When a mother asked users of an online parenting forum if anyone pees in the pool on holiday, the responses were generally awash with disgust.
But some users admitted that they do, with one noting that she does so because she is ‘unable to get out’.
The debate erupted on Mumsnet after user ‘Blondiebeachbabe’ asked: ‘Am I being unreasonable to think that most people pee in the pool on holiday? Will you?’
Dozens of parents reacted with disgust to the question and insisted they would never pee in a public swimming pool – with some expressing ‘shock’ at the idea.
One mother, ‘sandrapinchedmysandwich’, reacted in horror, saying: ‘No. That’s disgusting. Stop being dirty and lazy. Urgh.”
Mumsnet user ‘Blondiebeachbabe’ asked the question: ‘Am I being unreasonable in thinking that most people pee in the pool on holiday? Will you?’ It led to a heated debate
While ‘Floralnomad’ added: ‘Normal, toilet-trained adults don’t pee in swimming pools.’
Additionally, ‘Tamigotxh’ wrote: ‘No, I don’t pee in pools at home or on holiday. Things like this put me off swimming.
‘I wish people weren’t so disgusting and selfish. I hope only a small minority do this. Well, I wish no one would do it, let alone a small minority, but unfortunately that’s not realistic.’
Another Mumsnet user, ‘CulturalNomad’, added: ‘As disgusting as it is, I’m sure it’s very common and there isn’t enough chlorine in the world to make it okay to get into other people’s urine to swim.
“I’ve heard moms in the pool tell their kids to ‘just go’ when the kid tells them to get out to pee.”
A number of women said that while they would never pee in a pool, they often did so while wading in the sea. While this also sparked some disgust, it started a heated debate when a woman was the first to come out and admit that she did. frequent urination in the pool.
Some studies have reportedly shown that urea, found in urine and sweat, reacts with chlorine to form disinfection byproducts, which can cause eye irritation.
The controversial ‘IWillAdmit’ poster commented: ‘Yes, I do. [I’m an] adult female, for what it’s worth.’
This sparked an angry response from other mothers, with ‘Gonngetgoingreturnsagain’ asking: ‘Why? Why would you do this?’
The anonymous pool plasterer replied, “Lots of other people do that, why not (maybe they’re just kids, but still, if I’m swimming in childhood, I might as well swim in my own).
Anyone who says no is obviously lying. Yes, I pee in the pool
“I don’t care about getting out, no one knows and I do.”
Later in the thread they added, “I can’t believe I’m the only one who admitted it. I’m honestly shocked.
“To be completely honest, I’ll most likely be thinking about this thread and giggling while I pee. I know, I know – I’m a horrible person.’
‘ToxicChristmas’ poster replied the woman saying: ‘I guess at least you’re being honest about being an absolute minger.’
Shortly afterwards, a number of other parents joined the conversation and admitted that they also urinated in swimming pools.
Honest commenter ‘Katbum’ said: ‘Anyone who says no is definitely lying. Yes, I pee in the pool.
‘That’s what the chemicals are for: peeing [is] no worse than sweat, spit, snot.”
While ‘shearwater2’ commented: ‘I do go to the toilet when I need to pee, but sometimes swimming/the effect of water still makes me pee, just like being in the shower. So yes, in small doses.’
Mumsnet user ‘IWillAdmit’ confessed to peeing in hotel pools and reasoned ‘lots of other people do that, why not’
Pragmatic poster ‘OneBadKitty’ added to the debate, saying: ‘Pools are disgustingly dirty anyway, so it probably wouldn’t make much difference. Everyone’s vaginal secretions, sweat, spit, snot and feces are already floating in the water.”
But how true is this: are our swimming pools full of urine and does this pose a health risk to those who swim in them?
According to a study by the University of Alberta in Canada, the average public swimming pool contains as much as 75 liters of urine.
The study, released in 2017, determined how much urine is in swimming pools and hot tubs by testing for an artificial sweetener — acesulfame potassium (ACE) — commonly used in processed foods like soda and baked goods.
The sweetener is chemically stable and therefore remains intact after digestion. By measuring the amount in swimming pools and hot tubs, the scientists were able to see how much human urine was in each body of water.
The team judged that swimmers emitted more than 32 liters of urine in a 500,000 liter pool, while they urinated almost 90 liters in a 1 million liter pool, which is about a third the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
According to a study by the University of Alberta in Canada, the average public swimming pool contains as much as 75 liters of urine.
“Our research provides additional evidence that people do indeed urinate in public pools and hot tubs,” said Lindsay K. Jmaiff Blackstock, a graduate student at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and lead author of the study.
So we know that many more people pee in swimming pools than Mumsnet admits – but are some authors right that this poses no actual risk to swimmers?
Some studies have reportedly shown that urea, found in urine and sweat, reacts with chlorine to form disinfection byproducts (DBPs).
These can cause both eye irritation and breathing problems, the studies claim.
This means that it’s always best to remove yourself from the pool if you’re on holiday and need to pee – and to pay no mind to Mumsnet users or, indeed, US Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps, who competed in the Olympic Games 2012 admitted that he urinates in the pool.
“I think everyone pees in the pool,” he said.
