to find it minging that people don't shower before they swim?

[AuntyDiluvian]

Just been swimming in my local pool and it was really quite grim. Bits of 'matter' floating around in the water (people-dust/phlegmlike white stringiness) and a choking fug of deodorant and perfume overhanging the pool. Every time I looked up to see a new person coming in from the changing area they were distinctly dry and unshowered.
This is really getting to me and I'm not sure if I'm on my own here. What do you think? Am I a tiresome clean-freak who should mind her own business and stop watching other people get in the pool? Or is this the unhygienic behaviour of a fetid and disgusting local population who should be made to shower by the people running the leisure centre?
AIBU?

what difference does a quick 30 second dampening under luke warm water with no soap make? really?

this

I think a quick shower before swimming does help actually not least because you remove perfume and deodorant as well as hopefully some sweat. They enfore this at my pool.
If you swim in a pool that smells strongly of chlorine this is an indicator of a high levels in impurities.
OP I would find a new pool. Some are cleaner than others ! It might not do you any harm because the chemicals will keep it hygienic but it's not pleasant to swim somewhere like you describe.

Why should you shower / wash with soap before entering the pool?

Because urea in sweat reacts with chlorine in the pool water and creates nitrogen trichloride (trichloramine) which attacks the lining of the lungs and has been linked to causing asthma, especially in children aged 6-7.

So, OP YANBU - but everyone who comes up with some excuse as to why they can't / won't / shouldn't wash before getting in the pool maybe you might like to think about why asthma is so common these days?

YANBU. What gets me is those who go into the sauna and then jump into the jacuzzi or pool
But yeah, not having a shower before a swim is just as bad!

A quick rinse under lukewarm water is going to make jack all difference, as PPs have said.

You have to make your peace with the fact that lots of people simply will not rinse in effective water beforehand, and those least inclined to do so, are the ones you'll want to do it the most. So, you know....

It's futile. Swimming is a grim pursuit. I think you either have to find a way to get your head around that, or you give it up.

We went to the local pool in Iceland and as MrsCakes says upthread there is quite a regimented showering routine that the pool attendants make sure everyone does, you can't get into the pool without a good soaping of the parts highlighted on the posters, it is a bit scary but you get used to it.

I loved the swimming pools in Iceland, we went to several when we were there. The changing rooms were immaculate, clean, warm and I actually felt properly dry when I got out. With proper showers that were warm and not lukewarm or freezing. Washing area, drying area and changing area and then the pools were really clean. Coming back to swim in this country was decidedly grotty after that.

A lot of people are mingers in general. I always shower before I swim

Too right NoArmani.

If you saw my local pool you probably wouldn't shower after you had finished swimming either. The showers are in either side of the wall on the way through to the pool. Parents in their dirty shoes and boots walk through them to get to the pool. It is just a muddy dirty mess.

cleanbean then you need to take it up with the pool management - no outdoor shoes should be allowed anywhere near shower areas or poolside.

YANBU but you probably don't want to know how many men come from the toilets without washing hands.

How mingling are these people that they are leaving trails of grime in the pool just because they didn't have a shower though

I like to think I'm clean enough that a quick rinse under a crap shower before getting into the pool would not really make any difference

Bits of 'matter' floating around in the water (people-dust/phlegmlike white stringiness)

How on earth is a quick rinse under warm water going to get like of 'phlegm like white stringiness'? I think you need to find a new swimming pool.

I think that it is much better when a no-shoes rule is strictly enforced.

We always wear flip-flops at the pool and wash these each time we come home. However, we recently moved out of London and it is interesting to note how much cleaner the pool/changing areas are in my local pool than in the inner-London pool I was using before. I think it is just lower levels of traffic.

Getting bathers to shower properly before using the pool can reduce the dirt load in the pool by 25%. Less dirt load means less chemicals required to maintain the oxidizing and disinfecting processes.

Showering before swimming isn't really about getting super squeaky clean, it's about helping to remove sweat, cosmetics, etc - so even if you had a shower that morning, it's useful to do; see here.

www.waterandhealth.org/swimming-shower/

"a well-managed pool has no chemical smell".

At the pool we occasionally go to I often think it's the only time that some people wash their hair, they go in the shower after swimming with shampoo/conditioner and then spend ages doing their hair while a lot of people give up waiting and leave without a shower, it's horrible.

We have recently found a nicer one:)