What Should You Do if a Baby Poops in the Pool?
Accidents happen. Babies have a hard time controlling their digestion as is. Water can lead to an even more frivolous attitude, making accidents more likely. If a baby poops in the pool, you should follow these steps to clean it up properly.
Step 1: Do not swim.
The first thing you will need to do is prevent other people from getting into the swimming pool. The feces will make the water hazardous, and anyone swimming inside will be at a severe health risk. For public pools, you should put a “pool is closed” sign up immediately. If the pool is private, then you won’t need an official sign.
Step 2: Remove the poop while wearing gloves.
It’s essential that you do not remove the poop with a vacuum. You will have to clean any tool you use to remove the poop thoroughly. Using a vacuum could contaminate the vacuum and ruin it for future use.
Instead, put on some rubber gloves and clean out the poop with a bucket and a net. Try to catch as much poop as possible and scrub any stains left on the pool’s interior with a brush. Once the poop is entirely removed, you’ll need to clean and disinfect the tools with a strong anti-bacterial soap.
Step 3: Disinfect the Pool
You’ll need to disinfect your swimming pool by raising the chlorine levels for about 30 minutes. You should keep them at two parts per million and the PH at 7.5 or less for the entire duration. During this time, your pool will not be safe for swimming.
You can also submerge your poop-cleaning tools in the pool during this process to disinfect them. Once the 30 minutes are up, you should check the pool’s filtration system to ensure it’s working correctly and hasn’t been clogged with poop.
Can You Get Sick from Poop in the Pool?
Yes. Ingesting fecal matter from another human is always a health risk, and pools make that more possible. Poop floating in the water will cause harmful bacteria to spread throughout the entire pool.
Anyone who ingests that bacteria is at risk for recreational water illnesses and infections of the skin, ear, lungs, eyes, and other areas. Pregnant women, individuals in poor health or auto-immune disorders, and children are the most at risk for such illnesses.
You should also be aware that large amounts of poop aren’t required to contaminate a pool. It’s important to note that someone with diarrhea can contaminate a pool even if they don’t have an episode while swimming.
What Happens if a Baby Poops in a Swim Diaper?
Swim diapers can delay complete contamination of pool water, but they are not 100% poop-proof. They hold in waste better than typical swimwear or normal diapers, but studies have shown that fecal matter can still leak out into the water.
In short, it depends on the type of poop your baby has. If they have a solid poop in their swim diaper and you catch it right away, you can avoid contaminating the pool. However, if it’s diarrhea, then it will undoubtedly contaminate the water.
If any kind of poop happens in your swimming pool, we recommend following the disinfection method mentioned above just to be on the safe side.
Should Babies Wear Diapers When Swimming?
While swim diapers might not protect against a full-on infection, they can make the cleaning process much easier on the pool owner. They do a great job of containing excrement, which you would otherwise have to scrub and remove by hand. A reusable swim diaper can protect you from getting your hands dirty while cleaning the poop.
Normal diapers aren’t nearly as effective. They will get saturated quickly and won’t contain the mess the way a reusable swim diaper can. They can also weigh down the baby and prevent them from swimming effectively.
Regular diapers also break apart more easily when in a pool, or they can fall off from the weight of the water.
What if a Kid has Diarrhea in a Pool?
Chlorine does an excellent job of sterilizing any urine that goes into pool water. However, it’s not nearly as effective against poop, whether it’s baby poop or adult poop. Some poop particles contain the chlorine-resistant parasite Cryptosporidium, which can cause infections and diarrhea in other swimmers.
Since diarrhea is a liquid, remember it won’t be as easy to clean as solid poop. You’ll have to follow the instructions above thoroughly to ensure the complete removal of all diarrhea. After you’ve completed this process, we recommend not using the pool for at least one day.
Remember that Cryptosporidium is less likely to spread to family members than it is to strangers and guests. If a member of your family accidentally enters the pool after having diarrhea, it’s less likely for them to infect other family members.
If you or a child has diarrhea, you should avoid using pools entirely for at least two weeks or wait until your bowel movements become completely solid.