Peeing at the Pool

Since Jantzen Corporation invented the first modern in-ground swimming pools around 1920, not much has changed, including the chlorination and filtration systems. It may not sound romantic to think of a lovely shimmering blue pool as a big tank of disinfectant to swim around in, but that's what it is. It has to be, to kill countless germs from saliva, mucus, unwiped fecal residue, and unwashed skin, and to biodegrade, bust up, and filter out sweat. Everyone sweats in the water, even standing still. Without treatment, the ingredients in sweat will feed microscopic plant life called algae, which turns the water a nasty green or black. Nobody wants to swim in yucky green soup! Urine is chemically related to sweat, and is also rapidly biodegraded, broken down and filtered out of the water, by the same chlorination and filtration process. In other words, pee does NOT float around in the water for any length of time -- it is very quickly neutralized and flushed out. This happens even faster in outdoor pools where the oxygen in air and UV rays in sunlight further help to biodegrade urine (and sweat). In addition, human urine is STERILE (no germs in it), as any medical textbook will verify. This is in keeping with the definition of the word "sanitary." Strictly speaking, it is completely sanitary to urinate into any pool which is properly chlorinated and filtered. This may be esthetically displeasing (the "EEEEUUUW! NASTY!" factor), but it is still biochemically true. This may be hard for some persons to accept, and we can only ask that you try to open your mind to see beyond cultural conditioning or parentally-taught inhibitions, to the objective scientific facts and completely harmless nature of this common practice. Not all swimming pools are properly maintained, though. The real problem is not at all from people peeing in the pool! It's from unkilled germs from other sources, which can and do cause everything from ear infections to pinkeye to cellulitis. Unclean pools quickly fill up with not only sweat and dirt and mucus and saliva, but also hairspray, hair straighteners, deodorants, skin cremes, moisturizers and other cosmetics, and especially sunblock that some persons apply as thick as frosting on a cake. All of these add organic oils, fatty acids, carbohydrates and stearates which create a perfect growth medium for bacteria and algae. If the water is cloudy, or has an oil slick on it, or smells notably sour or strongly of chlorine or ammonia, these are clues for you to either loudly demand that the pool owners chlorinate and filter the water properly, or for you to definitely find a cleaner and safer swimming pool. Most of us first pee in the pool as children, often out of desperation or youthful curiosity, and seem to have definite feelings about it at first, varying from guilt or embarrassment, to secretly-enjoyable "naughtiness." Most of us also then continue this habit throughout our adult years, though few adults who do so are honest enough to admit that they routinely pee in the pool and enjoy doing it. Given the true facts, it's time once and for all to discount and discard all the silly urban legends that is somehow "wrong" or "dirty" to pee in the pool. Most especially, it is time to openly assert that informed, caring, open-minded parents (and I am one) would be doing their children a major and lasting kindness by very clearly teaching them that it's A-OK to pee in the pool, and initially encouraging them to do so before each pool visit. Kids also need to be told to do so discreetly, and to simply and casually urinate into their swimwear rather than trying to partly undress underwater, as the water will quickly rinse both swimmer and swimsuit completely clean. Before changing into swimwear, or before leaving for the pool, it can greatly help to playfully invite children (but NEVER, NEVER force them!) to see if they can try to skip peeing well ahead of time, even with a nearly-full bladder, holding it in until after getting into the pool, and then enjoying the relief of letting it all go through their swimsuit into the water. This and similar tactics can quickly help children get into the habit of peeing in the pool easily, happily and naturally, as part of normal toilet behavior, without any undue feelings of guilt, shame or "wrongdoing." It's also a fact that learning this behavior from a loving Mom and Dad will virtually eliminate the chance that this might become a sexual fetish with them in later years. It's never too late to encourage kids to begin learning to do this, even after their toddler years, or even well into their teens. If you've already taught your kids otherwise, there's no time like the present to caringly present a change in attitudes about encouraging them to pee in the pool. You'll help them to form a positive, realistic, sanitary, convenient and even enjoyable approach to something every one of us has to do, and they will respect you for it. Helping children to form this harmless habit at any age is not just because it's easier and more natural for them to do. It is WAY, WAY SAFER for kids to pee in the pool rather than risking a bad fall while running over a slippery concrete deck, to get to and from restrooms which are often so filthy as to be a major health hazard to anyone in bare feet. Come to think of it, maybe that's another good reason why so many adults regularly pee in the pool too! :-)

I usually never use the toilet unless I have to. It is such a waste of water. At the pool, I will just go wherever I am. I don't care if anyone sees me. I will usually leave my swimsuit on and just go right through it. My friends and my boyfriend do the same thing. In the changing room,the toilets are always full and their is a line stretching out from the bathroom door. Most end up going on the floor or in the showers, and no one seems to care.

Peeing Pants Preferences: http://www.misterpoll.com:80/polls/262557