Pool School

Matt Giovanisci: 00:00

Hey, everyone. And welcome to Pool School by Swim University where we help you keep your pool clean and clear all year. My name is Matt, and I'm the founder of swimuniversity.com. And And on this episode, we're talking about the most common pool myth of all time. Let's dive in.

Matt Giovanisci: 00:29

Real quick, if you want more help taking care of your pool, be sure to grab our free pool care cheat sheet at swimu.com/ cheat sheet. Have you heard of this pool chemical that turns your water blue when someone pees in it? It's meant to prevent swimmers from peeing in the pool. Well, unfortunately, it doesn't exist. That is until today.

Matt Giovanisci: 00:51

Let me back up for a second. So the whole, you know, water turning blue when you pee rumor got started as a scare tactic way back in the fifties. In fact, 1958 is the first recorded prank. And it it even goes back farther than that with Orson Welles playing a prank back in the thirties. So the myth of this chemical has been a staple of pop culture for many years, for decades.

Matt Giovanisci: 01:18

For example, the movie grown ups exaggerate the myth and highlight the social faux pas. Additionally, it also appeared in an episode, if you remember, it's a long time ago, an episode of the adventures of Pete and Pete in 1995 on Nickelodeon. This thing has that's been around, and they say it's an old wives' tale, and it is. So even though this chemical doesn't exist and it would actually be nearly impossible to develop, and the reason that is is because while there is urine in pools, it's not so much that a chemical would be able to detect it in such a dilute large body of water. That's the unfortunate part about it, but it does exist.

Matt Giovanisci: 02:08

Or I should say urine exists, not the chemical. The rumor alone, though, is enough to deter most people from whizzing in the water, which is why people tell their kids and swimmers in their pool that, yes, I've added a urine detector to the pool, and it's gonna turn blue or green or red, whatever whatever color, and it's gonna detect your pee, and you're gonna look like a fool. Well, the chemical isn't real, but we made a bottle that is real, and it works at stopping pee before it even happens. So I wanna introduce you today to a new product that we developed called Swim University's pool urine detector. And, yes, this episode is coming out on April fools day, but this is not a joke.

Matt Giovanisci: 03:03

Alright? You it's a it's an actual bottle that we created. It's a 16 ounce empty plastic bottle with a very convincing label that you can show to anyone swimming in your pool, and it should be enough to deter them from peeing. And, yes, I know what you're thinking. We made an empty bottle with a convincing label.

Matt Giovanisci: 03:22

There is no liquid inside. We made a prop to scare lazy swimmers from tinkling in your water. But it's not just an empty bottle. If you want some extra scare, you can actually fill the bottle with tap water, pour the bottle of clean water into the pool in front of the swimmers, and keep the bottle around your pool so that everyone can see it. It's sort of like a scarecrow device.

Matt Giovanisci: 03:49

They don't know the chemical doesn't exist, but you do because you're listening to this right now. But here's the thing. Is pee in your pool a big enough deal to go out and buy an empty bottle called urine detector? Well, it turns out that urine reacts with chlorine. You see, chlorine breaks down bacteria that could be harmful to swimmers.

Matt Giovanisci: 04:14

However, chlorine reacts with urine to create a trichloramine, which is responsible for that chlorine smell, that classic pool smell, or that water park smell. When your eyes turn red after swimming, that's from the chloramine from p, not chlorine. And it's also from low pH, if it's if if the water has low pH. Trichloramine can also, if airborne, because that's what happens is it gasses off, it can cause asthma. And I've heard that that's why a lot of swimmers can develop asthma, like professional swimmers, because, yeah, urine.

Matt Giovanisci: 04:54

Michael Phelps admits to peeing in the pool back in when he was, you know, swimming. It also reduces available chlorine in your pool. Now according to the CDC, when pee and chlorine mix in the pool, there's less chlorine available to kill germs. A swimmer can introduce tiny living organisms, some of which can make you ill, and other things into your pool, including up to 2 soda cans worth of sweat and 1 cup of pee. This is really gross to think about.

Matt Giovanisci: 05:28

So here's the thing. How much urine is actually in your pool right now? Well, studies found that swimmers produce 25 to 80 milliliters of urine per swim. So thanks to Mark Rober's video, you can find out how much pee might be in your pool by taking the average number of swimmers per day and multiplying that by 1.2. That's how many gallons of pee are in your pool at the end of the summer.

Matt Giovanisci: 06:01

Now there are some caveats to this generalization, which I would suggest go on YouTube, check out Mark Rober's video on how many gallons appear in your pool. Now, how do you get this bottle of swimming pool urine detector that we created? You can buy it directly from our online store. You could just go to swimuniversity.com/urine, and you can buy it directly there. We make these bottles ourselves, and we ship them free to your door.

Matt Giovanisci: 06:30

Now when I say we make these bottles ourselves, I'm telling you that we we we we buy these bottles, these empty bottles, these chemical bottles, and I design the label myself, and I got the label printed, and I hand label every single bottle, package it, and ship it directly to you. I do it. Me, Matt. So the I I I we're gonna start this campaign with a a small number of bottles, and we'll see how it goes. If you guys are interested in it, then we will keep making it, and and it'll keep selling.

Matt Giovanisci: 07:07

And right now, it's only $10 and it's free shipping. So, you know, it's you're buying a prank, essentially. Or even better, you're buying a prank that can actually keep your pool healthier. That's what we're trying to do. Raise awareness because don't pee in the pool.

Matt Giovanisci: 07:25

1, it's gross. 2, it actually can be a little dangerous. So let's, let's keep it classy. So here's another thing to think about. If you buy this pool chemical, it's the only pool chemical that you'll ever buy that comes with free refills because we're selling an empty bottle.

Matt Giovanisci: 07:45

But when you get the bottle, you can fill it with water and pour it in front of your kids or your swimmers or whoever to deter them from peeing in the pool, and it works every single time. K? Just don't tell them it's not real. They don't know that. So what do you have to lose?

Matt Giovanisci: 08:02

Except maybe all that nasty pee in your pool. So you can get a bottle of pool urine detector while it's still available and enjoy a season of happy pee free swimming. Just go to swimuniversity.com/urine. And remember, if you need more help with pool maintenance, you can grab our free pool care cheat sheet at swimu.com/cheatcheat. And if you found this video helpful, subscribe for more pool maintenance tutorials on your favorite podcasting app.

Matt Giovanisci: 08:31

And when you do, please leave us a review. Your support will help more pool owners just like you find this show. That's it. Thanks again, and happy swimming.