People who own pools know that one of the worst things that can happen is for somebody to have an “accidents” in their pool.

While it doesn’t usually happen very often, when your pool water is accidentally exposed to human waste, it’s important to have a plan to protect both your pool and the people who use it.

Generally, pool water that has been exposed to fecal matter needs a series of steps to return it to safety: The offending material needs to be removed, the pool needs to be drained, and the surface materials need to be disinfected before it can safely be returned to service.

Exposure Risks

When it comes to fecal exposure, it’s not a good idea to take risks with the safety of your family. While pool water typically contains chlorine, it’s generally not at levels high enough to kill the bacteria in fecal matter that can cause Recreational Water Illnesses, or RWIs, including E Coli, Hepatitis A, Giardia, and Crypto parasites. Simply pouring more chlorine in your pool won’t work. Even with elevated chlorine levels, these strong, resilient bacteria could take several days to be killed unless you drain and disinfect your pool.

When your pool water is exposed, it’s important to take steps quickly. Close your pool to swimmers and don’t allow anybody to use it until it can be serviced by your professional pool technicians. Remove the fecal matter using a bucket or net and dispose of it in a sanitary way (flushing it down the toilet works best).

Disinfect and Clean 

Remember to disinfect anything that you used to remove the material. That’s why it’s a bad idea to try to vacuum the material from your pool. The interior surfaces of your vacuum can become infected.

Accidents happen. But exposure to hazardous waste, even if it’s human waste, needs to be taken seriously. Call the experts at Eagle Pools to thoroughly drain, clean, and disinfect your pool before allowing it to be used by your family, friends, and neighbors.