Swimming pool hygiene- other people!

[jamontoastaddict]

I go swimming regularly 3-5 times a week and am always disgusted by the habits of others and wondered if 1) this happens everywhere and 2) if it would annoy anyone else

1. Not putting rubbish in the bin. Today it was a swimming mask packet chucked in the floor. Previously a huge space

blanket left on the changing unit. empty shampoo containers and so on left it the showers

1. people wearing outdoor footwear in the showers when trying to shower kids after swimming lessons. one woman always wears wellies or country boots thick with mud. this means i have to shower in muddy foot prints. in wished they ban out door footwear in the showers or provide shoe covers as no one seems to have any any common decency anymore!

1. the three open showers are opposite the the three toilet cubicles. 9/10 people do not wash their hands and go straight to the the pool back to the lockers. I

just find this so awful!

is it just me that this would annoy?

Ugh I agree op. People are disgusting. I love swimming but never go because it's just so gross. Water parks even worse 🤢

I joined a fancy gym thinking it would be better but still came face to face with old plasters floating in the pool and what I think must have been snot. I just don't go anymore which is a shame

They all wee in it anyway

😭

Why? You're in a huge tank of constantly filtered chlorinated water, in which the vast majority of people will be acceptably clean.

It wasn't that long ago (within my lifetime) that most people only had a bath or shower once a week.

Well, you're self-excluding.

I've seen a few bits of changing rooms etc that are less than spotless, but it's not like I go around licking the floor. I've never seen anything that actually makes me not want to go.

Hideous hence the reason why I no longer go swimming, it is beyond disgusting.

Nay! Do that at home FGS!

To those who have found their pools disgusting, have you spoken to the pool manager, or do you alert staff when you come across something?
I know this thread is attracting those who have had bad experiences, so it's not representative.

What do you do about teaching your children to swim?

I love swimming, when I was young none of that even entered my head now it's all I think about if I'm in the pool😱
running is now my favourite form of cardio.

We’ve just been camping in France and it’s noticeable how clean fellow campers leave shared spaces including bathrooms (often unisex) and dishwashing areas. I am pretty sure that similar places in the UK would be far more likely to have rubbish left around, not wiped down, wee on the seats, etc. Depressing really.

I agree. I watched Loose Women’s Nadia Sawalha promoting a spa with her husband, they went into the sauna came out dripping in sweat, walked past the shower and went straight into the pool without showering off the sweat. Made me feel sick.

Agree with previous posters that other peoples filth is a turn off. I used to like going swimming 2-4 times a week after work but just got put off by the grime in the changing rooms. It was a mix of people being dirty and not cleaning up their own stuff, and the changing areas not being cleaned well enough in the professional sense.

I agree with everything you said OP. Uk pools are grim. In Italy you can't enter without covering your hair or go in the changing rooms with outdoor shoes.

Indeed. The public baths were just that - people went there for a wash.

Yes, I am 🤷‍♀️. There are other forms of exercise, so I do those instead.

But I can't enjoy swimming in public pools. They aren't just dirty, but also just really unpleasant.

Where I grew up you just turned up and swam whenever you wanted. Now it's expensive, you usually having to queue to get in through the barriers, scan your QR code to ensure only the right people go in the right session without the inconvenience of them having human beings to help you.

Then it's freezing cold, rammed with people anyway and nobody goes in the right lane for the speed they swim at.

UK pools are generally 👎.

These are the main reasons that we bought a swim spa so we can now swim at home hygienically!!!

I’m learning to scuba dive. Did my first open water training last week in a cold murky quarry and it was a lot more pleasant than the bottom of the swimming pool (apart from the mask clearing panic at 10 meters).

Spitting in the pool…

What do you think will be on somebody's body that will pose a problem in a swimming pool full of heavily chlorinated water?

You stand next to people who are wearing / have been wearing 'outdoor clothes' every time you leave the house, presumably without ill effects, so why do you think it's a problem in a pool which is (unlike anything you come into contact with on dry land) actually treated with chemicals to deal with this?

Excellent, well done. You will come to enjoy the murky quarries in a strange way.

When you clear your mask, take a big breath in, then tilt your head forward when you flood the mask - this will stop water going up your nose. Then start breathing out through your nose gently all the way back, and all the way forward until your head is tilted forward again. There are no prizes for speed, so if you feel you want to, take another breath in and do the whole thing again.

I'm sure you've been told this, possibly apart from the "tilt your head forward" bit. That makes a huge difference. Also, when it is cold, flood your mask slowly to get used to the temperature difference. Until you get used to it, that sensation of even a little water in your nose can be quite unsettling.

I struggled with it to start with, but teach advanced mixed gas rebreathers now, so if I can do it, so can you 👌

Yup the grossness of pools (especially changing areas) is the reason I don’t go swimming often and don’t particularly enjoy it. Where do I start? Big globs of hair, chewing gum stuck to changing room floors, people who use talcum powder and cover the changing cubicle floor with it, plasters, the absolute disgustingness of the toilets, random hair accessories. Yuk

I should add it’s not so much the pool itself that grosses me out- I do tend to trust the strong levels of chlorine to manage the ick that finds its way in there.
Its more the changing areas that are a disgrace and put me off

Our one has a great big fun pool right next to a burger bar and vending machines. Along with seating area. This area is also by the main entrance so people are walking pigeon and seagull poo into the area. When wet kids come to eat at the burger bar before going back into the pool (also a vomiting risk). Needless to say it's filthy you can see dirt collecting at the bottom of the water. The gala pool is okay, but way too overcrowded.

Well I am never going swimming again lol

I gave up going to the gym (after 20 years!) and got my own equipment at home instead because of the absolutely disgusting behaviour of other gym users. I've actually got photos of the state of the changing room area (empty of people obviously) and toilets as I sent them to the person who manages the gym at the time to complain. Clearly this is a two pronged issue as the general public cause the mess and the gym were not cleaning enough, but it was enough to make me say no more and leave somewhere I loved. It wasn't just the changing areas either. I'd witnessed multiple times people picking their arses/noses/hands down shorts then using weights, no cleaning machines after use, spitting, leaving rubbish and tissues, sticking chewing gum on ledges.
It actually seemed to get worse after covid.