Does your pee turn blue when you pee in a pool?
Is There Truth to the Rumor? No. There is no chemical which changes color when someone urinates in a swimming pool. There are dyes which could cloud, change color, or produce a color in response to urine, but these chemicals would also be activated by other compounds, producing embarrassing false-positives.
How do you detect urine in a pool?
A Sweet Way to Test for Pee in the Pool
- There’s an artificial sweetener called acesulfame potassium (ACE) that you can find in processed foods and drinks.
- Researchers at the University of Alberta have estimated the amount of urine in 31 public pools by measuring the amount of ACE in them.
What happens when urine and chlorine mix?
Chlorine reacts with urine to form a host of potentially toxic compounds called disinfection byproducts. These can include anything from the chloramines that give well-used pools the aforementioned odor, to cyanogen chloride, which is classified as a chemical warfare agent.
Is it bad to pee in your pool?
While this may seem merely unappealing, a 2014 study suggested that urine can actually combine with the chlorine disinfectant in swimming pool water to make potentially harmful chemicals. The researchers recommend that all swimmers avoid urinating in swimming pools to prevent these chemicals from forming.
Is it bad to pee in a pool?
What kills urine in a pool?
How to address urine in swimming pools. Urine is sterile, so there should be nothing for chlorine to “kill”. Instead, urine must be oxidized. One chemical in urine is particularly difficult to oxidize: urea, or uric acid.
Do pools change color when you pee?
It’s the most common pool myth of all time: If you pee in the pool the water will change color and everyone will know. Parents have long used the story of a chemical that changes color in the presence of pee to keep their children from peeing in the pool. The fact is there is no such dye that currently exists.
Is it bad to pee in the pool?
Why do I pee myself after being in the pool?
When we are in water, this blood moves back into the chest area. Our bodies sense this increase in blood volume in the chest and interpret it as too much blood/water. It sends a signal to our kidneys to get rid of this excess water. Therefore our kidneys produce more urine and we have to pee.
Do athletes pee in the pool?
Nearly 100% of elite competitive swimmers pee in the pool. Regularly. Some deny it, some proudly embrace it, but everyone does. You always try to pee before you swim, but sometimes your body defies logic and finds a way to refill your bladder just to spite you.
Can peeing in a pool cause a UTI?
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are another culprit of swimming pool season. A UTI occurs when bacteria travels up the urethra and travels through the urine into the bladder. The offending bacteria can come from icky pool water, not showering after, or from sitting around in a damp bathing suit.