Let's face it. People pee in the pool and it's not just kids. According to researchers in Canada, in the average 110,000 gallon pool, they discovered that nearly 8 gallons was urine.
Despite being gross, does urine in pool water cause any damage to pools?
Think Again Before Entering That Hot Tub
While it may be concerning to know that frequent swimmers in pools are coming into close contact with urine, the bigger concern arises in jacuzzis and hot tubs where the water count is lower and the urine count is much higher. In fact, hot tubs can have nearly three times the amount of urine in the water than the worst pools.
It just goes to show that we should have some common courtesy to exit the pool when we need to use the restroom. Plus, it is just good hygiene.
Is Pee In The Pool Harmful?
Although urine itself is known to be sterile, there are compounds in urine such as ammonia, creatinine and urea that can react with chemicals in the pool and cause eye irritation and respiratory issues. When your eyes turn red after swimming, it is actually not from the chlorine. It is from your body reacting to a byproduct of pool chemicals coming into contact with urine called DBPs. In fact, DBPs have been linked to causing asthma in many professional swimmers.
While urine is not necessarily harmful to pool equipment, it is important to keep your pool levels up to sanitary standards for you and your swimming guests. Unfortunately, there are no current home tests to determine levels of urine in the pool despite rumors that there are. The best hope is using the honor system that your swimmers are diligently using the bathroom the right way.
Regular Pool Cleaning Can Help Eliminate Pee In The Pool
As a general rule, we recommend having your pool cleaned on a weekly basis in order to keep it serviced properly. We have no contact service plans to make keeping your pool in top shape easy and simple. We are experts in keeping your pool maintained. Call us today to get started at (727) 433-5320 or contact us on our website here. We look forward to serving you.