Chlorine eating my swimming costume

Angry_Bear

I go swimming twice a week in a pool that seems to be very heavily chlorinated (much more than other pools I'm used to). I bought a new swimming costume in January and it's already pretty much destroyed .
You can see the white flecks where the elastic is starting to be destroyed, parts of the costume are getting see through and it's getting saggy.

I bought a costume on offer at Sports Direct (Slazenger) and it was really cheap. I always rinse it out with fresh water immediately after getting out of the pool. So my questions are:

• Does anyone know if some costume brands are more hardwearing than others?
• Is it likely that the cheaper costumes - regardelss of brand - are less hard wearing?
• Does anyone ahve a preferred range that has stood up to a good amount of chlorine?

I don't really want to have to replace my costume 3 times a year so any suggestions would be very appreciated!

belfastgirl23

When I was swimming regularly I had advice from someone I knew who was a long term swimmer. She said always buy your swimming costume a bit on the big side since that's the best way to make it last - at least one size bigger than you need. I usually buy Zoggs I find they last a lot longer. That said i haven't been in the pool in months!

Well done on the weight loss btw that's amazing!

dandelionclock30

Speedo ones tend to last.
Also try a different pool, those that are really highly clorinated tend to be like this because theres a lot of urine in the pool.

ess0two

Buy some decent branded swimwear,most are treated chlorine resistant to an extent.

AbbieCadabra

chlorine resistant is what you're after, i've got this from zoggs & it's lasted longer than any other swimsuit i've ever used. cheap & cheerful ones have started to fall apart after a few weeks, this has been going for over 6 months with regular use every week. various different brand names, but it will specifically say if it's a longer lasting one. they don't tend to be cheap, but i usually buy 2 at a time when zoggs have a 50% sale.

[Deleted User]

Angry_Bear wrote: »

I bought a costume on offer at Sports Direct (Slazenger) and it was really cheap.

This is your main problem, you need to buy decent branded Sportswear by manufacturers like Speedo or the aforementioned Zoggs. There have been rapid advances in the technology surrounding swimwear materials in recent years, but there are still plenty of swimsuits designed more for sunbathing than actual swimming. Buy swimsuits which actually state they are anti-chlorine.

Having said all that, the pool you are using sounds very heavily chlorinated and even the cheapest suits should last longer than three months if they are only used twice a week. If it was me, I'd be seeking out other places to swim if the chlorine is affecting your swimsuit so drastically.

Angry_Bear

Thanks all!

Looks like I'll have to invest in a better quality suit. I'd love to try a different pool but this one is 2 minute walk from work and I can sneak off for a swim iver lunch - there isn't really a convenient alternative.

And unfortuately I do know why they put so much chlorine in - there's a lot of kids use my pool. I just try not to think about it :eek:.

When I was much younger I'm sure we used to always swear by Speedo suits and I'm thought they lasted much longer. By the comments here I wasn't imagining things

Angry_Bear

For anyone that's interested, Topcashback has 25% off Speedo when you buy a suit and goggles, plus 10% cashback :money:

Nebulous2

My daughter used to swim in a club and train very regularly and it was a huge problem. Speedos were the commonest type and they were rated at something like 15 hours pool time. She was doing over 7 hours a week so that would have been a costume every two weeks.

Most of the girls had a well worked out routine of using a new costume only for competitions and gradually downgrading it. For training, after it had become threadbare they often wore two.

One tip is to wash it out in fresh water as soon as you get out of the pool. It will continue to deteriorate if you leave it wet and chlorinated in your bag until you get home.

Edit: Sorry I note you already rinse it out. Wrap it in a towel as well to dry it out a bit, don't leave it in a plastic bag.

Polaria

I am swimming 3 times a week. My costume comes from Decathlon, the model is Kamiye (I can't post links yet, but you'd easily find it back via Google). The entry price is £12.99. The costume is branded as being "very chlorine resistant". I have had it for a few months now and I am very pleased with it so far.

Pol

valk_scot

My DD wears Slazenger suits and trains three times a week, her suits last longer than a few weeks. She rinses them out poolside and I swish them in a sink of warm water with a few drops of shampoo or body wash type detergent when she gets home. Quick rinse and up over the shower rail to drip dry overnight. Her current favourite must be several months old. Agree with keeping her good competition suit just for competitions though! £25 with the club logo on it, eek!


The Slazenger ones are a decent weight of lycra, much better than he vast majority of fashion suits imho. They're also as chlorine resistant as Zoggs or Speedos in my experience so if the cut suits you then I'd stick to them, OP. But why not buy a couple and rotate them? It's not like they're particularly pricey to start with if you're just after a plain tank suit. Oh, and the other thing is to come out of the pool by the steps, scraping a suit against the pool side ruins it even faster than the chlorine.