Welcome to the "ool"

Welcome to the "ool"

Have you ever been to a pool and seen a sign posted that says, "Welcome to the Ool. Notice there's no 'P' in it. We'd like to keep it that way"? Well, it's certainly one of my favorite signs portraying the RULES of the pool in a fun way. However, we're all yet to have seen a sign at the ocean that says to keep the "p" out of it. Hahaha... think about it...add a "p" to ocean and it becomes POCEAN...potion. Who knows, what that potion would do? Here's the answer: nothing.

American Chemical Society has produced a short video informing us it's okay to turn the ocean into a pocean/potion by adding "p" because the potion will have no power! When concocting your "potion" in the ocean, your urine is processed by the marine environment. However, ool swimmers still need to keep the "p" out.

The ocean is trillions of times the size of an Olympic size swimming pool. Therefore, urine, a salty substance with low levels of urea ( our waste after processing protein), is very much diluted in the already very salty ocean. When in a pool, urine makes a much bigger contribution, especially if said pool is crowded.

When it comes to the ocean, tons of aquatic life contribute pee without any adverse affects to the environment. In fact, urea feeds plant life and helps keep the system in balance. This is not true of a pool. Pools are manmade and must contain disinfectants to help keep swimmers safe.

In pools, disinfectant such as chlorine and unwanted compounds such as urine, combine to create irritants that cause conditions such as "red eye" and itchy skin. Also, that chemical smell that you've always thought was chlorine is actually due to disinfection byproducts ( urine mixing with disinfectant).

To help keep your ool "p" free, use the bathroom frequently and shower before entering the pool. This will help prevent disinfection byproducts from forming and free chlorine to do its job of eliminating germs.

Moral of the story? Keep your "p" out of the ool but feel free to mix up a pocean/potion whenever you like!

See also:

- Repair or Replace the Pool Pump?

- Pool Inspection Basics

- Backwash: It's a Good Thing

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