# Forget About Feet, Half Of Americans Rinse Off In Pools Instead Of Showering/bathing



## Ganjababy (May 16, 2019)

I cannot believe this nastiness...

*Half of Americans admit to using a swimming pool as a bath. Here’s why you shouldn’t*
Global News’ Leslie Young





WATCH: University of Alberta researchers look into how much pee is in pools


Nearly half of Americans say that they’ve rinsed off in a swimming pool after exercise, after yardwork, or even gone swimming as a substitute for a shower, according to a new poll.

*RELATED*

*Parasites, bacteria in U.S. pools made thousands of people sick, CDC says *
*These are all the germs lurking in your public pool, waterpark *
The poll, conducted by Sachs Media Group on behalf of the Water Quality & Health Council, an industry association, is an annual look at Americans’ pool-related behaviours. It found that 40 per cent of people admitted to peeing in the pool as an adult, and half of people said they don’t shower before diving in.

Aside from just being gross, these unhygienic activities can affect the chemical balance of the pool, according to Chris Wiant, chair of the Water Quality & Health Council.

After exercising or hard work, he said, “You generate all kinds of organic matter. Could be sweat, it could be dirt, could be oil, grease, sunscreen, whatever.

“All those are the things that react to the disinfectant in the pool. So they may utilize all the disinfectant.”

There’s not an infinite amount of disinfectant in a pool, he said. It generally gets added gradually as the water is filtered. When chlorine contacts sunscreen or another contaminant like makeup, it changes. “It’s no longer able to disinfect but just becomes a contaminant itself in the water.”

When that happens, there’s less chlorine left over to tackle serious pathogens in the water.

READ MORE: These are all the germs lurking in your public pool, waterpark 

“Let’s just assume your body, you’ve got sunscreen, you’ve got makeup, you’ve been sweating, your personal hygiene is not very good, all those things are going to combine with the chlorine,” he said. “So now if the next person gets in and actually has some kind of a bacterial or a viral disease, then those viruses can’t be killed by the chlorine because it’s already been consumed by the other material.”

That characteristic chemical pool smell? It’s actually from the chemicals created when chlorine reacts to foreign substances, according to the American Chemistry Council.

Pool pathogens are serious business. According to a study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 27,000 people got sick in the U.S. between 2000 and 2014 as a result of dirty pool water.

The top culprit was a protozoa called Cryptosporidium, which can cause diarrhea and is actually resistant to chlorine.

READ MORE: Parasites, bacteria in U.S. pools made thousands of people sick, CDC says 

This highlights another of the survey’s findings: people don’t wait long enough after a diarrhea attack before getting in the water.

One in four Americans would hop in the pool just an hour after having diarrhea, according to the survey.

“It’s virtually impossible to clean away all the bacteria, viruses or spores that might be associated with that kind of an illness,” said Wiant.

“What we find is that some of those diseases are pretty persistent, that you can have residual bacteria even the next day or even several days later. So you go to the pool, and what happens is that will get washed off in the pool.”

Then, it could be passed on to someone else, he said. The CDC says that diarrhea could be passed on for up to two weeksafter an illness.


https://globalnews.ca/news/5281054/pool-hygiene-safety-shower/


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## ebonysweetie (May 18, 2019)

I just .....


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## LivingInPeace (May 18, 2019)

I don’t get in pools. I don’t swim. This is the reason.


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## Kurlee (May 18, 2019)




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## MomofThreeBoys (May 18, 2019)

This is b.s. Study was done by chlorine industry. I don’t event think 20% of Americans have regular access to a pool to make this a thing.
ETA: Apprently they are threatened by the rise in saltwater pools.


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## weaveadiva (May 18, 2019)

Ganjababy said:


> This highlights another of the survey’s findings: people don’t wait long enough after a diarrhea attack before getting in the water.


This is disgusting but whhyyyyy am I laughing?


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## moneychaser (May 18, 2019)

I believe this.  All those people that that don’t was their legs probably swim in public pools weekly lol #staywoke


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## shespoison (May 19, 2019)

I don’t believe this. Anybody that nasty wouldn’t bother to jump ina  pool to “bathe.”


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## kblc06 (May 19, 2019)

moneychaser said:


> I believe this.  All those people that that don’t was their legs probably swim in public pools weekly lol #staywoke



I hosted a pool party and watched a someone rinse their hands in the pool and instruct their child to do the same after they ate . Mind you, there was a rinsing faucet that was actually closer.  I don't need to tell you what color they were.


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## LostInAdream (May 19, 2019)

kblc06 said:


> I hosted a pool party and watched a someone rinse their hands in the pool and instruct their child to do the same after they ate . Mind you, there was a rinsing faucet that was actually closer.  I don't need to tell you what color they were.


They think the pool kills everything One of them asked why I needed to shower after getting out of the pool


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## LdyKamz (May 19, 2019)

I believe it. I hear people talking all the time about going for a swim after a workout or some other strenuous activity obviously _before _they shower and then they shower _after _the pool when the rule is you need to shower before the pool. Plus the article says that chlorine smell is from when foreign substances interact with the disinfectants in the pool and that smell is crazy strong at the gym which likely means the pool at the gym is gross! I've never been in it and after this never will.


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## Layluh (May 20, 2019)

You know what I've seen this but want really paying attention cause I'm not apool person. But yeah this Rich white guy I was dating rinsed off in his pool after working out on several occasions.


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## ItsMeLilLucky (May 20, 2019)

This gotta be some yt people


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## tallnomad (May 24, 2019)

When I was a child, I remember looking out of my bedroom window.  It faced my next door neighbor's backyard, which was entirely composed of a swimming pool.  The man was literally shampooing his hair (with lather and everything) in the pool!  I was so confused, but I've always remembered that.


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## lesedi (May 24, 2019)

tallnomad said:


> When I was a child, I remember looking out of my bedroom window.  It faced my next door neighbor's backyard, which was entirely composed of a swimming pool.  The man was literally shampooing his hair (with lather and everything) in the pool!  I was so confused, but I've always remembered that.


I'm sorry but


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## ThirdEyeBeauty (May 24, 2019)

That's nasty but how do they know half of Americans do that?  I don't recall receiving any survey asking about that.  They are making an assumption based on a small sample size I bet.  I can guess the sample they used.


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## Evolving78 (May 24, 2019)

I like to go swimming.. I don’t owe a pool, so what am I suppose to do?


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## MilkChocolateOne (May 24, 2019)

LostInAdream said:


> They think the pool kills everything *One of them asked why I needed to shower after getting out of the pool *


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## Misseyl (May 25, 2019)

I know there was a reason why I don't like pools.  Totally disgusting.


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