Upper Allen Township, Pa. - Ruth Gleim has been caring for her pool at her home on West Elmwood Avenue in Upper Allen Township for 20 years.

She never had a problem until Wednesday evening.

The 58-year-old woman noticed her pool was green.

"I was having pump trouble," Gleim said.  "I was just going to add chlorine until I could go over...to take the water sample to get tested."

Gleim had a couple bags of chlorine shock and some granule chlorine tablets.  She decided she didn't have enough of each to treat the pool, so she mixed the two together in a bucket.

"That did the trick," Gleim said.

What it did was trigger a chemical explosion that blasted two stories into the sky, Gleim said.  She was rushed to the hospital with burns on his face, ears, and eyes.

"I feel like I was laying out in the sun for three months," Gleim said of her face.  "It's so dry and tight."

Steve Hoffer wasn't surprised by the violent explosion.  He co-owns Valley Pools in Campbelltown and said you should never mix any type of chemicals together, even if they appear to be the same.  He said two types of chlorine can react violently because they contain different compounds.

"Any time you mix chemicals, whether it be household cleaning products or swimming pool chemicals, you're going to have a reaction and that's what happened," Hoffer said.  "There's many types of chlorine products and any time you have different compounds you can get a reaction."

Penn State Hershey Medical Center Emergency Room physician, Dr. Chris DeFlitch, said people should wear protective eye wear, long sleeves, and rubber gloves when dealing with pool chemicals.  He also said people should always use chemicals outdoors.

Flitch said in addition to the explosion danger, chemical reactions can also damage the lungs.

"Higher levels of exposure can actually break down the tissues, so actually it can cause permanent lung damage," DeFlitch said.  "People need to be on ventilators and people die from those exposures at higher levels."

Gleim hopes other people don't make the same mistake she did.

"I couldn't believe I did that," she said.  "I didn't think anything of it because I was mixing chlorine with chlorine"

"Be very careful," Gleim warned.  "Just don't mix anything."

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