AIBU about swimming pool rules?

[PearTree123]

Went to an Aqua Zumba class at my local leisure centre, showered as usual then walked round to the pool.
Got stopped by a staff member who refused me entry to the pool as I hadn't washed my hair in the shower and insisted I had to wash my hair for 30 seconds before being allowed in the pool.
Note: my hair was up in a bun and at no point does it go in the pool as the water only comes up to below shoulder height. Normally it stays completely dry throughout the class, as does my face. I told the staff member this but he insisted!
AIBU to be annoyed at this?! Does anyone have similar rules at their pool?

Smolcat, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this murky issue, how does chlorine affect moisturiser or hairs?

@Cupcakegirl13

I’m a non showerer before swimming because in reality a cursory sprinkle of half your body with plain water isn’t going to clean anything anyway

No it's not, which is why you should be doing more than just a cursory sprinkle of half your body with plain water.

www.theswimguide.org/2015/10/15/shower-before-and-after-swimming/

Also
waterandhealth.org/healthy-pools/before-swimming-be-sure-to-shower/

So showering before swimming is to get rid of 'fecal matter'! (According that link), thst would have to be a pretty intimate shower done in the nude

What if you don't use any lotions or hair gels etc. Does that mean you don't need to shower?

@Fomofo

Smolcat, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this murky issue, how does chlorine affect moisturiser or hairs?

Maybe have google if you want to learn about it in more detail but just at a very quick glance it seems to be so chlorine can be more affective and used less. ‘Showering helps remove sweat, lotions, sunscreen, bacteria and organic matter. This means the chlorine in the pool won't have to work as hard, and more illnesses can be prevented.’

@Fomofo

So showering before swimming is to get rid of 'fecal matter'! (According that link), thst would have to be a pretty intimate shower done in the nude

Did you actually read the link? It's not just faecal matter, the links I posted say "Showering helps remove sweat, lotions, sunscreen, bacteria and organic matter." and "A thorough shower with soap helps remove perspiration, body oils, cosmetics and traces of urine and fecal matter on the body." Less of all of that in the water means the chlorine works more effectively.

@oviraptor21

What if you don't use any lotions or hair gels etc. Does that mean you don't need to shower?

It will at least get rid of the very surface amounts of sweat and dead skin. It’s just a quick rinse, what’s the big deal?

I’d guess that even a quick wash/rinse/shower is better than nothing. Although a thorough shower is better.
Most people in addition to sweat etc have deodorant or other products on their body/hair
At the hotel pool I use there is no excuse for not having a full shower but most don’t. We have individual shower cubicles and free body wash.
I guess if people really are keeping their hair above water then they could skip that part? However I never keep my hair dry so I always wash/rinse beforehand.

I think people who get this clenchy fearing poo crumbs and er, other organic matter in the swimming pool, had best stay at home.

@PearTree123

Went to an Aqua Zumba class at my local leisure centre, showered as usual then walked round to the pool. Got stopped by a staff member who refused me entry to the pool as I hadn't washed my hair in the shower and insisted I had to wash my hair for 30 seconds before being allowed in the pool. Note: my hair was up in a bun and at no point does it go in the pool as the water only comes up to below shoulder height. Normally it stays completely dry throughout the class, as does my face. I told the staff member this but he insisted! AIBU to be annoyed at this?! Does anyone have similar rules at their pool?

Many pools don’t have this rule any more because its discriminatory against ethnic minorities and women for whom washing and drying hair can take the better part of a day & can put them off swimming. I suggest writing a letter of complaint.

Creating the habit of having a shower / getting your body wet before you swim, can actually save your life one day.

www.rlss.org.uk/cold-water-shock-the-facts

@Davros

I thought this was going to be about "no horseplay" "no heavy petting"

🤣

Not here. It's a diverse area.

@Haffiana

I think people who get this clenchy fearing poo crumbs and er, other organic matter in the swimming pool, had best stay at home.

I think they’d best stay away from hot tubs too, AKA faecal soup tubs 🤣

@Fomofo

I think showering before going swimming is odd anyway

The main reason you need to shower before swimming is because chlorine reacts with bodily fluids which create chloramines which are toxic. I wish swimming pools publicised this as then people would understand why they are asked to shower and would be more likely to do It.

waterandhealth.org/healthy-pools/why-shower-before-swimming-in-a-pool/

I have a colleague for whom this is the hill to die on. You could definitely expect a polite but insistent confrontation.

Personally, I think he's wasting his time. My eyes have stung, and my nasal passages have closed up every single time I've been swimming. That's not because of the chlorine. That's because of chlorine reacting with piss. There are people, unfortunately, who don't see what is wrong with swimming/bathing in their own piss and don't care who else has to endure their filth. If you're going to put up with that (I won't anymore), I don't know why you would get so het up about hair that hasn't been rinsed immediately before jumping in.

I swim front crawl & can taste when unwashed people swim near me. Generally perfumed cosmetics, etc. Horrible.

One pool I swam at reckoned they could use 70% less chlorine if people bothered to be cleaner. My skin is sensitive, so I wish people did understand why it's important, as discussed above.

@rifling

I think showering before going swimming is odd anyway Why?? Is it better to get in unwashed? Yuck!

Depends how unwashed, surely? Swimming instead of your weekly bath, no. Swimming when you already showered that morning, I don’t see much of an issue. I don’t get that dirty in six hours.

@oviraptor21

What if you don't use any lotions or hair gels etc. Does that mean you don't need to shower?

Well, no, you still need to shower because that’s what the pool asks you to do. It’s their rules.

They say it helps rinse pollutants and stop the pool from having to be over chlorinated. If you don’t want to get your hair wet have you considered a swimming cap? Some countries have everybody wear a cap, presumably for hygiene reasons.

Until very recently I was responsible for the hydro pool where I worked. Washing hair is now being enforced because unless hair is freshly washed, the general bugs etc in it will use up the chlorine that could be being used to kill Covid - it's part of the PWTAG recommendations that good pools follow, so we had to increase the chlorination and acidity slightly anyway, but we became hardcore on the hair, bum, pits and feet washing, during showering beforehand. Whether or not your particular hair goes in the water isn't important - it's the rules in many of the better-managed pools now.

The other option is to wear a tightly fitting swimming cap.

In Iceland all the public pools don't have chlorine (probably reacts to the sulphur as it's geothermally heated) - there are individual shower cubicles to wash properly...

Not sure a 30 second rinse of OP's hair (on head) was likely to achieve anything. yanbu

Not used a public swimming pool in years.
Sounds grim.

I would have been mortified by this and in fact would have refused. Its nothing to do with him whether you've washed your hair or not 😱