What to do about un-showered fragrant lane mates?

At my Y it's the overly perfumed water aerobes.... Phew - nothing like strong cheap perfume. Gag.

I don't shower per se. I guess what I do could best be described as a quick rinse. I've never really noticed any pool stank although I do see the occasional bit of t.p. floating in the water and once saw a band aid at the bottom of the pool. My take is anything that don't kill ya will only make you stronger. :eek:

I guess what I do could best be described as a quick rinse That's all I want, really. What I sense is that sometimes people arrive a little later than they wanted to and are in a rush to be first in a lane. Guess I'll suck it up (literally).

I totally sympathize with what you are saying. It's a tough policy to enforce though.

I do not use that stuff....and I cannot remember ever showering before a workout.... I take a shower in the morning and one before bed at night....but never before going in the pool.... I have smelled that stuff though...but is was never a big deal....

Originally posted by Tom Ellison I do not use that stuff....and I cannot remember ever showering before a workout.... I take a shower in the morning and one before bed at night....but never before going in the pool.... I have smelled that stuff though...but is was never a big deal.... Two showers a day - three people wrapped into one (Tom, Mr. Moose, Ralph) Do you alternate off days? Or does one of you just never shower? Seriously though - I swim at my Y when it opens at 6:00. Nobody showers before getting in, as there is no hot water at that time. I don't know if the water heater isn't on yet or what it is. I have started the showers and let them run for 10 minutes before giving up. After I swim - usually around 7:15 to 7:30 there is plenty of hot water????

I guess I'm either lucky, or it's the places I swim. At the University Pool, I haven't had the misfortune of smelling unwanted odors (B.O.??) at the pool area or at the locker room. However, the Aquatic Center that's five minutes away from my house is a different story. Being since it's owned by a school district, it's frequently used by High School Swim Teams for morning and evening workouts... Once when entering the Locker Room (at the School Owned Aquatic Center) to get ready for my workout... Fwuh!!! The distinct (and sometimes overwhelming) scent of teenage funk dominated that locker room and left me in tears. (Literally!) I guess it depends where and when you go swimming.

I have always showered before swimming, used to swim a lot at a pool where it was strictly enforced and just got into the habit. Imagine if everyone rinsed off their lotions and hair products before entering the pool, it would stay cleaner. It also makes getting into the water a little easier because I am already wet.

I think the hygiene question is more important than the perfume one here. I like most of you take a shower or 2 a day, so never really gave a thought to the "shower before entering pool" rule which is posted in most if not all public pools. However, there are exceptions to us well washed folks. One day I was in the shower with a team mate and I complimented her on her tan. She said she'd been to Malaysia. I said, "Wow! When did you get back?" Reply, "2 months ago! I haven't washed since then, in order to keep the tan." She wasn't joking. It made me appreciate the pre-swim shower rule! At the World Championships in Riccione we had a chance to compare the idea of personal hygiene in different cultures. Italians were appalled to see people go into (and come out of) the toilets barefoot. Not done in Italy! You carry that stuff into the pool afterwards!

Originally posted by AnnG I have always showered before swimming, used to swim a lot at a pool where it was strictly enforced and just got into the habit. Imagine if everyone rinsed off their lotions and hair products before entering the pool, it would stay cleaner. It also makes getting into the water a little easier because I am already wet. Yup, Ann, that's the whole point of requiring a shower before entering the pool. As someone mentioned previously in this thread, if you're there with the first wave of swimmers for the day, the showers take 10 minutes to warm up at some pools. My YMCA is like that. So if you obey the rule and wait for a shower to warm up, the other swimmers get the good lanes. We're all in this together, so the tacit agreement is that we all jump in dry, and it has been a long time since anyone has brought anything noticeably offensive into the pool. But one time, HOO Boy! Some "new" older guy joined in, and people had to switch lanes to get away from the overwhelming cologne fumes. Ugh. Some people do a token "sprinkle" and call that a shower. If you have something that needs washing off (like cologne or aftershave), a sprinkle isn't going to do a thing for you (or the others who have to swim with you. I've seen people "shower" without putting their towel down! (And they keep the towel dry.) The thinking on this approach seems to be: "I look wet, so if the lifeguard is going to yell at anyone for not taking a shower, it won't be me." To that approach I say, "Why bother." To the question in the base note (How do you tell someone s/he stinks?) Tough question. It lands in the same category as deciding whether or not to tell someone they have spinach in their teeth. The difference in the pool, though, is that you are not just breathing, but vogorously inhaling those fumes. It's a tough call, and I wish I had an answer for you.