Page 2 | How safe do you think swimming pools really are?

loveyouradvice · 2021-04-15T18:59:33+00:00

Just that really ... local gym opened up again - I went in enthusiastically and with 12 of us in three lanes in a quite a small pool I felt rather wary. Is it safe? And what's the impact of chlorine and little ventilation?

Trixie78 · 16/04/2021 14:03

Probably safer than anywhere else you'll go. The chemicals they put in the water kill off any virus.

bookworm1632 · 16/04/2021 14:03

@itsgettingwierd

Ahhh bookworm you may want to read the scientific report that says otherwise. Link is above

There is no scientific report that states "Covid is transmitted by close and prolonged person to person contact indoors" because it would be wrong.

The risk of transmission is increased by close proximity and by length of contact - that's a completely different claim.

Nor is there any "report" that would ever claim any environment was completely safe.

LesserBother · 16/04/2021 14:04

Way more crowded than it ever was pre-pandemic and people with no lane etiquette are not good for my blood pressure but no concerns from a covid point of view. Just wish they'd open a couple of the showers.

bookworm1632 · 16/04/2021 14:06

@itsgettingwierd

Ahhh bookworm you may want to read the scientific report that says otherwise. Link is above

Ah - you think I was arguing about chlorine killing the virus - nope that's true - but it's irrelevant. See my subsequent post.

lljkk · 16/04/2021 14:59

I was mulling over something...

Yesterday I overtook a slow swimmer to reach the wall where Idler person was (sitting in shallow end against wall). Idler gave me a look for getting so 'close' to them. Because slow swimmer was veering away from the sides & corner, I didn't have a lot of room to swim in.

This was the 'Fast' lane so we should all be experienced in the ways of swim pool etiquette. Even so, Idler might moan about "crowding", even though Idler could have done so much to avoid sharing 5 seconds of space with me. Like get out of pool to sit away from the sides to do their idling. Or Idled in the corner that most swimmers cut off and leave with lots of space around it. Or Idled at the deep end where few other people are to be found Idling. Even better to stay away from others, spend their idling time sitting well out of the pool at the deep end.

Really it was good session. Honest. :)

AfternoonToffee · 16/04/2021 15:27

You can't think too much about swimming pools, they are disgusting

Yes. Has it never crossed people's minds before?

itsgettingwierd · 16/04/2021 18:19

Yes bookworm I did. I think we were posting opposite things at same time and I had responded before you elaborated.

I agree with subsequent posts about ventilation etc and touch points.

But because most people have chlorine on them as they use the touch points getting in and out of the pool etc it does lower risk.

Plus when, for example, my ds is swimming with his club because the water is being splashed up continuously it does lower particles in air which are deactivated by the chlorine flying up with it!

They aren't completely safe. Nothing in life is.

But they are safer than many other indoor places!

zzizzer · 16/04/2021 19:55

All the people saying you're teachers etc and that you're probably more of a risk than other people there - I mean this question as politely as possibly, honestly (and I'm autistic and often get tone wrong so might be here too) - but really, don't you care that you might be spreading it to others?

BogRollBOGOF · 16/04/2021 20:00

@lljkk

I was mulling over something...

Yesterday I overtook a slow swimmer to reach the wall where Idler person was (sitting in shallow end against wall). Idler gave me a look for getting so 'close' to them. Because slow swimmer was veering away from the sides & corner, I didn't have a lot of room to swim in.

This was the 'Fast' lane so we should all be experienced in the ways of swim pool etiquette. Even so, Idler might moan about "crowding", even though Idler could have done so much to avoid sharing 5 seconds of space with me. Like get out of pool to sit away from the sides to do their idling. Or Idled in the corner that most swimmers cut off and leave with lots of space around it. Or Idled at the deep end where few other people are to be found Idling. Even better to stay away from others, spend their idling time sitting well out of the pool at the deep end.

Really it was good session. Honest. :)

I miss swimming rage

I haven't swum myself since last March as my style is to randomly rock up to a lanes session at a public pool when I feel like it, so the booking systems don't work so well for me.

I managed to avoid Covid last autumn while dealing with the DCs' swimming lessons, including a dyspraxic child who is not speedy to change (and ASD means that getting dressed has to be done without shortcuts) That was in one of the worst hotspots in the country at that point. Plus I'm mask exempt and find the pool atmosphere to be a fine line on sensory input anyway... I took extra care to sit well away from others in the 2x 30 mins of spectating. At that pool, the seats are tiered and there's a huge volume of air compared to people, plus external doors open.

My anecdata says swimming is safe even for a pesky bare-faced person in one of the worst places in the country

Seriously, rates are very low. Most areas have between a handful to no cases. The health benefits of swimming vastly outweigh the hazards at present.

