3 ms·

The scent of bleach and the scent of "pool smell" are almost exactly the same to me.

SteveGregory 8y ago
That is because both are the same thing: sodium hypochlorite
eesmith 8y ago
strangemonad elsewhere here posted a link to a video evaluating the question of how much pee there is in pools, using the excretion of an artificial sweetener - which is only in urine and not, like urea, also in sweat - as the indicator. The presenter is also dubious about the origin of the smell, and thinks that it comes from the chlorine, not the trichloramine product of chlorine interacting with urea. So he tests it out by mixing pool chlorine into two buckets, putting urine in one of them, covering for a few days, and smelling. That experiment is run starting at https://youtu.be/S32y9aYEzzo?t=284 https://youtu.be/S32y9aYEzzo?t=284 . The chlorinated water, even at 4x concentration, "smells just like water." While the one where urine was added "smells like a pool."
- fosco 8y ago
  is it possible that this is simply sweat instead of actual pee? serious question - I thought sweat is mostly comprised of the same excretion. just surprised 'peeing in the pool' is so normal.
  - eesmith 8y ago
    The video covers that question. The description of the details start at https://youtu.be/S32y9aYEzzo?t=88 https://youtu.be/S32y9aYEzzo?t=88 . The "show more" for the video has a link to the researcher's paper at Dropbox. You can also read the paper at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00043 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00043 . The relevant text from in the ACS link "ACE, used in prepackaged foods,(18, 29, 30) is not metabolized by humans; it is completely absorbed and excreted exclusively in the urine,(29, 31)" [29] Voltz, M.; Christ, O.; Eckert, H. G.; Herok, J.; Kellner, H.-M.; Rupp, W. Kinetics and biotransformation of acesulfame K. In Acesulfame-K; Mayer, D. G.; Kemper, F. H., Eds.; Marcel Dekker: New York, 1991; pp 7– 26. [31] Renwick, A. G. The metabolism of intense sweeteners Xenobiotica 1986, 16, 1057– 71 DOI: 10.3109/00498258609038983
- Groxx 8y ago
  Any idea what makes tap water smell like a pool? It evaporates out pretty quickly (a day or so in a normal pitcher), whatever the cause, and I've always assumed it was chlorine since it smells like a tiny waft of bleach.
  - eesmith 8y ago
    Quoting myself in the comment you replied to, "the trichloramine product of chlorine interacting with urea".
    - Groxx 8y ago
      That's probably less of an issue for water straight from the tap than a pool / a bucket of water that was peed into. Unless there's more urea in tap water than I expect.

That is because both are the same thing: sodium hypochlorite

strangemonad elsewhere here posted a link to a video evaluating the question of how much pee there is in pools, using the excretion of an artificial sweetener - which is only in urine and not, like urea, also in sweat - as the indicator. The presenter is also dubious about the origin of the smell, and thinks that it comes from the chlorine, not the trichloramine product of chlorine interacting with urea. So he tests it out by mixing pool chlorine into two buckets, putting urine in one of them, covering for a few days, and smelling. That experiment is run starting at https://youtu.be/S32y9aYEzzo?t=284 https://youtu.be/S32y9aYEzzo?t=284 . The chlorinated water, even at 4x concentration, "smells just like water." While the one where urine was added "smells like a pool."

fosco 8y ago
is it possible that this is simply sweat instead of actual pee? serious question - I thought sweat is mostly comprised of the same excretion. just surprised 'peeing in the pool' is so normal.
- eesmith 8y ago
  The video covers that question. The description of the details start at https://youtu.be/S32y9aYEzzo?t=88 https://youtu.be/S32y9aYEzzo?t=88 . The "show more" for the video has a link to the researcher's paper at Dropbox. You can also read the paper at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00043 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00043 . The relevant text from in the ACS link "ACE, used in prepackaged foods,(18, 29, 30) is not metabolized by humans; it is completely absorbed and excreted exclusively in the urine,(29, 31)" [29] Voltz, M.; Christ, O.; Eckert, H. G.; Herok, J.; Kellner, H.-M.; Rupp, W. Kinetics and biotransformation of acesulfame K. In Acesulfame-K; Mayer, D. G.; Kemper, F. H., Eds.; Marcel Dekker: New York, 1991; pp 7– 26. [31] Renwick, A. G. The metabolism of intense sweeteners Xenobiotica 1986, 16, 1057– 71 DOI: 10.3109/00498258609038983
Groxx 8y ago
Any idea what makes tap water smell like a pool? It evaporates out pretty quickly (a day or so in a normal pitcher), whatever the cause, and I've always assumed it was chlorine since it smells like a tiny waft of bleach.
- eesmith 8y ago
  Quoting myself in the comment you replied to, "the trichloramine product of chlorine interacting with urea".
  - Groxx 8y ago
    That's probably less of an issue for water straight from the tap than a pool / a bucket of water that was peed into. Unless there's more urea in tap water than I expect.