To think swimming pools are utterly disgusting?

[clutchingatpearls]

Just that really. I love swimming and can swim in a warm sea. But I find swimming pools (posh spas are a possible exception) literally make me feel sick. The plasters, hair, bodily excretions... truly a human soup.

Am I unusual?

Where do you think fishes shit?

I hate them and haven't been in one for a long time. The changing facilities, the overpowering chlorine, too many people.

I love water and swimming though so I go outdoor swimming as much as I can - wetsuit in winter, cossie in summer!

I see your swimming pools and raise you hot tubs. Totally gross.

Depends on where you go. Not all non-posh leisure centre pools are awful, went to one near us last weekend (our nearest one has closed down) and was pleasantly surprised.

On the flip side we were planning a trip to the seaside last summer and changed our mind on where to go when we checked Defra to find the place we were planning to go was deemed unsafe to swim in.

It’s not the pool that bothers me. It’s the changing rooms.

I've been swimming in the med near La Manga with turds and tampons floating past...the heat probably makes the germ fest worse

Yes. They give me the ick.

A friend worked at the local municipal pool. A kid had diahorreah in the pool. So they shut off one lane to clear it.

Like the poo particles knew to stay put.

Yes I know the chlorine kills the germs but the bits of physical dirt, toenails , snot and poo particles are still all there going in and out of your mouth ears and nose. 🤮

I noticed in Iceland, the local pools were much cleaner as it's compulsory to have a naked shower before putting your cossie on. They provide free shower gel and signs remind you to pay attention to your hair, pits and bits!

Also shoes are banned from the changing area so no dirt gets walked in. You get dried off by the showers so the changing room floor is kept dry which makes it easier putting your clothes back on too.

We have a residents' pool at my apartment. It's shared of course but with far fewer people than a regular pool and it's always pristine. It's a huge perk to living here!

Totally agree with you. I don’t want water which has sloshed around stranger’s crotches hitting me in the face. I don’t particularly care that the chlorine has sterilised the grime which has washed off Bob’s bits, I don’t want it near me. It’s genitalia, armpit & foot soup.

I hate the chlorine in pools but happily swim in lakes with fish, ducks and insects 🙂

Thanks, I've never swimming again. I removed a boy who's nose snits were trailing and floating away in the pool once

I only go to posh spas, not so much because of the pools, it’s more to do with the changing rooms and showers.

Ahh typos!

Remember nose snots!

I find it's better just to stick to having the odd bath. After it's been cleaned obviously. Any kind of swimming involves filth, fungus and bacteria.

😂 I was about to say the same.

Also, even without us pumping stuff into it, it's full of fish poo, microscopic stuff, decaying organisms etc...

Why do you think an outdoor pool abroad is different? It's exactly the same!

I swim in pools happily, and have never noticed a difference in the level of hygiene between a normal pool and one in a holiday resort.

I have never been so glad that I can't swim as I was on the day I took a school trip out to the local swimming pool and saw a woman wallowing in the shallows with a massive dressing flapping from the oozing wound on her leg.

Same in Denmark. I wonder if the average Mumsnetter would prefer this system of having a very public shower prior to going in the pool?

Made laugh out loud.

Depends on the country. In England they generally are unfortunately. We still go swimming regularly because my kids love it so much.

Fun fact. Swimming pools extra smell strongly of chlorine where the chemical has been activated. The chemical activates to combat the gross things we don't want to think about. Strong chlorine smell = grosser pool water. I'll keep swimming in my rivers and lakes full of fish wee I think 😁

I do get the massive ick when I see plasters in the changing rooms or on the side of the pool. Dirty, muddy, hair ridden showers and changing rooms are also grim. I try not to think about it because I love swimming and enjoy taking my kids but I do see what you mean, no amount of chlorine can counteract the floating debris humans leave behind.

I love swimming.

Swimming pools make me feel ill
Wikd swimming terrified me. God knows what’s living in the ponds and man made lakes🤮

l like sea swimming. But the nearest sea is 60 miles away and not very inviting.

I don't understand why swimming caps aren't a requirement in UK swimming pools, as they are abroad. I live in a country where they are, no cap no entry, for men and women (even a bald guy I know wears one), and it is not a problem at all. If you find them tight or uncomfortable, there are plenty of other activities you can try.