For those not good with numbers, more than half failed the testing and that means unwitting registered guests of those hotels could have subjected themselves (and worse) their families to potentially unsafe swimming conditions and not have known it.

Worse, yet? Sometimes the illnesses picked up from one spot (i.e. pool, spa, water park, etc.) do not manifest themselves until several days or a week later and unknowing infected swimmers frequent more than one pool… Need we say more?

Regardless of your answer to that question, we will continue because not enough people concern themselves with healthy swimming practices — and that concerns us.

Before joining our staff a member of our team contracted a rather unpleasant (and itchy!) skin condition after having a few too many poolside and beach-side cocktails after immersing himself in a hot tub that, in his own words, ‘did not look right’. About four days after the bumps, redness and itching started… and boy did he not enjoy several trips to the doctor as they tried different creams, antibiotics and anti-fungus medications in an effort to clear up the rash that had formed in both creases of his legs right where, as he phrased it, ‘the naughty bits began’.

So, the next time you think, “oh, they have someone who takes care of the pools” and consider hopping in a public pool or hot tub at a hotel, consider these simple things:

1. Does the hotel have staff that attend to the water features or do they contract out for pool care/maintenance?
2. Do you see a posted log anywhere that tells you the last time anyone physically tested the water for vital water quality parameters such as bromine, free, chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, etc.?
3. What first impression did you have of the swimming/bathing facility? If ‘not so great’ then perhaps you will find safer, albeit less interesting, relief from the heat in a lukewarm shower.
4. Do you smell a LOT of chlorine in the swimming area. If so, then it may mean the water recently contained a large quantity of biological contaminants… and either it got shocked recently or you smell the off gassing of chloramines generated by the neutralizing of a large biological contaminant load — and health experts have rendered not-so-positive opinions about the aftereffects of inhaling large amounts of chloramines.
5. How many swimmers do you see in the water? The more bathers in the water and the hotter the temperature outside, the greater the bather load and more biological contaminants (i.e. sweat and other stuff. OTHER stuff.) potentially in the water. Note the children, especially. Do we really need to explain this last bit one in greater detail?
6. Adults, too, people. If you see adults drinking juice and sodas (aka: beers and mixed drinks) and they don’t, as folks in the military phrase it, ‘hit the head’ on a regular basis… you do the math. Sugars (and alcohol) tend to act as diuretics; meaning those who consume them will feel the need to urinate more frequently than normal. Again, no trips to the bathroom, that warm, yellowish liquid has to go someplace.

While the above few tips will not guarantee you a safe and bacteria-free swimming experience when visiting a hotel and considering taking a dip in the pool or soaking in the hot tub, keeping them in the back of your mind surely won’t hurt.

Can the average person test for bacteria in pool water?

Yes. The WaterSafe Pool & Spa Bacteria Water Test Kit puts the power of on-the-spot pool/spa water testing for potentially harmful bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, E.coli, certain species of Salmonella, Shigella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and a variety of other Coliform and non-Coliform bacteria into the hands of those who need it most: People unsure about the quality of water in an unfamiliar pool or spa.

Planning a trip that may involve multiple stops and possibly multiple public pools? The WaterSafe Pool & Spa Bacteria in Water Test Kit contains 10 tests and each test takes less than 20 minutes to perform.

In the time it takes to make sure the kids have adequate sunscreen on and have their arm floaties properly attached… you have the time required to make certain the water does not contain an unhealthy amount of potentially infectious and dangerous bacteria.

Thanks for the question, Mandy!

When a person tells us they have no chlorine reading on their test kit usually one or more of the following factors has played a part in causing that to happen:

• Chlorine demand greater than chemical feeder system can supply
• Old or expired test kit reagents, test strips, etc. not properly reading chlorine levels
• Lack of pool stabilizer (cyanuric acid)

The fact that you can smell chlorine, however, tells us that you may have another situation on your hands. Quite possibly your pool has combined chlorine but not much free chlorine. If you do not know the difference between combined chlorine and free chlorine then please take a look at an earlier posting of ours called What is the Difference Between Total Residual Chlorine and Free Chlorine?

For those not interested in reading the long version, the following will explain free chlorine, combined chlorine and total chlorine:

• Free Chlorine does the active sanitizing of the pool water by neutralizing organic contaminants (i.e. bacteria, parasites, etc.). Traditional chlorine sanitized pools should have a healthy free chlorine level at all times.
• Combined Chlorine started out as free chlorine, locked horns w/ an organic contaminant, and now has become attached to the contaminant it neutralized. While still partially effective as a sanitizer, it has nowhere near the sanitizing power of free chlorine… and it plays a big part in producing the strong ‘chlorine smell’ most people associate with pool water.
• Total Chlorine represents the total concentration of free chlorine plus combined chlorine in a water sample.

So, Mandy, at this point we believe you should begin by making sure your test kit can test for both free and total chlorine. If it cannot then we suggest picking up a test kit such as the Poolmaster 5-Way Test Kit or, if you prefer a simpler chlorine testing method, the Pool Check 5-Way Test Strips should work quite well for you.

