# Kids swimming in pools **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 13, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904 "2009-07-13T21:29:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/41 "2009-07-14T14:39:16Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Well, are there any examples of things like that? “not socially acceptable” **and** not a “big deal”. How about farting? Not really acceptable to let er rip in front of others or pollute the air in confined places but not really that big of a deal. Same for nose picking. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/42 "2009-07-14T15:31:07Z")
My friends always get a chuckle when I remind people that they are **swimming in the orifice juices of everyone that went into the pool.** Swim diapers slosh around in there too, with all the little goodies the baby passed just enhancing the water. When you swim, you are putting FAITH in the pool boy’s ability to keep the water in a condition that can overcome the challenges presented by orifice juices, fecal matter, body oils and other materials and contamination. **Many times** , the water quality is NOT good enough, and you might have kids getting ear infections, tummy aches and other little problems (maybe big) that are really associated with swim they took a day or two ago. **If you want to swim without faith** , and get the facts: Get a set of water-quality test strips from a pool supply store. It’ll set you back ten bucks for a season of them. Give yourself 10 mins to learn how to interpret the 6-9 readings, then test public pool water before you go swimming. \*\* If the readings are good (chlorine is up and safe pH is in the zone, etc), have at it\*\*. However, learn what it all means. A rocking good chlorine level is meaningless if the pH is overwhelmed (knocked out of whack) by the number of swimmers. Chlorine is ineffective outside certain pH ranges. That is just an example. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/43 "2009-07-14T16:12:00Z")
If you’ve ever been in a pool where competitive swimmers work out then you’ve been been in a pool where somebody has peed. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/44 "2009-07-14T16:16:49Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Awesome! > > Thanks for the Snopes links. I do disagree a bit though, with her claim that such a chemical wouldn’t reveal _who_ peed in the pool. It was clearly spelled out in the kid-lore that the culprit would have a dark green (or red or whatever colored) cloud hovering tellingly around his/her crotch area during the actual peeing that would then would fade as as it dissipated throughout the rest of the pool. It was the fear of being ridiculed when caught in the act that motivated us. It certainly worked on me, I never peed in the pool! Perhaps I will start now … 😃 Thats why I always swam fast while peeing in the pool as kid…to dissipate any possible clouds. Sure don’t want something like that going on your permanent record ! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/45 "2009-07-14T17:46:57Z")
I don’t mind. I hate cold water. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/46 "2009-07-14T18:15:11Z")
Someone actually _put_ their dog in our pool recently. It’s one thing to have the dog in the pool area with you and it gets excited and jumps in. But the dog was nervous about the water and the owner picked it up and put it on the top step. ::head explodes:: But I still swim in the pool anyway. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/47 "2009-07-14T18:44:35Z")
I just can’t get worked up about this. I love swimming and get to the public pool every change I get. The thought that someone else’s butt may have been in the water 5 minutes earlier fails to ick me out. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/48 "2009-07-14T19:26:31Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > :eek: > > Just … :eek: > > All this talk of swimming in water that’s gently lapping at other people’s assholes, and of swallowing crypto spores or getting them in your eyes, and of whether or not urine is harmless, and of swimming in other peoples’ “toilet water” … I’m _eating_, people, eating breakfast while I read this, and I’m not the least bit grossed out. > > I have a disturbingly high “ick” threshold, I really do. Could have become a surgeon - if I had the work ethic to hack the residency hours - and spent my days cutting \*open \*people’s assholes without even \*thinking \*the word “ick.” > > But this … > > Dear, sweet \ > > I … I’m … I … > > \ Hahahaha, now I feel totally badass - thank you for that. If it makes you feel better, it’s not like my mouth was wide open. But a little bit did get in there. Did you hear the one about the guy who was at a barbecue, and his wife handed him their new baby, and then he noticed he had some mustard on his hand and licked it off? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/49 "2009-07-14T19:40:01Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > Hahahaha, now I feel totally badass - thank you for that. > > If it makes you feel better, it’s not like my mouth was wide open. But a little bit did get in there. > > Did you hear the one about the guy who was at a barbecue, and his wife handed him their new baby, and then he noticed he had some mustard on his hand and licked it off? 😃 You’re welcome. My pleasure. \ No. No, it does not make me feel any better. Well, a little, b/c it dissipated the mental image I’d had going. So OK, a little better. But not much. My experience with vomit is mostly of the drunken-adult variety, so I’m probably used to more pressure and volume than what you’re talking about. I hope. Note to self: design babies with warning lights that flash red when a pressure leak has occurred. Must get right on that. Ahahahahaewwwwwww. I thought this thread couldn’t \*possibly \*get any grosser, what with the “orifice juices” and all. (Philster, you are some kind of poet. Don’t know what kind, exactly, but … that’s awesome, man.) (Seriously? \*Still \*no green barfing smiley? with puffed-out cheeks and tongue sticking out? I can totally picture exactly what the little guy would look like.) ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/50 "2009-07-14T19:56:06Z")
