Urine is difficult to detect, as many of the naturally occurring compounds within urine are unstable and react freely with common disinfectants, such as chlorine, creating a large number of disinfection by-product (DBP) compounds from the original organic chemicals in urine.
One of the most common pool myths is the one where parents tell the kids they put a chemical in the water that will turn green or purple (pick a color) if they pee in the pool. That is not remotely true (even if we might kind of wish for it), nothing of the kind exists.
Nope, that isn't how it works. Chlorine will kill bacteria, but since urine is basically sterile, there is nothing for the chlorine to “kill.” Furthermore, chlorine does nothing to “remove” the urine from the water. If someone pees in the pool, it is there to stay.
The urea in urine breaks down to yield ammonia and ammonia reacts with chlorine to form chloramines. These irritate the eyes and lungs and in fact account for most of the “swimming pool odour.”
While many people might be aware that it is considered “bad manners” to urinate in a swimming pool, kids and competitive swimmers alike may not always follow this rule.
First, schedule short breaks to encourage people to exit the water. For example, a 10-minute “adult only” swim time or an out-of-pool activity every hour encourages people to exit the pool and use the bathroom. Second, post signage that suggests using the bathroom and showering before getting into the pool.
Urine, a salty water solution containing low levels of urea (a waste product left after our bodies process protein), is greatly diluted in the already salty ocean. Swimmer urine makes a much more significant contribution in a pool, especially a crowded one.
The average amount of pee in a public swimming pool is...
In a pool with 110,000 gallons of water, the researchers found that over the three-week period, swimmers released 7.92 gallons of urine. Technically that's only . 000079 percent of the liquid in the pool, if that makes you feel better.
Hence when you swim, your body generates heat so that there is a balance in temperature of both inside the body and the outside environment. So, after swimming, when you pee, it feels warmer because the human body takes time to regain heat.
To estimate how much urine — and potentially DBPs — might be in a given pool, Li's team needed to identify what compound might consistently be present in urine. So the researchers turned to the artificial sweetener, acesulfame potassium (ACE), which is marketed as Sunett and Sweet One.
Your First Clue that Somebody Peed in the Hot Tub
Chlorine on its own does not have much of an odor, so if you notice the distinctive smell of “chlorine” in the air, it is a sign that your chlorine has combined with a substance you would rather not have in your hot tub, such as pee, excessive body oil, or sweat.
Cyanogen chloride potentially can affect the central nervous system, heart and lungs. Trichloramine is an irritant. Bottom line: peeing in the pool may be convenient, but it is not healthy.
In pool water, algae flourish by consuming contaminants such as urine and perspiration. Some forms of algae cling to the interior surfaces of pools. In an outdoor pool, there is no way to keep algae away.
In addition to burning calories, swimming aids weight loss in a couple of other ways too. For example, the water provides resistance which helps you build lean muscle tissue.
Non-bacterial or non-infective cystitis is typically caused by bruising or irritation of the urethra. Often, this can be caused by friction during sex or sports such as cycling and horse riding. Other causes of non-infectious cystitis can include chemicals from soaps and bath products and chlorine in swimming pools.
If we become cold very quickly, the body protects our internal organs in a number of ways. One is "cold-induced diuresis", or an increase in urine excretion in response to the cold. Initially, blood is diverted away from the skin to avoid losing its heat to the outside air.
Yep, straight up pee. The study found the average Canadian swimming pool contains 75 liters of pee, which means no matter how many times you're taught not to pee in the pool as a kid, the lesson clearly isn't sticking.
As mentioned, chlorine smells very intensely of bleach or other strong cleaning products. This is likely to be one of the first signs of a chlorine gas leak at your property or facility, as the odor is a highly distinct one.
Chlorine doesn't actually give off the distinctive "pool smell", although chlorinated water can have a slight chemical odor that can be smelled in pools without good ventilation. Chloramines, on the other hand, do, and are produced when chlorine reacts with ammonia from the sweat, body oils and urine of pool users.
But for swimmers, full body immersion really can increase the amount of water, salts, and urea (a waste product found in urine) that your body releases. When you combine cold temps and this hydrostatic pressure, that's a recipe for making noticeably more pee.
When a person urinates, the pee exits the bladder and goes out of the body through the urethra (pronounced: yoo-REE-thruh), another tube-like structure.