BogRollBOGOF · 16/04/2021 20:02

@AfternoonToffee

You can't think too much about swimming pools, they are disgusting

Yes. Has it never crossed people's minds before?

The toddler pool. How many hundreds of swim nappies per day?

I survived 6 years of that! I have a great constitution

WaitingForNormality · 16/04/2021 20:03

I read an article mentioning swimming pools (in the water itself) being safest place. Chlorine helps obviously. But risk still there with changing rooms etc

FWIW I went swimming today. Local small gym pool - only 4 lanes and had to book a lane beforehand. Felt super safe. Far less people in there than usual. I'm 32wk pregnant and pretty risk averse with covid atm too

beginningoftheend · 16/04/2021 20:08

Covid is airborne, so the issue is the air you are breathing. So the same as any other room of the same size and ventilation.

If it feels crowded or you are very near to people, not safe in covid terms. If it is roomy and you can keep apart, safer.

Agree pools are generally quite grim, we are all so much more aware of germs now that they may seem quite odd at first. We have returned though.

Xmasbaby11 · 16/04/2021 20:10

I've been to my local pool with and without the kids and felt it was well managed. Very high ceilings, lots of empty changing rooms, extra cleaning. It feels very spacious and clean. With that and the chlorine, I am satisfied. I'm so happy to be back swimming again.

sipsmith1 · 16/04/2021 20:11

We went to our baby swim class today and they told us that the virus is killed within 30 seconds in the water itself, the risk is particles in the air.

voxnihili · 16/04/2021 20:14

@profpoopsnagle - I feel the same. I went back to swimming this week and took my toddler on a different day. If my school is apparently safe, then the corridor on the walk to the swimming pool must also be safe.

voxnihili · 16/04/2021 20:22

@zzizzer - yes I do. But, I only do things that are within restrictions and don't break the rules. I don't think I should have to become a hermit when I'm not at school when the government are repeatedly telling us how safe schools are. If we're at that much risk we should have been vaccinated as a priority.

On a side note, my DD and I returned to our toddler group today (I work part time). On our way out I overheard one of the mums saying to another that 'you just have to trust that no one here is doing anything like sending their child to nursery'. I didn't say anything but it really got to me - why should my DD have to suffer because she goes to nursery so that I can teach other people's children.

Kissthepastrychef · 16/04/2021 21:26

You're more likely to be killed in the car on the way back from the pool than Covid.

Kissthepastrychef · 16/04/2021 21:27

And I will be waiting outside the pool when school restart parent sessions; I'm desperate to get back in the pool. If that means I have to drive there in my costume and go home wet so be it

Katie517 · 16/04/2021 23:13

Took my baby swimming for the first time this week! Didn’t give a second thought to if it was “safe” nothing in life is safe but I can tell you one thing it will be a very joyless existence if you risk assess every single thing you do forever more! At what point will you stop doing that? As Covid isn’t going away

GreyhoundG1rl · 16/04/2021 23:15

@VioletCharlotte

I read an article about this earlier the week, I can't remember where or I'd link to it. In tests, scientists found that swimming pool water inactivated COVID within 30 seconds.

Oh, interesting.

DonGray · 16/04/2021 23:19

Very safe
Very annoyed that kids swimming is still no changing rooms just leave in your wet clothes which assumes everyone drives there

SophieGiroux · 17/04/2021 00:33

@DonGray

Very safe Very annoyed that kids swimming is still no changing rooms just leave in your wet clothes which assumes everyone drives there

Yes I've often thought this. What if you usually get the bus or walk? I've invested in a dry robe for my DD as she's in a swimming club but it wasn't cheap!

DarceyDashwood · 17/04/2021 07:35

You can use the changing rooms after swimming lessons at my pool. Quickly get them out of costumes, quick dry with a towel then into a onesie, wipe down the area of bench you’ve been at with spray and leave. Takes less than 5 mins.

DarceyDashwood · 17/04/2021 07:37

Here’s a link to the research mentioned by PP about the water inactivating Covid - from Swim England
www.swimming.org/swimengland/swimming-pool-water-inactivates-covid19-virus/

BogRollBOGOF · 17/04/2021 12:13

@DonGray

Very safe Very annoyed that kids swimming is still no changing rooms just leave in your wet clothes which assumes everyone drives there

DS1 is supposed to do this in his lesson grade. We have a 30 minute drive and with his sensory issues, he would not cope with getting dressed on wet trunks, then sitting in them. It's enough work getting him "pool ready" in advance. Fortuntely his sibling is in a lower grade on the same time slot and can get changed so I get DS1 to walk over to us together which some evenings is hard enough on his social confidence level. The pool's expection is just not suitable for DS1's current stage of development and independence skill.

A lot of Covid measures have assumed everyone has access to a private car.