# Peeing in the pool **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2023, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079 "2023-06-25T12:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/41 "2023-06-27T13:39:41Z")
There is a huge difference between 1-2 ounces and 248. No, I don’t fill a 2-gallon jug, but I think most adults are in the 6-12 oz range. Hence my question. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/42 "2023-06-27T14:10:49Z")
I haven’t actually measured but I go in the pool when i have the beginnings of an urge, not a bursting bladder. ---
**Author:** ![JHuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b3f665/32.png) [@JHuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHuff)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/43 "2023-06-27T14:24:15Z")
1 or 2 ounces? Who in the world pees only 1 or 2 ounces? That’s the size of a shot glass. If you are peeing so little volume of urine as to barely fill a shot glass, well, I guess that sounds unusual to me, but Im not a urologist. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/44 "2023-06-27T14:30:04Z")
A swimming pool is a mini water treatment plant. The chemicals and the filtration system are working to treat the water and regulate the impurities and move the pH to a specific level that is equal to the pH of your eyes. This way you should be able to open your eyes under the water and it not burn or irritate them. If your eyes burn when opening them in the pool, the pH is not correct. If you pee in your pool, you’re just battling against yourself in getting the water correct. No harm no foul, you just may need to add more chemicals or run the filtration system longer. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/45 "2023-06-27T15:08:16Z")
That’s what I was getting at but apparently an 8 oz urination is a bursting bladder. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/46 "2023-06-27T15:16:36Z")
> **[How does the urinary system work?](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279384/)** > > The main organs of our urinary system are the kidneys – our body’s “sewage treatment plants”: They filter toxins out of the body, as well as other substances that we no longer need. These waste products leave your body in the urine produced in your... > The urinary bladder can store up to 500 ml of urine in women and 700 ml in men. **People already feel the need to urinate (pee) when their bladder has between 200 and 350 ml of urine in it.** 200 ml is a bit less than 7 ounces. If you get any urge to urinate with only two ounces retained, see your urologist now. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/47 "2023-06-27T15:52:05Z")
OK, now you’re making me pee into a Pyrex measuring cup to see how much I pee. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/48 "2023-06-27T16:21:12Z")
Measure twice, cut once. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/49 "2023-06-27T16:37:24Z")
[![](https://external-preview.redd.it/MREtkZ8tyan4fFV3PyqCbW2gKgDPx62gjWCNzh2mSY4.jpg?auto=webp&s=0667b33ee73091774c9761dee587502205b651ae) ](https://external-preview.redd.it/MREtkZ8tyan4fFV3PyqCbW2gKgDPx62gjWCNzh2mSY4.jpg?auto=webp&s=0667b33ee73091774c9761dee587502205b651ae) ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/50 "2023-06-27T18:34:48Z")
Came in pretty close–125 ml, about a half cup. My urologist I’m fine, btw, for a guy of 125. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/51 "2023-06-27T20:53:03Z")
Harmless at your level. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/52 "2023-06-27T22:10:13Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > I’m fine, btw, for a guy of 125. Dang, I’d say at age 125, 1-2 ounces would be A-OK! This has been one of the more interesting factual questions threads in a while. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/53 "2023-06-27T22:45:52Z")
Slight update. I’ve now peed into the pyrex measuring cup three times today, each time as soon as I felt a mild urge and now it’s up to 350 ml, or about 117 ml per pee, which means my initial guesstimate of 1-2 oz was a bit low. It’s more like just under 4 oz. per pee. Now I have to give the measuring cup a little scrub. ---
**Author:** ![JHuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b3f665/32.png) [@JHuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHuff)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/54 "2023-06-28T22:57:14Z")
You may want to have a dr put his fingers in your butt. And when you’re done socializing, you can also ask him why you pee so little volume. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/55 "2023-06-28T23:28:14Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > A pool 75’ by 40’ by 5 feet deep is about 15,000 gallons of water. It’s about 15,000 cubic feet of water. A pool with 120,000 gallons? And nobody is talking about the absolutely massive size of this guy’s pool? My humble 18,500 gallon pool took 10 gallons of liquid chlorine to properly kill all of the green stuff. That pool would take 64 gallons of the stuff. I wouldn’t want to carry that out to the pool! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/56 "2023-06-29T01:42:07Z")
Apparently Mr. Stallone has a very large pool. Or shares it with the rest of a city but isn’t telling us that part. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/57 "2023-07-04T19:31:43Z")
What is fascinating to me about the discussion is the fact that urine in and of itself won’t harm you because of the relative volumes involved. YET a relatively small amount of feces can cause problems in a swimming pool. Especially if someone swimming has Crypto, and I don’t mean Bitcoin’s Disease 😃 [CDC Cite](https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/swimmers/rwi/diarrheal-illness.html) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/58 "2023-07-04T19:38:35Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > a relatively small amount of feces can cause problems in a swimming pool. Or even a [Baby Ruth](https://youtu.be/TPxiXGr9nFM) candy bar. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/59 "2023-07-04T20:02:46Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Apparently Mr. Stallone has a very large pool. Or shares it with the rest of a city but isn’t telling us that part. No, I share it with eleven other units, eight of whom are snowbirds who flew north in April, plus two elderly year-round residents who don’t swim, and one vacancy. From May through late October, it’s mine exclusively. As to the volume of my peeing, I don’t wait for a full bladder, just the first twinges of discomfort. I could probably hold out for another twenty minutes if I really needed to, but this way it relieves the urge entirely for my hour in the pool. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079/60 "2023-07-04T22:39:35Z")
According to a study in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, water samples taken from 31 pools and hot tubs in two Canadian cities suggest that the average 1,000,000-litre (220,000-gallon) swimming pool contains around 90 liters (20 gallons) of pee. Though urine is not sterile, the main problem isn’t in the pee itself, but rather in the way it neutralizes chlorine (limiting the pool’s ability to fight germs) and moreover creates various airborne chemicals. That familiar pool smell? Apparently it’s more likely to be byproduct than chlorine itself. Pool filters vary in method, but mostly work on debris, not molecules. Reposting link: [A Grim Amount Of People Pee In The Pool – Here's Why You Shouldn't | IFLScience](https://www.iflscience.com/a-grim-amount-of-people-pee-in-the-pool-heres-why-you-shouldnt-63515) Takeaway message to America on this 4th of July: stop peeing in the pool and shower before you go in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-the-pool/986079.md?page=4)