Swimming pools, in most places of the world, practically reek of chlorine. Chlorine, after all, is the cheapest and quickest way to get rid of all waterborne germs that can make swimmers sick. These sanitizers help reducing risks like diarrhoea, ear infections and other skin infections.

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But not many know that the strong smell that comes from a pool isn't necessarily from chlorine! According to a survey from the National Swimming Pool Foundation and The Water Quality and Health Council, only 5% of Americans know that the smell actually comes from chloramines - chemical irritants that form in pools when our bodily fluids mix with chlorine. To put it simply, when our pee, sweat or any other bodily fluid gets mixed with chlorine, our eyes burn. It is also a sign that the pool might need to be re-treated. Which, needless to say, is very harmful to our skin.

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We all know that we shouldn't be taking a piss in the pool. Sure, it is convenient, but it isn't an ethical thing to do, especially because there are other people swimming in it. But apart from being ethical, what people do not know is, it is also how our bodily fluids react with chlorine.

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But it's not as bad as you think.

While peeing in a pool is bad and everybody knows that, and most even adhere to it, the bigger culprit here isn't urine, but human sweat, which, most of the time, cannot be controlled by us.

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What can be done?

Hotels and other public pools regularly check the chlorine and the pH levels in the pools and treat it if necessary. So the next time you find a pool with a strong chlorine smell, or if your eyes start burning, you know it is because of high chloramine levels. Make sure you go and inform the hotel or the pool manager right away.