Little-Known Public Pool Facts That Will Freak You Out

Jacob Shelton
Updated September 24, 2021 366.0K views15 items

Public swimming pools are gross. Sure, they're great for cooling off during the summer, but you might change your mind about taking a dip after reading this list of gross public pool facts.

Rashes, pink eye, diarrhea; if any of those things sound gross to you (and how could they not?!), then you better buck up. Despite the dream of halcyon summers spent splashing into city pools while sucking down red white and blue ice pops, we’re pretty sure that public pools have always been hives of infestation for disease and danger.

  • No One Showers Before They Get In The Pool

    If you don't shower before you get in the pool, all of your body oil, perspiration, and urine traces will leak into the pool and make everyone sick, so sayeth the Water Quality & Health Council.

  • Swimmers Run The Risk Of Getting RWIs

    Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs) are caused by germs that are spread by swallowing tainted water present in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, lakes, and oceans. According to the CDC, there has been an increase in the number of RWI outbreaks in the past two decades.

  • Yes, People Pee In The Pool

    One in five Americans admit to peeing in the pool, according to a survey conducted by the Water Quality and Health Council. But the faux pas goes beyond the average, recreational pool-goer. Nearly 100 percent of elite competitive swimmers are reported to pee in the pool - regularly.

  • Pools Might Give You Diarrhea

    In 2005, 1,800 people in New York reported gastrointestinal explosions related to a water park in Seneca in upstate New York. The attraction was closed down for the rest of the summer.

  • Pools Sometimes Have Parasites

    Cryptosporidum or Crypto, for short — is a parasite that causes the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis. Protected by an outer shell that allows the parasite to survive for up to 10 days even in chlorine-treated water, this means that even well-maintained pools can spread Crypto among swimmers.

  • There Are Band-Aids Everywhere

    We don't know if you can get sick from touching a band-aid floating in the pool, but it is super gross.