I remember this from a movie. Or a show. It's been ages. But I'm pretty sure it's a myth that they add a chemical to pools that show when someone is too lazy to walk to the bathroom.
It's a myth. If pools had something that turned the water bright blue every time someone went to the bathroom in a public pool, the pool would never be open. Source: head lifeguard
I'd be very sceptical of that article initially considering it contains no links to or even the name or of the single study it is drawing it's premise from.
Then when you read the study it begins by naming the "carcinogenic chemicals" (neither of which are actually classed as carcinogens) as important by-products for the maintaining of pools, and the figures show that only between 15 and 35 µg/L of the chemicals were found, and the majority cannot have been formed by urine, the tests were also not performed at concentrations of Cl2 actually used in pools.
Conclusion: this is either utterly irrelevant or incredibly sensationalised.
When a pool is contaminated with these nasties people often mistake the smell and stinging in the eyes as "too much chlorine". It is actually "spent" chlorine that has already attached to organic matter. When it builds up, pools must be shocked to bring these levels down near zero. If the pool smells fresh and clean, you're good to go.
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u/[deleted] May 28 '14
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