poo poo in the pool

[chipholder]

At a pool party for my child's class we suspect one of the 1st graders poo poo'd in the pool. She claimed it didn't happen in the pool but we're suspicious. Nothing floating. What should I do?

[cwstnsko]

What kind of pool? In a big pool, I'd shock it with lots of bleach. In a small pool I'd consider a significant water change too.

[cygnusecks]

This is exactly why we put chlorine in our pools.. So I say put a FRICKIN LOT of chlorine in :-)

[ivyleager]

Raising the chlorine to shock levels will kill the contaminates. Draining should not be necessary. You'd be doing that for your own peace of mind.

CaryB

[chipholder]

The pool is a 30,000 gal IG. The chlorine was still somewhat elevated from opening shock, probably around 3 - 5 ppm. Last night at 11:00 I added 5 gallons of bleach. I didn't check but that should have raised the level to by 10 up to 15 or so. I haven't yet checked it this morning. We have another party today at 2:00. The poo poo event in question happenned last night at 7:00. Is it safe to swim or am I going to have to set up the volleyball net for entertainment?

[mbar]

Safe to swim, contaminates are gone, if your cya is under 50

Stabilizer . . . . . . Min. FC . . . . Max FC . . . 'Shock' FC
=> 0 ppm . . . . . . . 1 ppm . . . . . 3 ppm . . . . 10 ppm
=> 10 - 20 ppm . . . . 2 ppm . . . . . 5 ppm . . . . 12 ppm
=> 30 - 50 ppm . . . . 3 ppm . . . . . 6 ppm . . . . 15 ppm
=> 60 - 90 ppm . . . . 5 ppm . . . . . 10 ppm . . .. 20 ppm
=> 100 - 200 ppm . . . 8 ppm . . . . . 15 ppm . . .. 25 ppm

[salinda]

The pool is a 30,000 gal IG. The chlorine was still somewhat elevated from opening shock, probably around 3 - 5 ppm. Last night at 11:00 I added 5 gallons of bleach. I didn't check but that should have raised the level to by 10 up to 15 or so.

I had this concern a lot in the past because my kids were younger when we moved into this house. I searched around at different health sites and found this (you should be able to find this at most health department sites).

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/fecalacc.htm

A diahrreal accident is much worse because it is more likely to have cryptosporidium or giardia in it. Those pathogens are resistant to normal chlorine levels and require shock for a lengthy period. The "formed stool" accidents seem worse at the time but are likely treated instantly by normal free chlorine levels.

If you read the last page above you will get the most information. You need to get a CT level of 9600. At a chlorine level of 15, you should be good in 11 hours, so you should be fine for the party today.