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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wants us to NOT to pee in the pool.
"Pee in the toilet, not in the pool! When pee and chlorine mix in the pool, there is less chlorine available to kill germs. Pee mixed with chlorine creates chemicals that make your eyes red and itchy" the CDC recently shared in a social media post.
According to Yahoo plenty of commenters pointed out that most people are aware that in, yeah you shouldn't pee in the pool, but this is still a common issue especially during summer months. Why shouldn't you pee in the pool?
Besides the fact that peeing in the pool is gross, more than that, it uses up valuable chlorine that's needed to tackle germs, bacteria, feces particles, dirt, sweat, and other gunk in the pool. As a powerful chemical, it needs the right environment to do its job.
Chlorine needs the right environment to do its job.
"Urine as well as sweat, contains urea, a nitrogen-containing compound that can combine with chlorine to produce other compounds, leaving less of the chlorine available to kill bacteria." said Mark Conroy, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and medical director of the University Hospital emergency department at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. The CDC says the average swimmer can introduce these microbes and other things into the pool by simply taking as dip. It can be a lot for chlorine to tackle, especially if urine is added.
Dr. Conroy offers up this advice: "Urinating in a pool is simply a bad habit, while urine itself is generally considered sterile, the chlorine in the pool is there to protect us from other bacteria. Ultimately it's best to simply get out of the pool, head to a restroom, and then return to avoid making swimming uncomfortable for themselves and other swimmers."