Pass the Visine Please

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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Not that any of you ever actually go outside, but I thought this was an interesting science point to make, and keeps us on the water theme from the previous news nugget. It seems that getting into a hotel pool is the best way to get sick. But that was not really what caught my eye about this story. We have all gotten out of a pool at some point and had extremely bloodshot eyes. I think we all assume that there was always just a bit too much chlorine used by the poolboy. The Center for Disease Control lets us know that is not actually the problem. It seems that all the urine mixing with the chlorine is the issue. Don't worry however, it is still probably much cleaner than your keyboard. Yeah, you should probably clean that...now.


When we go swimming and our eyes turn red, it’s because swimmers have peed in the water.

“The nitrogen in the urine combines with the chlorine and it forms what’s known as chloramine and it’s actually chloramine that causes the red eyes," Michele Hlavsa, chief of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s healthy swimming program told TODAY in 2015 interview. "It’s chlorine mixed with poop and sweat and a lot of other things we bring into the water with us.”

There's at least one way to check if the pool you're about to swim in is clean or not. The stronger the chlorine smell at a pool, the more filled with pee it is. Healthy pools don’t smell like chemicals, Hlavsa said.
 
That 'pool smell' that we're all too familiar with comes from that chemical that is made from the reaction between urine and chlorine. Chlorine itself is odorless.

Basically every pool everywhere has been peed in.

Edit: Doh, it says this in the article. I still like posting without reading. Makes me feel more smarter.
 
I can't even use the shower without my eyes burning...is nowhere safe!?
 
Fun fact: the more you smell what you think is that potent chlorine smell, the more piss* there is in the pool :drowning:



*What actually causes the distinctive, irritating smell around swimming pools is not chlorine–that’s an urban myth–but volatile substances known as chloramines. Chloramines form in pool water when chlorine combines with contaminants brought into the pool by swimmers. Think urine, perspiration, body oils and cosmetics. The truth is that cleaner swimming, not less chlorine, can help reduce the chloramine irritants that cause “swimmer red eye” and itchy skin.
 
...Hot tubs always smell more like Chlorine than the pool.
I have... bathed in urine...
 
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"Don't worry however, it is still probably much cleaner than your keyboard. Yeah, you should probably clean that...now."

Best sales pitch ever...Woot was selling cheapo MS $5 keyboards one day, and they pointed out how much bacteria was in the average keyboard. Instant purchase for me!
 
At the gym I always assumed that was because people didn't shower before getting in and the sweat made it smell like that. Now that I type that, it doesn't seem much better than if people peed in it.
However, that's probably accurate. The article says "contaminants" cause the creation of chloromines, not just pee. Of course, you can't rule out it's presence entirely...
 
"Don't worry however, it is still probably much cleaner than your keyboard. Yeah, you should probably clean that...now."

Best sales pitch ever...Woot was selling cheapo MS $5 keyboards one day, and they pointed out how much bacteria was in the average keyboard. Instant purchase for me!

I used to buy the REALLY cheap Keyboards from Micro Center (when they were just $1.95). Changed them out 3 or 4 times a year. I still do that - even though the price went way up to $3.99. If it gets too dirty, change it out.
 
I can't even use the shower without my eyes burning...is nowhere safe!?
It's not all that uncommon for a municipality to actually put chloramine in their tap water as a disinfectant. It's monochloramine so not quite the same, and they're aren't achieving it by pissing in the water tower.
 
That reminds me of a joke.


Q: What is the difference between a garbanzo bean and a chick pea?

A: I've never had a garbanzo bean on my face.

Swimming tip for red, irritated eyes.
Buy your own pool and swim in your own pee.
 
As someone who owns a chlorine pool, which nobody uses but me, and I've never peed in it, AND it's gated. I call bullshit on this article. Hotel Pool? Community Pool? Sure.

Blanket saying " When we go swimming and our eyes turn red, it’s because swimmers have peed in the water." is just sensationalism.

"In swimming pools, chloramines are formed by the reaction of free chlorine with amine groups present in organic substances, such as urine, sweat and shed skin cells. "

Wikipedia. Notice it says organic substances, such as... doesn't mean it's the entire list.

If your pool is outside, it gets organic material in it... leaves, dirty, spores, dust, whatever. Draining the pool is costly, time consuming, and can fuck up your liner, so the water rarely gets changed. If you are in Florida like me, it rains every fucking day. Fresh water, with more organic crap in it from the sky. Oh and what's in the water supply we use to top it off? Probably chloramines, since "Chloramines (also known as secondary disinfection) are disinfectants used to treat drinking water ". And that's what you fill your pool with. Drinking water.
 
life in general is pretty gross..

I have tried many ways to lose some weight (6'3" 260lbs~ currently) ... I have trouble with my shoulder and knees.. pretty much any working out I have tried besides swimming ends in injury and set backs..

I wish I had my own pool obviously but not in the cards.. So earplugs, goggles , nose plug.. and hope for the best.. the pool I go to is cleaned several times a week, I plan my swimming for shortly after the cleaning when possible.. I'm not thrilled that other people have likely pee'd in the pool... but for overall fitness swimming has been the only thing that really works for me.. so I swim and shower as soon as possible after getting out.

the ear plugs have helped a lot.. didn't have eye troubles because of using goggles but got a couple of ear infections .. after some searching for a good fit the Speedo earplugs I have now have prevented any new ear infections for 1~yr or so now.

