While public pools are typically treated with chlorine and other chemicals to ward off germs, that doesn't mean they are perfectly clean. In fact, a 2016 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 80 percent of public swimming pools had health and safety violations.
Germs can be found almost anywhere, including in swimming pools and hot tubs. This means that proper cleaning and maintenance of your pool and hot tub are essential to preventing getting sick while swimming.
When the chemical combines with urine, feces, sweat, and dirt from people's bodies, irritants called chloramines are produced and give off a chemical odor. These chloramines use up the chlorine, meaning there is less of it to kill germs.
Chlorine is added to the water to kill germs. But it does not work right away. If used properly, free chlorine* can kill most germs within a few minutes. CDC recommends pH 7.2–7.8 and a free chlorine concentration of at least 1 ppm in pools and at least 3 ppm in hot tubs/spas.
Pools are cleaner!
Can that be said about the beach? Especially for younger swimmers or those with skin sensitivities, pools are the better option. As well, pools are clear from the plant life, pollution and other messes that you may find in the ocean.
It is healthier, the salt in the water is better for physical health and immune system, makes you more physically fit swimming in the ocean and the chlorine in the swimming pool is not good for skin.
It's often very crowded and the sand gets everywhere leading to a rather uncomfortable day even if it is fun. Meanwhile going to the pool can be much more relaxing. It is much easier to swim in a pool without the tide, and there isn't any saltwater like there is normally at a beach.
When this urine comes into contact with chlorine, it creates chloramines, which is what's giving off the odor. When your eyes burn while swimming, that's another sign of trouble. Cyanogen chloride is a chemical created when someone pees in a pool. It's a toxic chemical that causes your eyes to burn.
U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps even confessed back in 2012 that peeing in the pool is an acceptable thing to do. "I think everybody pees in the pool," Phelps told the Wall Street Journal. "It's kind of a normal thing to do for swimmers. When we're in the pool for two hours, we don't really get out to pee.
Water Pressure
As you submerge in water, hydrostatic pressure drives up your blood pressure a bit, enough to trigger your kidneys to respond by stepping up their filtration game and increase urine output.
The odour you smell isn't actually the chlorine itself, but actually chemical compounds called chloramines. According to the American Chemistry Council, chloramines build up when the water hasn't been properly treated. They result from a combination of chlorine with sweat, oil and urine in the swimming pool.
However, water parks are full of germs, potentially dangerous, and can be just as crowded as amusement parks on their worst days.
Each year, about 15 to 20 outbreaks of diseases, including stomach bugs and diarrhea, are blamed on dirty public pools, according to the CDC. A quarter of theses outbreaks are caused by bacteria, parasites and viruses that could have easily been prevented had the pools been properly chlorinated and monitored.
The manufacturing process of chlorine creates mercury emissions, and once poured into your pool it may cause ozone pollution. Further, the Environmental Protection Agency considers it to be a pesticide, so cutting down or eliminating its use is certainly beneficial for the environment.
The INSIDER Summary: Chlorine is commonly used to keep pool water clean. If can dry out your skin and hair by stripping away natural oils, according to dermatologists. However, dermatologists agree that chlorine is effective in cleaning pools to make them safe enough to swim in.
Saltwater will sanitize your pool, but it does so through electrolysis, which produces bacteria-killing chlorine. In other words, saltwater pools are no healthier or safer than chlorinated ones.
Also part of an athlete's race routine, it's something that gets an athlete ready to go. Male swimmers sometimes slap themselves red, especially on their pectorals. Women will also do this or use a closed fist instead. This slapping increases blood flow in the muscles which is helpful to the “warmup” process.
The pre-swim shower helps minimize the irritating, smelly substances formed in pool water when impurities introduced on the bodies of swimmers combine with chlorine. Many people identify that smell as the smell of chlorine.
The truth is that while urine isn't as clean and pure as some people think it is, most of the time it's not likely to cause health problems if you occasionally opt for the shower drain instead of the toilet bowl.
Is There Truth to the Rumor? No. There is no chemical which changes color when someone urinates in a swimming pool. There are dyes which could cloud, change color, or produce a color in response to urine, but these chemicals would also be activated by other compounds, producing embarrassing false-positives.
Peeing in the ocean is totally fine, but don't pee in protected areas like reefs or smaller bodies of water, especially swimming pools.
There is more area of water to spread out and swim in than a pool has. Some beaches do have marked-out swimming areas that are placed to keep beach swimmers safe, however, these areas are still more spacious than swimming pools. Public pools become crowded very quickly.
Health benefits of swimming
builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. helps you maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs. tones muscles and builds strength. provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming.