Probably you have come across those warning signs in public swimming pools that urge you to shower prior to taking a swim. Well, you might have wondered why the owners of the pool insist that you shower prior to jumping in the pool. In fact, many people hardly obey this directive. After all, what's the essence of taking a bath first? Here are a number of reasons why.

Get rid of body contaminants

Unless you've just taken a shower, there's a high chance that your body contains substances such as sweat, perfume, deodorant, shampoo, urine and faeces which can contaminate the swimming pool. Though no one would want to acknowledge the presence of urine and faecal matter on their body, they may be present in microscopic amounts and hidden from the naked eye. Nevertheless, once they make contact with the pool, they are bound to contaminate the pool water.

Now picture if all swimmers in the pool on that particular day had small amounts of urine and faecal matter on them. Obviously, the amounts would add up. A simple bath prior to entering the pool can get rid of these contaminants from your body and thus, prevent them from mixing with the pool water while you're swimming. As a result, the pool is kept clean for long and also prevents you and other swimmers from swimming in contaminated water.

Easier on the swimming pool

The more dirty or filthy the pool water, the harder the pool is forced to work to be clean. Plenty of chlorine will be added and the pool's pumps and filters will work extra hard to get rid of the dissolved contaminants. By taking a shower before a swim, pool owners are left with an easier task to keep the pool sanitized in terms of money and time because they have to use less chlorine in dealing with a small amount of contaminants if any.

Cleaner is safe

This is arguably the most important of all the provided reasons. Ask yourself why chlorine is added to pools to keep them sanitized? Chlorine serves to kill all dangerous bacteria and pathogens that pollute the water. For most swimmers, the smell of chlorine in a pool signifies that the pool is sanitized. Nevertheless, nothing could be further from the truth. The smell caused by chlorine is only existing while it's oxidizing contaminants. Thus, a sanitized pool will have extremely little, if any, smell at all. A stronger chlorine smell means that the chlorine is depleting, which means the pool water is actually filthier. Unshowered bodies deplete chlorine with the pathogens brought in. If you spend adequate time swimming in pool water filled with bacteria and pathogens, you're likely to fall sick.