I'm sure you've heard of that special chemical you put in your pool that turns a color when someone pees. And I'm sure you heard the age old parent's tale not to go swimming within an hour after you eat. Or that chlorine causes your hair to turn green. Well I hate to say it but none of these things are true or exist on the market.
Urine Revealing Pool Chemical
You can call it Urine Indicator Dye, Pool Pee Chemical, Swimming Pool Pee Finder whatever you want, it doesn't exist. No matter what your parents have claimed over the years, there has never been a chemical on the market that turns your urine red, green, orange or any color in the swimming pool. When I worked at a pool store I would always get this question and I loved telling people that it didn't exists, they were astounded. In fact there was a Episode of Pete and Pete on Nickelodeon that depicted swimming pool water turning a different color when someone peed in the pool. Further driving this into children's minds that the chemical exists. So if there is one thing to learn from this is that you can pee in swimming pools all you want, but don't do it because it's disgusting and unhealthy for you and everyone else.
Wait An Hour After Eating To Swim
FALSE! There is no proof to say that if you eat and swim you will get cramps. Not saying that cramps don't occur while swimming. When you swim in a pool you are working out a lot of rarely used muscles. And cramping can occur in swimming pool but there is no evidence as to why. There is however evidence that does not link food to this. So go ahead swim after eating, but always swim with a friend.
Chlorine Turns Your Hair Green
The reason a swimming pool can turn your blonde hair green is simple. It depends on the amount of time you spend in the water and also it’s not the chlorine that turns hair green, it’s copper. Copper minerals at concentrations of 1 to 2 ppm (parts per million) can turn hair green. This can come from your hose water when you fill up a pool, especially those who have well water (so get it checked), and it can also come from certain Algaecides containing copper. If you are using an Algaecide and are having problems with blonde hair turning green, you may want to check the label before using the product.
How To Get Rid of Green Hair
If you hair does turn green from being in the pool, do not worry. There are special products like shampoo and sprays that are specifically made for such a problem. You are most likely able to find them in your local swimming pool store. Also shampoos containing Aloe Vera can help neutralize the chlorine reaction caused by the copper in your water. We also heard that washing your hair with tomato juice several times will help get the green out of your hair. Even though we can not prove this, we believe that the high acid levels in tomatoes is the cause of this.
