ny bodily fluid spilled into a swimming pool or spa should never be ignored, says Michael Beach, an epidemiologist with the Division of Parasitic Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fluids — including blood, feces and vomit —are considered potentially contaminated and should prompt an immediate evacuation and be cleaned up. Here are the steps to follow:

1Get everyone out of the pool.

Behaviors that introduce recreational water illnesses Changing diapers poolside Rinsing babies off in the pool water Not showering thoroughly before entering pool Not washing hands after using restroom Swimming with diarrhea Wearing shoes from restroom to pool deck High-pressure power washing of pool decks releases diseases living between cracks or in hard-to-reach areas, washing them into the pool. Swimming soon after having diarrhea. The disease is still in the body even after symptoms have passed.

Do not allow anyone back in the water until steps have been taken to eradicate potential RWIs and chlorine levels have returned to normal.

2 Wear disposable latex gloves to prevent contamination. Remove as much of the matter as possible with a net or scoop and dispose in a tightly tied, doubled bag. The CDC does not recommend vacuuming.

3 If stool is formed, raise chlorine levels to 2 ppm, and make sure pH levels are proper. Maintain the chlorine level for at least 25 minutes and make sure the filtration system is operating. If diarrhea, raise chlorine level to 20 ppm for at least eight hours. A fairly common superchlorination equation requires a result of 9,600. That number needs to be the amount of chlorine in parts per million multiplied by the minute. For example, 10 ppm can be added for 960 minutes.

4 For diarrhea, backwash the filter thoroughly after reaching the CT value. CT is the concentration of free available chlorine multiplied by time in minutes. Do not return backwash through the filter. Replace the filter media if necessary.

5 Keep a log of accidents. Document each fecal accident with time and date, type, chlorine levels and procedures followed.

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