But if you go outside / interact with humanity at all you are being exposed to something gross ..this is why we have an immune system I guess.
 
Just imagine the first guy who looked down into a microscope and saw bacteria. Hope he wasn't OCD.
 
As someone who owns a chlorine pool, which nobody uses but me, and I've never peed in it, AND it's gated. I call bullshit on this article. Hotel Pool? Community Pool? Sure.

Blanket saying " When we go swimming and our eyes turn red, it’s because swimmers have peed in the water." is just sensationalism.

"In swimming pools, chloramines are formed by the reaction of free chlorine with amine groups present in organic substances, such as urine, sweat and shed skin cells. "

Wikipedia. Notice it says organic substances, such as... doesn't mean it's the entire list.

If your pool is outside, it gets organic material in it... leaves, dirty, spores, dust, whatever. Draining the pool is costly, time consuming, and can fuck up your liner, so the water rarely gets changed. If you are in Florida like me, it rains every fucking day. Fresh water, with more organic crap in it from the sky. Oh and what's in the water supply we use to top it off? Probably chloramines, since "Chloramines (also known as secondary disinfection) are disinfectants used to treat drinking water ". And that's what you fill your pool with. Drinking water.

I callled bs too. I just refilled my pool and it had a slight pool smell after chlorination. Unless someone is dumping piss into the city’s drinking water it’s other things.
 
...Hot tubs always smell more like Chlorine than the pool.
I have... bathed in urine...

I once worked as an engineer designing swimming pool chlorination products. I don't consider myself germphobic whatsoever. I'll gladly let my children swim in most public swimming pools. I won't step foot in a public hot tub.
 
I miss pools sometimes, and I really don't consider myself a total germophobe, but at some point something clicked and I realized that I was swimming in other peoples filth. Nope. I was done.

I'm not trying to be a hypocrite, as I may or may not have peed in a pool or two. But my pee is just fine. Other people's? Nope.
 
Too little free chlorine will result in the chlorine partially sanitizing contaminants, but leave chloramines behind, and that can cause eye irritation, pH out of the 7.2-7.8 range can do the same.
 
Guess this isn't the best moment to mention the ratio of human DNA a human contains compared to 'other' microbial DNA. It's why I don't worry about changing out my keyboard. Probably not me touching it anyhow.
 
Not quite right what the article says

the most amount of urea is not from people pissing in the water, it comes from people NOT TAKING A SHOWER before they hop in the pool !!! Urea is a vital part of your skin and that is why you should shower before going into the pool.

Even if no one pees into it, not taking a shower will cause your red eyes....

just read that in Time Magazin ( germ. edition )
 
Every now and then when shopping at wally-world I see those smallish above ground pools. Barely bigger than a kiddie pool and it has 2-3 adults and 2-3 kids crammed in it in the picture on a hot summer day. I just think, the family that stews together, stays together.
 
As someone who owns a chlorine pool, which nobody uses but me, and I've never peed in it, AND it's gated. I call bullshit on this article. Hotel Pool? Community Pool? Sure.

Blanket saying " When we go swimming and our eyes turn red, it’s because swimmers have peed in the water." is just sensationalism.

"In swimming pools, chloramines are formed by the reaction of free chlorine with amine groups present in organic substances, such as urine, sweat and shed skin cells. "

Wikipedia. Notice it says organic substances, such as... doesn't mean it's the entire list.

If your pool is outside, it gets organic material in it... leaves, dirty, spores, dust, whatever. Draining the pool is costly, time consuming, and can fuck up your liner, so the water rarely gets changed. If you are in Florida like me, it rains every fucking day. Fresh water, with more organic crap in it from the sky. Oh and what's in the water supply we use to top it off? Probably chloramines, since "Chloramines (also known as secondary disinfection) are disinfectants used to treat drinking water ". And that's what you fill your pool with. Drinking water.

Exactly. ANY organic matter in the pool combines with chlorine to form chloramines. Yes, when you smell a strong chlorine smell, that actually means free chlorine is low, and it is probably time to shock. Pee? Consider how much skin the human body sheds. That too is organic matter. Just another chicken little sort of sensationalism.
 
Pool owner here. Free active chlorine in the water doesn't produce that smell. The smell from a pool is chloramines. Basically, chloramines are a byproduct of the free chlorine breaking down organics. Doesn't necessarily have to be urine. Could be algae, tree debris, dead frog in the skimmer, skin cells, etc. etc. And off topic, but green hair isn't caused by chlorine either (common pool myth). It's from the pointless copper additives people throw into their pool.

A good clean pool with adequate chlorine and pH level should not smell or irritate. troublefreepool.com is very educational, and is simple.
 
Like my post if you peed in the pool.
Quote my post if you ignored the sign that says "I don't swim in your toilet, so don't pee in my pool!"
 
That 'pool smell' that we're all too familiar with comes from that chemical that is made from the reaction between urine and chlorine. Chlorine itself is odorless.

"Chlorine gas can be recognized by its pungent, irritating odor, which is like the odor of bleach. The strong smell may provide adequate warning to people that they are exposed."
https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/chlorine/basics/facts.asp

Anyone who's ever mixed up a batch to shock a pool could tell you it isn't odorless.
 
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