Which Pool to Buy?

Basically there are three types of pools available;  Cement ,  vinyl, and fiberglass pools.  For cement pools there is gunite, which is sprayed on cement and poured cement. Of the three, fiberglass is the clear winner for several reasons.

A surface of a fiberglass pool is smooth, unlike that of a cement pool which is porous and makes a nice home for algae to live.  Even though the cement pools are finished with plaster and many times tiled, this barrier can breakdown and if undetected, could be the start of your worst nightmare.  I've heard that once the algae take hold it's impossible to get rid of because it grows deep beneath the surface of the pool.   Cement pools also need go through an acid treatment every 5 to 6 years.

Vinyl pools will crack and rip in time.  I've seen one up close when looking for a new place to live.  The thought of replacing it didn't excite me.    I guess the bottom line is "Vinyl is NOT final"  when it comes to pools.  [ Top ]

Salt Water Chlorination Systems 

The usual way of chlorinating your swimming pool is by adding chlorine to your pool manually.   However,  newer technology is available today that actually generates chlorine from the salt content of your pool.   We chose this system because of the savings we'll realize from not having to purchase chlorine.

How Much Salt In the Pool?  

First, let me say that the salt content in a pool is measured in PPM or Parts Per Million.  1 PPM is equal to 1 part of salt to 1 million parts of water.  The Pacific Ocean is 30,000 PPM,  the fluid in your eyes is 9000 PPM and finally a typical salt water pool is between 3000 to 3200 PPM.  [ Top ]

Solar Heating your Pool

We decided to get solar heating for our pool and six solar panels later we were enjoying temperatures as high as 92º ... No that is nice.  We find ourselves enjoying a night swim as late as 10PM in the evening when the temperature is still about 86º.  [ Top ]

Can A Swimming Pool Float

You bet, in case you didn't know way back when boats were actually built out of cement.  It's important to have way for water pressure under the pool to get out so that it doesn't life your pool up.  Should this ever happen your pool of cement, it may not flex enough to settle it back into the ground.  It could crumble if its picked up.  This wouldn't be the case with a fiberglass pool as it very flexible and can be lifted up on one side if needed.  You wouldn't be able to do that with a cement pool.  [ Top ]

Pool Temperature

I wondered what the normal temperature of a pool should be for general use.  Hotels usually want to keep their pools to be  84 to 86º.  At these temperatures guests could stay in as long as the liked. Jacuzzi's are around 94 to 104º, for which you would probably not stay longer than 20 to 30 minutes.  Hawaii folks usually like their Jacuzzi water on the cooler side. Stay in longer than 30 minutes and you'll start feeling like you have a fever.

In February our pool would be about 75º in the morning and by noon it would be about 84º.  It was okay for the kids but for Verna and me, it took a little more time to get in.   Vern would go in a few inches at a time as her body would get used to the chill.  For me it was a little clicker.