynamics]

I really don't think that properly maintained chlorine levels would cause many problems with lacquer. There really shouldn't be that much chlorine getting into the air. Adding 20 ppm of cyanuric acid would help, but that means that you would need to maintain a higher FC level of about 1.5 ppm.

I think that the humidity would be more likely to cause problems, especially if the lacquer is a water-based lacquer vs. an acrylic based lacquer. I think that a good polyurethane or clear epoxy would do better.

What type of wood was used? You should check with an expert that specializes in these types of finishes to see what they recommend.

For indoor rooms, air quality depends on good management. There should be enough fresh air supplied to the room to prevent the buildup of chemical fumes or excess humidity.

[desertmarcy]

I really don't think that properly maintained chlorine levels would cause many problems with lacquer. There really shouldn't be that much chlorine getting into the air. Adding 20 ppm of cyanuric acid would help, but that means that you would need to maintain a higher FC level of about 1.5 ppm.

I think that the humidity would be more likely to cause problems, especially if the lacquer is a water-based lacquer vs. an acrylic based lacquer. I think that a good polyurethane or clear epoxy would do better.

What type of wood was used? You should check with an expert that specializes in these types of finishes to see what they recommend.

For indoor rooms, air quality depends on good management. There should be enough fresh air supplied to the room to prevent the buildup of chemical fumes or excess humidity.

________________________

Thanks for your reply. It was not a water-based lacquer. It was my contractor's recommendation to use lacquer, for several reasons: very water-resistant, easy to apply (spray-on) and fast drying. It is basic pine tongue and groove. I was told the chlorine will rise and accumulate at the ceiling, hence the potential problem with the lacquer. We are still in construction. Although the pool is filled and usable, we don't have the track for the cover mounted yet. I imagine with the cover on, it should not be such an issue, you think? I do want the humidity level high for plants. I don't want to cool the room down too much or we won't want to swim . In the warmer months (most of the year here in sw desert!), fresh air will not be a problem--evaporative cooler will give good air exchange. Winter month, I may just have to flush the air out periodically anyway.

[footie]

Well, I'm asking about lacquer, not paint. I love the look of natural wood, so I don't want to paint it.

Sorry I misread your question, I thought it was on paint not lacquer, anyhow I can answer this as the windows in the pool room are lacquered wood and 8 years in they are fine, every three years they get re-done which is a little more often than the rest of the house but this is simply as a precautionary matter.

[Kreg]

I would think that your contractor would install good exhaust fans for the humidity and chemical vapors. Even if you intend on maintaining a low chlorine level, there will be times that you require high chlorine levels, such as when you shock the pool. Bromine may be worse since a higher level ppm is recommended.

[footie]

Quite right Kreg, you need an air exchanger which will run on negative pressure so that none of the flumes get into the rest of your home.

[chem geek]

If a small amount of Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is used in the pool, then this will significantly lower the active chlorine (hypochlorous acid) concentration and should outgas more slowly as a result and will also be less harsh on swimsuits, skin and hair. 4 ppm FC with 20 ppm CYA would be roughly equivalent to 0.2 ppm FC with no CYA (at 77ºF; somewhat higher at higher temps). Just note that with indoor pools one often needs supplemental oxidation since there is no UV in sunlight on the pool. Supplemental oxidation includes UV, ozone, non-chlorine shock (MPS) and enzymes.

Bromine is presumably less volatile than chlorine, but that's probably compared to chlorine with no CYA in the water.