LANSING — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is encouraging residents to maximize the health benefits of swimming with healthy and safe habits. 

In the past nine years, 100 residents have reported pool-related chemical illness while swimming. It’s important to keep sweat, pee and poop out of swimming pools because they can combine with the chlorine and form chemicals that make our eyes red and trigger asthma attacks. 

Here are some steps you can take to help keep your family safe and healthy this swimming season.

Keep germs out of the water:

• Stay out of the water if you have diarrhea.

• Shower before you get in the water.

• Don’t pee or poop in the water and take your children on hourly bathroom breaks to keep them from doing the same. Every hour—everyone out.

Use chemicals safely in your pools:

• Read and follow directions on product labels.

• Open chemical containers safely, using proper protective equipment, in a well ventilated area.

• Never mix different pool chemicals with each other, especially chlorine products with acid. Add pool chemicals to water, never water to pool chemicals.

• Store pool chemicals securely.