More Than Half of Adults Admit to Peeing in Pools, Survey Finds

Are swimming pools disgusting? Not inherently. But if a new survey is any indication, plenty of people are.

1. Swimming Pools Are Grosser Than You May Think
2. Is Urine in Pools a Health Hazard?
3. How to Practice Proper Pool Hygiene

Swimming Pools Are Grosser Than You May Think

In June, the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance conducted a survey of 2000 casual and frequent swimmers. Roughly half (53 percent) claimed they had peed in a pool as an adult, effectively turning a fun communal activity into a shared urinal.

In response to this disturbing admission, the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance is teaming up with the American Chemistry Council, an industry group. to promote the Healthy Pools campaign, which raises awareness around pool safety. Pool peeing is obviously not one of the recommended practices—not because of possible disease or germ transmission, but because pool contaminants like urine can actually make pool water more irritating.

Is Urine in Pools a Health Hazard?

Why isn’t pool pee a health concern? According to the Cleveland Clinic, urine is about 95 percent water, with the remaining 5 percent comprised of excess ammonia, uric acid, electrolytes, and some debris like dead blood cells. A small amount of bacteria may be present, picked up from the urethra on the way out. Pool water further dilutes urine, meaning the odds of someone falling ill as a direct result of marinating in another swimmer’s waste is low.

However, when bodily fluids like urine, oil, or sweat interact with chlorine, chemicals called chloramines are formed. It’s chloramines that give off chlorine’s distinctive smell and can lead to eye or nasal irritation. (A clean pool shouldn’t actually have a strong odor.)

The recent survey was part of a wider exploration of poor pool protocol. Forty-eight percent of respondents also admitted to rinsing their dirty feet in pool water, even when wearing sandals. Roughly half also reported wearing dirty swimwear and eating in pools, which can lead to further contamination.

How to Practice Proper Pool Hygiene

Won’t chlorine just kill everything? Not exactly. The more dirt, crumbs, and bodily fluids to contend with, the more chlorine’s effectiveness wanes.

If you want to contribute to a public pool’s sanitation, it’s best to shower before getting in, wear clean swimsuits, avoid swimming when feeling ill, and, perhaps most importantly, don’t pee in it.

“Swimmer hygiene directly impacts water quality,” LeaAnne Forest, spokesperson for the Chlorine Panel of the American Chemistry Council, said in a statement. “Chlorine is highly effective, but can’t do its job if swimmers overload the water with dirt, oil, and other contaminants. Clean swimmers mean clean pools.”

You might be wondering if the survey asked the most pressing question: Whether anyone confessed to pooping in a community pool. None of the respondents admitted to it, but 23 percent said they wouldn’t report someone else who had for fear it would lead to early closure.

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