stored chemicals

[ajk]

My husband stored our pool chemicals in a cabinet in our garage.When I opened it up today I noticed a nasty odor and the hinges were rusted on the inside of the cabinet.My guess is we had a build up of chorine gas.That said,I immediately opened the garage doors and windows to air out the area.Now I need to know if it is safe to still use any of the chemicals and what do I do about the rest of the things that were stored in the cabinet.He had also put my garden seeds in there.Help!

[Poolz]

The culprit may have been chlorine or may have been pH reducer.

Chemicals, especially chlorine, lose some of their potency during storage. I suggest you use the chemicals you have, as they are still active. You will not have problems with the old chlorine, and it is fine for spring opening and pool water care.

Many seeds are hardy enough to germinate after exposure to chlorine fumes, so I would sow them out. You need not worry about mutation.

The rust is a pain in the neck, and anything that has rusted beyond repair is junk. As for the rest of the things in the cupboard, air them out or rinse them off. There is no problem with doing this.