No way would I allow the possibility (actuality, I’m certain) of a little pee in the water stop me from enjoying our complex pool. I swim daily, weather permitting, during the summer, and plenty of kids swim there as well (though not very many still in diapers…THAT does sort of ick me out, since those disposables don’t do squat, no pun intended, to prevent leaks, esp. when worn so long that they are all sagging and gapping…a public pool I used to go to was problematic in this respect. When my kids were that age, I used the reusable ones, and they actually hold their shape and anything else that might happen, tho’ it never did) One, I am not gulping down water…at most I get a tiny bit in my mouth and spit it back out (how about the ick factor of all the saliva and snot in the water? uh oh, you may never swim again!:eek:) Two, the volume of clean water, constantly being replenished, dilutes anything to a negligible concentration…you probably EAT more urine/feces/other disgusting stuff every day than what you’d ingest in a pool. Three, the chlorine kills damn near everything (except for the crytosporidian, but that is found in a lot of tap water and is mostly harmless unless you have an immune condition or are otherwise very weak/vulnerable) Four, as has been resolved, it’s not just the kids. I guess you’ll just have get over it, give up swimming forever, or invest in a private pool. Sorry you haven’t been swimming in years, though. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![LunarPlexus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LunarPlexus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunarPlexus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/51 "2009-07-14T20:20:16Z")
How diluted would the urine have to get before you had to start worrying about its homeopathic consequences? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/52 "2009-07-14T20:42:10Z")
> [@LunarPlexus](#): > > How diluted would the urine have to get before you had to start worrying about its homeopathic consequences? Hmm. This post fails miserably on the “When I woke up this morning the one thing I was be sure I’d read today is…” test. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/53 "2009-07-14T20:47:02Z")
> [@LunarPlexus](#): > > How diluted would the urine have to get before you had to start worrying about its homeopathic consequences? HA! [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HMGIbOGu8q0/hqdefault.jpg "That Mitchell and Webb Look: Homeopathic A&E") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/54 "2009-07-14T20:55:49Z")
> [@LunarPlexus](#): > > How diluted would the urine have to get before you had to start worrying about its homeopathic consequences? If the pool is just near someone who has peed (like behind a bush), it has the requirements for homeopathic urine-therapy. Bottle it up and sell it! . ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/55 "2009-07-14T21:20:43Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I just can’t believe it would ever occur to anyone to want to pee in the pool. Am I the only one who pretty much can’t pee anywhere else, even if I’m “allowed” to? No, you are not the only one. Waaaay back when I was a little kid, I was firmly instructed that I was to pee and poop only in the toilet. This has not been a particularly difficult rule to follow. If I’m in a meeting at work and have to pee, I leave the room, go to the bathroom and pee. If I were in a pool and had to pee, I would leave the pool, go to the bathroom and pee. I used the conditional case in my statement about the pool, because I pretty much don’t swim in pools these days. I know the urine is theoretically sterile; I just have a policy of not swimming in sewage. It’s just icky. ---
**Author:** ![Jorge\_Burrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Jorge\_Burrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge_Burrito)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/56 "2009-07-14T22:53:15Z")
If the whole urine/feces thing isn’t enough, I have another reason to keep kids out of the pool. The might get pregnant: [http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm\_3394806.html](http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3394806.html) :eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/57 "2009-07-14T22:54:14Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > No, you are not the only one. Waaaay back when I was a little kid, I was firmly instructed that I was to pee and poop only in the toilet. This has not been a particularly difficult rule to follow. > > If I’m in a meeting at work and have to pee, I leave the room, go to the bathroom and pee. If I were in a pool and had to pee, I would leave the pool, go to the bathroom and pee. Let’s start a pee goes in the potty facebook group! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/58 "2009-07-14T23:48:45Z")
Not a big deal to me. I have no idea why. It just isn’t. I may avoid the kiddie wading pool, but that may be as much because I don’t want to be around all those little kids. Semi funny (at least to me) related story: I was staying at a hotel with my brother’s family. The kids were playing in the pool while my sister in law and I were chatting poolside. While we were there a group of tween girls came in with their parent. The parents left and the girls proceeded to become total tween brats. They decided to gang up on one of their group and spit pool water at her. My nieces and nephews were getting caught in the cross fire of their relentless picking on this girl. Finally, my sister in law had enough and asked them to stop spitting since they were bothering everyone. The girls copped a total attitude and began gathering up mouthfuls of water, spitting it into the air, then catching it in their mouths. Many times they accidentally swallowed. They thought they were just the rebels, but they were no longer catching others in their spitfest and were safely ignored. When we decided to leave after a few minutes, my little niece (all of 4) came up to me looking very upset. I asked her what was wrong and she replied in that kid whisper that is supposed to be quiet but everyone can hear “I couldn’t help it… I PEED in the POOL!” I can still see the horrified look in those tween girls’ faces. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/59 "2009-07-15T01:01:41Z")
> [@LunarPlexus](#): > > How diluted would the urine have to get before you had to start worrying about its **homeopathic** consequences? Crap crap crap crap! Oh wait…I didnt see the “e” in there… ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904/60 "2009-07-15T01:32:58Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Let’s start a pee goes in the potty facebook group! 🙂 I find peeing in the woods one of the great natural pleasures. If I’m somewhere on a summer day where there’s a toilet and some trees (when I’m alone) equidistant, I’m making for the trees every time. That goes quadruple if it’s a port-a-potty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-swimming-in-pools/502904.md?page=4)