> As a kid I swam in some over-bleached pools Fun fact -- public pools are typically under-bleached, not over. That's why they smell so bad. The strong smell

> As a kid I swam in some over-bleached pools Fun fact -- public pools are typically under-bleached, not over. That's why they smell so bad. The strong smell is coming from the chloramines generated when chlorine neutralizes organics, like pee. If they were able to maintain better chlorine levels they'd actually smell better. That's difficult though with the sheer number of children mistreating the water at a typical public pool. A well maintained home swimming pool should have a nearly undetectable amount of chlorine odor to the water. Hot tubs are a little more difficult because they have a small version of the same bather load problem a public pool has.