The gross truth about your pool

Before you dive off the diving board at your favourite swimming pool, you might want to take a closer look — and sniff — at the water down below. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the cases of recreational water illness (RWI) in the United States are on the rise and those illnesses are caused by germs and bacteria that may be lurking in your nearby pool.

According to the CDC, 90 illness outbreaks were reported in 32 states and Puerto Rico between 2011-2012. These outbreaks made at least 1,788 people sick, resulting in 95 hospitalisations and one death.

So what’s making everyone so sick? The majority of illnesses were associated with the bacteria Cryptosporidium. Crypto can survive in swimming pools for 10 days or more even in chlorinated water. And just how does crypto get into pool in the first place? Brace yourself... this is going to get gross. Michele Hlavsa, lead author of the CDC report, told CBS News. “Swimmers bring [crypto] into the water when they are sick with diarrhea.” And diarrhea isn’t the only thing you need to worry about in the pool. There is also urine. In fact, researchers have shown that it isn’t chlorine that causes your eyes to get red when swimming in a chlorinated pool. It’s urine. Specifically, it’s the chemicals that are released when chlorine reacts with urine.

Still ready to take that dip?

To protect yourself and your family before you dive into your favourite pool, experts recommend taking a closer look — and smell — of the water. It should be crystal clear and there should be no odour. Any debris that has accumulated either on the surface or at the bottom of the pool is an indicator that this pool is in need of a cleaning. Cloudy water in the pool could be caused by an ineffective filtration system or from a day of overuse (too many sunscreen-slicked bodies diving in and out).

And while some people might think that a pool that smells strongly of chlorine is a clean pool, that’s actually not the case. A strong odour of chlorine could indicate that the contaminants in the pool are not breaking down properly in the presence of chlorine. And if that strong smell coming from the pool is urine, well there is no doubt about what you will be jumping into.

— source: www.mnn.com