Pool Myths — Busted!

At some point, we have all heard a mom, whether it was yours or someone else’s, tell us to wait 30 minutes to swim after eating. Well, turns out this and many other pool “rules” are actually myths. In this post, we are going to play the MythBusters and dispel some of these widespread fallacies. […]

02 Jul 2019

At some point, we have all heard a mom, whether it was yours or someone else’s, tell us to wait 30 minutes to swim after eating. Well, turns out this and many other pool “rules” are actually myths. In this post, we are going to play the MythBusters and dispel some of these widespread fallacies.

Waiting 30 Minutes After Eating Before Swimming

This is by far the most popular pool myth. This idea stemmed from the fact that after a big meal blood diverts away from your ligaments towards your stomach and digestive tract. People then assumed the risk of drowning is heightened if your limbs are not working at full force. However, while it is true blood moves to assist your digestive process, a person still has plenty of blood in their body parts to function after a big meal. This makes sense after all because, while you may feel bloated after a large meal and want to sit down, it is not like you are suddenly unable to stand. Some say not waiting to swim after eating makes you more subject to cramps, but even this is not proven. Myth: Busted – maybe mother does not know best after all.

Chlorine Changes Hair Color

Likely better known among the female community is the myth that chlorine can make your hair green. Surprisingly, chlorine has no impact on turning hair green, although it goes damage hair and make it dry and brittle. However, hair can still gain a green tint from swimming due to copper sulfate, which binds to proteins in your hair to cause a green coloring. Copper sulfate is a safe chemical and is added in most pools to combat algae, but the one downside is this green tint. If you are concerned about this effect, then there are certain “swimmer’s shampoos”. Myth: Partially Busted – chlorine is harmful to hair, but it is not the chemical causing the green tint in hair.

Chlorine Smells

Properly chlorinated pools do not have a strong chemical smell. There are only two reasons why you would ever have a chemical smell: yucky substances in the pool that mix with chlorine and form chloramines or if the pool is overly chlorinated. If your pool is clean and properly chlorinated, then you will never have the “chlorine smell”. Myth: Busted – only if your pool is kept properly clean though.

Peeing in the Pool Will Turn It Blue

Growing up, you likely were told not to pee in the pool because it would turn blue. Well for those of you that have tried peeing in the pool you quickly realized this was a lie. In fact, there is no such dye that even exists. Regardless, pools are not meant to be peed in, as urine contains bacteria that you do not want to swim in. Myth: Busted – but do not pee in pools!

Growing up, we all here our parents tell us various things that we take as fact only to find out later they are not so. We outlined a few above, but we want to know: What did your parents tell you as a child that was not, in fact, true?

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