Should you shower before swimming in a public pool?

EdwardTeach said:
Yes, definitely yes.

I hate it when I swim near someone who has failed to do this but had used the "French shower" method (ironic given the circumstances) and had sprayed on a lot of deodorant or perfume. They can be a couple of lanes away and the smell will still diffuse through the water, utterly rank.
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Yes, absolutely. In pre-COVID times I would swim 2-3 times a week at a lovely outdoor pool near my office. The only one in central London I believe. The downside was that as soon as there was a drop of sunshine (or worse, like this current weather) it would turn from respectful lane-swimming amongst regulars - into the last days of Rome via Magaluf :( I gave up going whenever the weather was decent because it was unbearable. Not only because of the crowds but because you couldn't see 2m ahead of you in the lane due to all the perfume, deodorant, hair gel etc. in the water. It was like swimming through fog, grim! (And you could taste it, bleurgh!)
 
Yes before and after, when I worked in a pool it was relatively common to see people shower before they got in but then there was a row of showers at the entrance to the pool so it was more effort to avoid them.
 
showers you get in UK pools I visit are only hot, not ideal, but rinse off in cold shower in France is strongly recommended,
but, moreover, they also enforce more hygienic trunks, no junk some UK pool tourists wear.
 
When we had compulsory swimming in Year 5 Middle School, we weren't even allowed to shower afterwards never mind before. Quick change and back on the bus back to school.
 
robfosters said:
Another swimming pool question.

Why does swimming, or even just frolicking in a pool make you starving hungry?
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Body temp drop.

Saw a post the other day about this sort of thing, people swim in the ocean, there are dead bodies in the ocean, you wouldn't swim in a pool with a dead body, thus humans have a water to corpse ratio that is acceptable, showering beforehand just seems so petty after reading that lmao :D
 
LeeUK said:
When we had compulsory swimming in Year 5 Middle School, we weren't even allowed to shower afterwards never mind before. Quick change and back on the bus back to school.
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Yeah, I never once had a shower after PE at school regardless of the sport. We also used to run around playing whatever at lunch in our uniforms in the heat of summer though, which is even worse. I guess personal hygiene isn't a high priority for school children :D
 
In Iceland we'd consider it absurd to not do so (although maybe less so in tourist places). In the UK I'm fairly sure I was the only one who ever did when using pool facilities at the gym in my lunchbreak etc - better not to think about it :cry:
 
Having been to a school where naked swimming was compulsory my mind flicks back to old Doc Fisher "playing" with the younger boys in the foot spa, in an obvious state of arousal, and public swimming baths have held little appeal since such ruinous sights ;) Many people have disbelieved my tales of compulsory naked swimming, which went on for decades, until it made a newspaper article. I am not sure how common this was in the seventies at other schools. Not very I would guess...
 
R.P.L said:
Yeah, I never once had a shower after PE at school regardless of the sport. We also used to run around playing whatever at lunch in our uniforms in the heat of summer though, which is even worse. I guess personal hygiene isn't a high priority for school children :D
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Yeah we weren't allowed showers after PE in high school even though the changing rooms had them. The changing rooms had a permanent stink of Lynx though, even on first lesson on a Monday morning when no one had been in since Friday!

Chris Wilson said:
Having been to a school where naked swimming was compulsory my mind flicks back to old Doc Fisher "playing" with the younger boys in the foot spa, in an obvious state of arousal, and public swimming baths have held little appeal since such ruinous sights ;) Many people have disbelieved my tales of compulsory naked swimming, which went on for decades, until it made a newspaper article. I am not sure how common this was in the seventies at other schools. Not very I would guess...
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Our compulsory swimming in middle school in the mid 90s wasn't naked, although I used to produce a "note" or simply forgot my kit to get me out of it most of the time as it just wasn't for me.
 
Lopéz said:
Yes you should, though growing up in the UK I've never actually witnessed anyone do this - just a chlorinated water "foot bath" to walk through from the changing rooms.
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I thought that foot bath was to stop dressed guests from entering the pool area from the changing room, I didn't think it was any cleaning area.

Not been to the "baths" since my teenage years, now I'm starting to wonder if I can still swim
 
I've spoken to some carers who encourage those who can't wash/are immobile/don't wash due to mental issues etc to do a yearly dip in the local swimming baths to give their body a bit of a cleanse, & it's pretty much guaranteed they don't shower first. So I don't think it really matters what regular folk do
 
I don't use swimming pools, I have to swim in open water (preferably the sea, but lakes, rivers, puddles et al. will suffice), but I probably would have a quick burst under the shower if I did.
 
Slightly off topic but there aren't any dedicated swimming pools near me, they're all now on the side of leisure centres. This is annoying because back in the day you could rock up, pay a small fee and swim. Even if there were lessons going on they would be cordoned off, allowing a section for public swimming. You'd only be unable to use the pool if there was a school swimming gala going on.

Nowadays, with the leisure centres, the process of getting in there to swim is more complicated, even if you're a member. Our local leisure centre involves lots of queuing at reception to get a band, and if the often solitary receptionist is busy with someone else, you get a bunch of frustrated swimmers waiting around. The pools seem smaller and much more frequently closed due to OAP aqua aerobics and suchlike. The pool schedule is practically indecipherable.

Anyway rant over, I'm old :)
I remember being able to get into our local pool for a swim for 15p!
 
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