What is the difference between Chlorine and Chloride? My fiancee's sister put Chlorine from the bottle in a small kiddy pool. I know this isn't safe...what potential problems might her child experiance, who swims in the pool on a regular basis?

Chlorine is an element, a green gas in its natural state, and chlorides are compounds of chlorine, the most common one being NaCl, table salt. If she poured it from a bottle it was probably chlorine bleach which is used the world over to purify water supplies. Its use in swimming pools is quite common. For more than you probably want to know about chlorine, including its use as a weapon in WWI check this Chlorine

Laundry bleach is liquid calcium hypochlorite in a 6% concentration. The dry chlorine used to sanitize swimming pools is dry calcium hypochlorite in a 68% concentration.

Many people use liquid bleach to sanitize small swimming pools. There is no danger to swimmers as long as the chlorine (calcuim hypochlorite) level in the pool is not above 3 PPM.

NC

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

Chlorine is an element, a yellowish green gas
and
when it reacts with other elements to form componds, they are called chlorides.

I don't think any problems would be created bacause of the chlorine poured into the swimming-pool. Chlorine(and its compounds)are used to sterilize water(i.e. to kill germs).
However, an excess of chlorine in water can lead to irritation in eyes. But nothing to worry about, no permanent harm would be caused.

Happy Diving,
Pin~Jinx

Katanya, no wonder people think chlorine is safe - we use it in our drinking water! We use it because unlike other disinfectants it persists for a long time in the water, whereas other disinfectants quickly break down and don't give the long term protection.

But whe shouldn't use it if there are alternatives. It is very toxic - that's why it's such a good disinfectant.

In municipal water supplies, the amount is strictly regulated - barring accidents. But you would have to know whether the amount used in this child's swimming pool is the approved amount or not. You would have to measure the volume of the pool (volume of a cylinder: measure the height of the pool's water level and multiply it by the area of the bottom PiR(squared) x height)
and then use only the amount recommended FOR DRINKING WATER for this volume.

Using stronger concentrations is not good around small children. Far better is to empty and scrub out the pool daily with a safe disinfectant, then fill with chlorinated tap water. Second best is to use an oxygenating product such as hydrogen peroxide in the water, IN RECOMMENDED STRENGTHS.

Chlorine produces a gas that irritates mucous membranes and lungs. As it degrades, it creates dioxins (carcinogens) which persist in the environment.

Why do we use it for our drinking water, then, if it's so horrible? Because it's cheap, and because it persists in the water supply as it travels along the piping system, continuing to kill bacteria as long as it's in the water system. The chlorine disappears fairly quickly once it's out of the piping system.

So if this woman just splashes an unmeasured volume ("That should do it!") of chlorine bleach into the kiddie pool, straight from the chlorine bottle, relying on the maxim "If it's safe to drink, it can't harm kiddie", then the practice could indeed harm the child.

chlorine is an element. The word can be used to apply to the element, its gaseous form, or its dissolved form. The most common definition is actually its dissolved form, which is more specifically hypochlorite. Since hypochlorite is a negative ion, it needs a positive counter ion to be stable. The most common counter ion is sodium, so you will see "sodium hypochorite" or "NaOCl"
At the right concentraion, this is a good dissinffectant and can be found in swimming pools and drinking water. If it is too strong it can bleach hair and dry out and irritate skin. I was a competitive swimmer in college and i can tell you from experience that even in the so-called "right concentration" too much time spent in chlorinated water will bleach your hair and dry out your skin.
chloride is the negative ion of chlorine. it is found in many things, including table salt, which is Sodium Chloride or NaCl

just a note on nccichlid's answer. bleach is NOT liquid calcium hypochlorite. first of all, calcium chlorite is a solid at room temperature. secondly, it is actually sodium hypochlorite, which is also a solid. the solid is dissolved in the liquid solution, just like dissolving salt or sugar in water, but it is a dissolved solid, not a liquid, there is a very definite distinction between the two.

Methos, you are a bit hard, aren't you? You are correct, but your tone seems arrogant to me. Ordinary laundry bleach is 'in liquid form' and you know that lay people (non-chemists) use liquid and 'in liquid form' interchangeably, and with not much harm done. I'm not saying you ought not to correct wrong information, but tact is just as important a virtue as correctness, and much kinder.
I had a horrible chemistry teacher. We lived in a farming community, and most of the community in those days was not well educated. Mr. Smith (real name) would ask questions on matters WHICH HE HAD NOT YET TAUGHT and if the wrong answer was given, he would hit the student with a meter stick (hardwood - no joke). He would move down the row, hitting until he got the right answer. He never seemed to consider that these students were using terms they had learned from their parents.
Here are some of the questions he asked, followed by the wrong and right answers.
(1) "What is highway pavement made of?" "Cement, sir." (WHACK!) "Concrete"
(2) "What color is water?" "White, sir." WHACK! "Colorless".
Maybe I'm just taking old resentments out on you.

I'm sorry if my tone seemed harsh, it wasn't intended to, but I realize it did. I was merely trying to correct the misstatements which i feel too often go uncorrected (you'd be amazed how many errors there are in the average middle school science book... and i'm not just talking about ones like the admittedly nit-picky one here).
I'll try to mellow my tone a bit in the future.

Methos, it was very gracious of you to accept criticism so well, and I guess it shows that I WAS taking out old resentments on you, because your response was anything but arrogant. So I misinterpreted the tone of your reply, and I regret that I did.