3 ms·

Swedish pools at the time required you to shower, naked [1], before entering the pool, and to use soap while showering, with special attention to the hair, armp

by dalke 3y ago

Swedish pools at the time required you to shower, naked [1], before entering the pool, and to use soap while showering, with special attention to the hair, armpits, crotch, and feet. This helps get rid of the dirt and urea (which when combined with chlorine makes the 'swimming pool smell'), keeping the pool clean and with little odor. It is difficult to wash underwear with the same thoroughness. I have not seen people laundering their underwear before swimming. [1] Our local pool changed to allow showering in one's bathing trunks. I personally don't like the rule, as I think people will skimp on washing their crotch before entering the pool.

newaccount74 3y ago
Pools in Austria have signs asking you to shower before swimming, but not everyone does (lots of people with dry hair in the pool). Kids just run through the shower and jump right into the pool. For some reason most pools don't have the strong smell that I remember from my childhood anymore. Either it's because they are better ventilated, or because they check the chlorine levels more diligently (they sample the water every hour or so), or maybe I'm just not as sensitive to smells anymore.
- appplication 3y ago
  Could be more pools are being bromine treated. A quick google search yields some (not super trustworthy) sources that seem to claim bromamines are less odoriferous than chloramines.
- dalke 3y ago
  The chlorine level isn't the issue - it's the urea reacting to the chlorine. There was even some neat research a few years back to figure out how much came from urea from pee, vs. from other bodily secretions: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/01/517785902/just-how-much-pee-is-in-that-pool https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/01/5177859... . > The scientists calculated that one 220,000-gallon, commercial-size swimming pool contained almost 20 gallons of urine After reading that NPR article, I can suggest another possible alternative; the pools might drain and refill their pools more often, rather than top-off when it gets low. Dry hair might not be that good of an indicator? I mean, I see people doing breast stroke with their head completely out of the water.

by dalke 3y ago

newaccount74 3y ago

Pools in Austria have signs asking you to shower before swimming, but not everyone does (lots of people with dry hair in the pool). Kids just run through the shower and jump right into the pool. For some reason most pools don't have the strong smell that I remember from my childhood anymore. Either it's because they are better ventilated, or because they check the chlorine levels more diligently (they sample the water every hour or so), or maybe I'm just not as sensitive to smells anymore.

appplication 3y ago
Could be more pools are being bromine treated. A quick google search yields some (not super trustworthy) sources that seem to claim bromamines are less odoriferous than chloramines.
dalke 3y ago
The chlorine level isn't the issue - it's the urea reacting to the chlorine. There was even some neat research a few years back to figure out how much came from urea from pee, vs. from other bodily secretions: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/01/517785902/just-how-much-pee-is-in-that-pool https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/01/5177859... . > The scientists calculated that one 220,000-gallon, commercial-size swimming pool contained almost 20 gallons of urine After reading that NPR article, I can suggest another possible alternative; the pools might drain and refill their pools more often, rather than top-off when it gets low. Dry hair might not be that good of an indicator? I mean, I see people doing breast stroke with their head completely out of the water.