What to Do When There Is Poop in a Pool (CDC Steps)
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Close the pool to swimmers and remove the poop right away. CDC's backyard-pool guidance is to raise or maintain free chlorine at 2 ppm and keep pH at 7.5 or below for 30 minutes. A diarrheal incident is higher risk because it may involve Cryptosporidium (Crypto); do not use the public-pool hyperchlorination procedure for a backyard pool.
Remove the poop and treat a backyard pool
- Close the pool to swimmers.
- Put on disposable gloves.
- Remove the poop with a net or bucket. Do not vacuum it.
- Clean the item used to remove it and dispose of waste sanitarily. CDC says the item can also be disinfected by immersing it during the 30-minute treatment period.
- Remove and dispose of the gloves, then wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.
- Raise free chlorine to, or maintain it at, 2 ppm and keep pH at 7.5 or below for 30 minutes.
- Confirm the filtration system is operating properly.
Estimate chlorine to reach 2 ppm
Use the pool's actual volume, current free-chlorine test and product strength. This calculator estimates a dose; follow the chemical label and retest the water.
Why the pH and stabilizer matter
CDC's germ-inactivation times below are based on 1 ppm free chlorine, pH 7.5 or less, water at 77 °F or higher, and no cyanuric acid (CYA). They are not the backyard-pool response steps above. Disinfection takes longer when CYA is present.
| Germ | Approximate time at the CDC test conditions |
|---|---|
| E. coli O157:H7 | Less than 1 minute |
| Hepatitis A | About 16 minutes |
| Giardia | About 45 minutes |
| Cryptosporidium (Crypto) | About 15,300 minutes (10.6 days) |
Crypto can survive for days in properly chlorinated water. A diarrheal incident is considered a high-risk Crypto event, so remove it immediately and follow CDC guidance. CDC's recommendation to raise chlorine very high for hours is for public-pool operators and does not apply to backyard pools; mishandling the chemicals can cause respiratory distress or chemical burns.
If it happened in a hot tub
CDC's hot-tub steps differ: close it to bathers, remove the material with a net or bucket, drain the water and piping as much as possible, clean accessible surfaces, address the filter media, wash hands after removing gloves, then refill. Bring pH to 7.0–7.8 and free chlorine to at least 3 ppm, and maintain both for 30 minutes.
Chemical safety
Use protective equipment specified on the product label, do not mix chemicals, and never add pool chemicals while people are swimming. The chemical label is the final word. See pool chemical safety before handling products.
Source
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, What to Do When There Is Poop in the Pool (June 5, 2024).
- Virginia Department of Health, Pool Chemical Safety.