Authors: Jeanette Torres
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- You may want to think twice before taking a dive into a backyard or community pool. A new survey finds 20 percent of respondents admitting to peeing in a pool.
Dr. Chris Wiant, the chairman of the Water Quality & Health Council, says, “No matter how easy it is to pee anonymously in the pool, swimmers should avoid doing so.”
Dr. Wiant also advises parents to take their children on frequent bathroom breaks.
But urine isn’t the only contaminant affecting the water quality of a pool. The WQHC survey finds that while virtually all Americans, 93 percent, say they would never re-use someone else’s bath water, 68 percent admit they do not shower before going in a pool.
“Swimming is not a substitute for bathing. Too many people unknowingly treat the pool as a communal bathtub,” says Dr. Wiant.
Health experts say a pre-swim shower removes sweat and cosmetics that can mix with chlorine to create irritants in the water that lead to problems for swimmers.
The Water Quality & Health Council survey involved 1,000 U.S. adults.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
