Summertime means pool time – and time to swim in dirty water. Is there anything to do?

Filthy pool water

Summer is approaching, and if you are heading for a family vacation, chances are that a considerable time is going to be in and around the pool. It is great fun and we need some relaxation after a year of working. Many experiences like upset stomach and diarrhoea during the holiday, and it is far from certain that it is the local foods, that is causing it. It could very well be from the hotel pool, which can be a bacterial bomb out of the ordinary.

Have you noticed that many sweating bodies just jump into the pool without cleaning themselves? They bring plenty of bacteria into the pool. Yes, the hotel adds chlorine to the pool water, but it takes time to clean, and it has its limitation so it will not clean it all. If that is not enough a survey has shown that around a fifth of Americans has urinated in the water and that phenomena are properly not limited to Americans only.

Pee might not be so dangerous to your health, other than irritate your eyes, but people bring all kind of ingredients to the pool, so you end up swimming in a cocktail consisting of urine, faeces (poop), spit, sweat and dead skin cells, and naturally even sunscreen, perfume and makeup from adult can be found in the pool water. This mixture can, in the worst case, lead to stomach upset like diarrhoea, ear and eye infections. Tests of pool water in some Mediterranian hotels compared the pool water with the water in a toilet. Hotels might combat it by adding more chlorine, but too much can be hurtful to skin and eyes.

What can you do yourself?

Wash your full body in the bathroom. Many hotels set up an outdoor shower. It is not of much use as most bacteria, and the most harmful ones, are located near your private parts and rectum, and it is doubtful people are willing to flash those areas in public. On average, a swimmer unloads 0.14 grams of faeces in a swimming pool during the first 15 minutes in the water! It is an average number and can be substantially higher for those, who have not washed that particular part (or even hands) before dipping into the pool.


Swim in the morning. Pools are cleaned and chlorine added in the night, so water is cleanest in the morning before guests’ starts to jump in.


Special attention to toddlers. Use both swim diapers and swim pants. They are specially designed for toddlers, and seemingly safe for play. However, they might hold in some solid faeces for some time, but swim diapers do not keep diarrhoea causing germs from contaminating the pool water. Thus, keep your toddlers out of the water when they are ill with diarrhoea. And when the kid is fresh, then check the diaper frequently, and always change diapers away from the poolside.

The obviously – keep your mouth shut! The highest risk is when you get the water into your body by swallowing, but it is difficult to avoid when you are having a great time and laugh a lot. Being aware of its quality might help to remember to keep it closed.


Pick right hotel. It is difficult to pick the right hotel as you cannot possibly know which guests turn up. You can check if the hotel has a bad reputation. I sometimes pick an apartment hotel where expats live. Then you pretty much have the hotel pool for yourself during the daytime. Of course, it is not possible in pure holiday areas.

An alternative – use the beach. The water is not necessarily better quality at the beach in case many resorts leading the wastewater into the water. Like the case of Boracay in the Philippines where authorities decided to close its most famous beach destination over concerns of its clear blue waters being transformed into a kind of septic tank due to resorts leaking wastewater into the sea close to the beaches.

Bai Xep, Phu Yen, Vietnam. Credit: Vietnam Travel Tips

Undoubtedly, it is becoming increasingly difficult to locate unspoilt clean and still attractive beaches like Bai Xep on the photo. Here are not many residences or any resorts to infest the waters. Surely a nice alternative.


BTW. Have a nice swim.

HL