Researchers confirm: Yes, there is pee in your public swimming pool

<p>Ever wanted to know how much people pee in the pool? If so, you're about to find out.</p><p>"The way I see it, the pool is the biggest, most expensive toilet — and it's all mine," Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcyLs_few0E&t=27s" target="_blank">Funny or Die</a>.</p><p>A team of researchers spent three weeks testing how much urine was in over <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00043" target="_blank">two dozen pools and hot tubs</a> in Canada.</p><p>They looked at the concentration of a certain artificial sweetener found in a lot of processed foods and passes through the body unaltered. And their findings are pretty gross.</p><p>In one public pool, it was estimated swimmers had left <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/mar/01/how-much-pee-is-in-our-swimming-pools-new-urine-test-reveals-the-truth" target="_blank">almost 20 gallons</a> of pee. Another pool, about half the size of the first, was calculated to have about 8 gallons.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/dirty-money-the-cash-in-your-pocket-probably-has-poop-on-it/">Dirty Money: The Cash In Your Pocket Probably Has Poop On It</a></b></p><p>If you're shocked by that, we've got some more news for you. The team also tested a handful of hot tubs and found concentrations of the sweetener even higher in those.</p><p>One hotel Jacuzzi had a concentration three times higher than the worst swimming pool.</p><p>You might be wondering why a team of scientists spent weeks studying what most people already suspected. It was all in the name of hygiene.</p><p>The researchers want to raise awareness about the risks of peeing in the pool. Although urine is sterile, it can cause eye, skin and respiratory problems when <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/aquatics-professionals/chloramines.html" target="_blank">mixed with pool chemicals</a>.</p><p>A researcher said, "We should all be considerate of others and make sure to exit the pool to use the restroom when nature calls."</p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/fruits-and-vegetables-could-lower-smokers-risk-of-copd/">Why Former And Current Smokers Should Eat More Fruits And Vegetables</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/trump-directs-epa-to-replace-obama-s-water-rules/">Trump Takes Aim At EPA Water Regulations With New Executive Order</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/bpa-replacement-causes-health-problems-in-animal-testing/">BPA Isn't Totally Healthy But Neither Are The Alternatives</a></li></ul>