How do you catch people peeing in a pool?

Answer 1

The answer is simply NO ... No such chemical exists.

There are chemicals called pH indicators (the pH scale measures the strength of bases and acids) and the indicators change color depending on their environment. One such acid/base indicator is called bromothymyl blue or BTB for short. BTB in a neutral or base pH environment is the color of blue you saw in the movie. However, when BTB is in an acid environment it turns the color of URINE! Plus, BTB is the only acid/base indicator that is at any time blue.

Then, consider that urine is acidic so, it wouldn't even turn the BTB blue. Instead, the BTB would turn yellow if someone peed in the pool.

Finally, when you are active in a pool you sweat like crazy but, the water in the pool washes off the sweat. Then, consider that sweat and urine are both liquids that are filtered out of your blood and are chemically almost identical. They both remove metabolic wastes from your blood and they have the same amounts of acid and other substances in them. PLUS, since they come directly from your blood and your blood is sterile, urine and sweat (when they first come out) are also sterile. However, they are great places (due to the metabolic wastes they carry) for bacteria to quickly grow. So, they put chlorine in the water as a sanitizer that kills bacteria.

So, as gross as it may be, peeing in the pool does nothing negative toward your health. However, it does combine with other substances to make a chemical called "chloramine" which must be also dealt with which costs money. However, chloramines develop from both pee and sweat so they are normally in every pool.

Source(s):30+ years of coaching swimming, former pool tech, Master's degree in physiology that included a lot of chemistry.

Answer 2

By the look on their faces.