Beware of the pool

March 31, 2014, 8:19 PM GMT+0

This summer you might want to avoid swimming pools, because 29% of Americans admit to urinating in them

Even in the darkest, coldest bits of America the sun has begun to poke out from behind the cloud, meaning that soon we'll be able to shed our coats and jackets and don our swimsuits. Getting into a pool, however, runs the risk that you might not just be swimming in water and chlorine. Scientists have warned that chlorine in pools may react with urine to become toxic.

The latest research from YouGov shows that Americans overwhelmingly think that it is unacceptable (86%) to urinate in a pool, though 9% do think it is acceptable. Most (52%) also think it is unnacceptable to urinate in a lake or a pool.

People tend to have a more positive view of peeing in the shower, though, with 48% of people saying it's acceptable and 42% saying that it isn't.

Despite virtually everyone agreeing that it's wrong to pee in the pool, that doesn't mean that people don't. 29% of Americans say that they have urinated in the pool, while 58% have urinated in the shower. 36% say that they have never urinated in the shower, along with 64% of people who say that they have never urinated in a swimming pool.

Full poll results can be found here.

Image: Getty

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