You want to cool off in the swimming pool, but are immediately greeted by the strong smell of chlorine. A completely normal smell, chlorine in the swimming pool. But why do we actually smell it?
Because it's actually not chlorine that we smell. Chlorine itself not only has a completely different smell, but when diluted in water it is almost odorless. So what do you really smell in the swimming pool?
The secret: trichloramine
The so-called trichloramine (NCl3) is a chemical compound that most often occurs as a byproduct of chemical reactions between ammonia derivatives and chlorine. It is only slightly soluble in water, volatile and, in large quantities, causes skin and eye irritation.
Chemistry in the swimming pool
But who brings ammonia derivatives into the swimming pool and creates trichloramine? The answer: a shockingly large number of visitors! There is chlorine in the water for disinfection. Together with our bodies, we also bring various nitrogen-containing compounds into the water, such as urea, amino acids and creatinine, which get into it through sweat and urine.
These compounds react with hypochlorous acid in the pool water to form mono-, di- and the aforementioned trichloramine, which produces the typical scent.
Which is why you should shower before swimming
Alexander Kampf, head of the swimming and bathing pool water department at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), explains in an interview with Stern that around 6 grams of urea gets into the water through one pee, which corresponds to the same amount of almost 40 bathers passing the substance on their skin secrete.
The average amount of 0.16 grams of urea per bather can be effectively reduced if you not only go to the toilet once before swimming, but also take a shower: showering beforehand removes 75 to 97 percent of the urea on the skin.
We hope we haven't robbed you of your bathing pleasure too much.
Sources: DGUV , Stern , Federal Environment Agency , Quarks
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