Water and Air Safety

We’ve established that viruses such as COVID-19 are not shown to be transmitted in properly maintained pool water. So let’s talk about the air surrounding the pool. Many learn-to-swim programs are conducted indoors allowing for year-round instruction to build and maintain skills. After talking with industry experts we’ve uncovered some interesting information on ways ventilation for indoor pools is far superior at minimizing virus transmission than most indoor spaces.

Keith Coursin is the President of Desert Aire. He has served on several ventilation committees including the CDC’s Model Aquatic Health Code Committee. He shared that mechanical engineers use the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2020 Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality to determine how much ventilation air the dehumidification equipment must be designed for an indoor pool. When looking at the standard, indoor swimming pools are required to have a very high ventilation rate. It’s been designed this way to help remove byproducts of the chlorine used to maintain the pool water. Keith shared this comparison of the ventilation rate:

Indoor pool ventilation is:

• 8 times more than an office space
• 4 times more than an elementary classroom
• 2.6 times more than a science laboratory

Keith said, “in fact, there is no other building type listed in the standard that comes close to the required ventilation rate of an indoor pool.”

So what does all this mean? The air you find at an indoor pool is better ventilated than many other indoor spaces you will be in.