If your existing test kit can test for both free and total chlorine then you may need to replace your reagents (i.e. DPD-1 Test Tablets, DPD-3 Test Tablets, and/or DPD ReagentStrips). If stored near other pool chemicals, left out in the sun and extreme heat for long periods, or beyond their expiration date(s), your reagents may have gone bad.

Now that you have ruled out the test apparatus as the root of your chlorine troubles, test the pool for both free and total chlorine and then subtract the free chlorine concentration from the total chlorine concentration. Ideally you should get a very low number (zero would be perfect) but if you get more than a 0.5ppm difference you most certainly have a buildup of combined chlorine — and that would explain the strong chlorine odor you mentioned.

To get rid of the combined chlorine experts suggest ‘shocking’ (superchlorinating) the pool with a non-stabilized chlorine (contains no cyanuric acid) such as calcium hypochlorite powder or a non-chlorine ‘shock’ treatment such as monopersulfate (MPS).

A 12-year old boy lost his life while digging a sand tunnel with his brother when the tunnel collapsed around him and buried him under the sand. Despite others around immediately realizing what had happened they simply could not get him out of the sand before he suffocated.

If you believe this an isolated, almost too weird to believe incident then the following information may shock you:

• CBS New reported that at least 16 deaths related to beach holes have happened between 1990 and 2010. ( source )
• An article that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007 entitled “Sudden Death from Collapsing Sand Holes” stated that evidence of 31 deaths occurred as a result of collapsing sand holes. ( source )

Moral of the story?

Other perils exist at the beach besides drowning, getting stung by jellyfish, etc. and we must keep an active eye on children near the water as well as away from the water as they play in the sand. Advise them to keep the hole sizes ‘reasonable’ and of the dangers associated with placing themselves in sand holes that ‘go underground’.

In closing we would like to say that our hearts go out to the friends and family of the boy who died and we hope this unfortunate tragedy will serve as a reminder to all other beach-goers that under the right conditions, sand, though seemingly harmless, can take a life quickly and without mercy — just like the ocean.

Pools and water parks can provide hours and hours of wet fun on a hot summer day but they can also harbor all sorts of unwanted and potentially harmful types of bacteria that can make life very rough for all those who ingest them accidentally.

Ready to get grossed out?

No matter how many times we read them, the following statistics never cease to turn our stomachs:

According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Water Quality and Health Council…

• The majority of Americans (81 percent) believe that others are urinating in pools while swimming.
• One in five (20 percent) admitted urinating in swimming pools rather than getting out to use the restroom.
• Additionally, 83 percent of those surveyed said they had concerns about other swimmers possibly having diarrhea. ( source )

So there you have it, folks. Solid proof that we live in a world with truly nasty individuals who, for laziness’ sake alone, willingly turn a nice, cool and refreshing swimming pool into a lukewarm toilet.

Nasty. Simply nasty!

Steps to protect yourself from ‘dirty’ pool water

First of all, assume that nasty people use the pool and make sure the water has, at the very least, an adequate amount of sanitizer (usually free chlorine or bromine), a properly balance pH, and the correct amount of total alkalinity. These three key water quality parameters can make the difference between a safe swimming experience and one that could result in your spending a whole lot of ‘quality time’ in the bathroom for the next week.

Next, do your part to keep the water clean by showering before swimming so that the total contaminant load in the water can stay down. Yeah, we KNOW that jumping into the cool water of a swimming pool after playing basketball, cutting the grass, or any other sweat-forming activity feels good but all that sweat and body oil adds to the organic contaminant load in the water and reduces the amount of sanitizer available to keep potentially harmful germ and bacteria at bay.

As you enjoy your time in the water, do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut whenever possible. Resist the urge to allow ANY pool water in your mouth because it seriously takes just a really small amount of contaminated pool water to make a person ill.

Granted you went to the pool to get away from work, but do yourself a favor and count the number of sodas/beers folks around you ingest… and note how many times, if any, they excuse themselves to use the restroom. If the math doesn’t add up, then keep away from them in the pool for sure!

If you can, check the flow of water from the return jets because if they don’t produce water then the filter’s not filtering and anything that got into the water (by accident or by intent) will remain in the water… lurking… waiting for a chance to make someone sick.

We all have PERFECT children who NEVER do anything wrong but please take your kids to the bathroom regularly while at the pool. Do we need to say more on the matter?

And finally, after you complete your swim, assume you swam with nasty people who pee in the pool and wash that pool water off by taking a shower, rinsing off w/ a garden hose, etc. Don’t keep that potentially contaminated water on you any longer than you have to!

A recent article published online ( Dubai Pools Infested with Bacteria ) reported that many of the privately owned swimming pools in Dubai tested positive for potentially harmful strands of bacteria such as Coliforms, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Fecal Streptococcus.

In a word, “Yuck!”

We imagine that the United Arab Emirates has sanitation rules for its public swimming pools similar to those found in the United States but also just like here in the United States, those rules and regulations probably do not extend to privately owned swimming pools.

So, the next time you find yourself about the hop into a private Dubai swimming pool — or a private pool here in the US for that matter — take a few seconds beforehand to test the water for basic (and important!) pool water quality parameters such as Free Chlorine, pH and Alkalinity. The Pool Check 3-Way Test Strip costs very little, requires no chemicals, and gives accurate test results almost immediately.

Pool Check 3 Way Test Strip Color Chart