PLEASURE OR PAIN ???

[boyshanks]

Just curious.

Whenever I mention to anyone that we are thinking of getting a pool, I hear the littany of reasons why we shouldn't.

It's not the initial investment, it's the annual seasonal expense!
They are such a pain to maintain!
You have to open and close the pool each season!
The cost of chemicals!

About half of the time I hear this from pool owners.

Is this a midwest thing?
Please tell me something redeeming about in ground pool ownership!

[depet]

Having a pool is like having a pet. The more time and care you put into it the greater the rewards of owning it.

[carusoswi]

Way back when, the only way to keep a pool clean was to vacuum the bottom with a vacuum head connected to a long pole that you had to slowly run across the entire bottom surface of the pool. Today, we have automatic pool cleaners that can constantly work to keep the bottom of the pool clean. The surface of the water is kept clean by skimmers that also work automatically. Maintenance is no more than emptying the skimmer basket(s) and the collection bag from the automatic cleaner.

You have to periodically backwash the filter and add new filter medium, and, if your pool is situated so that it picks up a lot of debris, you may have to empty an inline basket that catches larger debris before it reaches your filter.

The above list takes very little of your time. You'll want to keep an eye on your chlorine levels - and that chore can be nearly automatic.

If you were planning on staying away from home for several weeks at a time, you might want to reconsider installing a pool, but, even then, filter motors can be programmed to come on and off without your attention.

In my family, I am pretty much the only one who actually swims in the pool, but everyone else loves sitting out there. It's a fun place to entertain, etc.

If you have kids, then they will love swimming and playing in the water.

I don't know why the initial reaction from so many is about how much maintenance there is on a pool. I spend far less time on the pool than I do my yard (and I don't spend much time on my yard, either, LOL).

Each to his/her own. But, if you think you would like a pool, I say, go ahead and install one.

Caruso

[cberwick76]

My husband and I bought a house with an above ground pool last year - We had our son just months after moving into the house (in the middle of June) so the pool was neglected for the first month due to being in the hospital etc...after weeks of hard work (and not to mention hundred and hundreds of dollars), we finally had a nice clear blue pool to swim in for....2 weeks. We closed it and vowed to be better at it next summer.

Next summer is here and over the cold winter our pool cover ripped and fell into the pool - its black water full of leaves and bugs and the sides are coated with "crap". Our pressure gauge was at 90 and higher and our pump sounded like a plane taking off. We have spent 500 bucks on a new one since the old one had seized and had bearing problems - but it just seems like an endless task. I know in a few weeks and a couple more hundred dollars the pool will likely be swimable...but I don't htink its woth it. If you have a job, kids and a life...its not worth it. Pack up and go to a beach...or to a friends sorry to burst your bubble

[all4him]

I heard the same when I was thinking of getting a pool.

Just as previous posts they have pool cleaners that do most of the work. I would recommend the Phantom by Hayward it does the bottom, sides and top of the water, works great. Another way to cut cost is to us a salt system that generates its own chlorine. Makes the water soft and does not smell or burn your eyes. I have found the chemical cost to be moderatly low once you get you water balanced.

Like mentioned earlier a pool is like a pet when you get it trainind it is great to have.

Go for it and enjoy

[LauraLee]

I heard the same thing when we were considering putting in a pool 13 years ago. But the ones who did not have pools were the ones saying they were too much work, those that had them said it was not a big deal. Once we get through the initial frustration of getting the water crystal clear each summer, we spend about an hour or two a week maintaining it and we are out there anyhow so it is no big deal.

It is not cheap, we figure we spend about $1000 for a summer - $60 a month extra for electricity. We have always been told to run the filter 24/7 to keep the water clear. When we have tried cutting back we always run into problems and spend a fortune for more chemicals to correct it so we keep that filter running! We spend an average of $400 in chemicals for the summer. It runs about $200 to have professionally closed around here. We open it ourselves but want to have the lines blown out by someone with liability insurance because replacing our huge patio if they have to break up concrete to get to the busted pipe would be an undertaking. Every year something has to be replaced - pump motor, winter cover, solar blanket, underwater light, it is always something and it is always at least $200. This does not count the couple hundred more a year in property tax or if you heat a pool. I heard of $600 a month gas heating bills (and that was at 1993 prices!) so we did not add a heater, we have solar panels that the water flows through before it goes back into the pool which helps and is free.

It was a lot of money initially to put "a hole in the ground" and I sometimes wonder if we should have done it. The summers are not long enough in the midwest, maybe if we were more south we would gain more use out of the pool. The kids used it for a few years but as they got to teenage years they were not interested - girls might be different but my boys were not into tanning or pool parties. If we ever move I probably would not do it again. But...when I am sunning on a floatee with music in the background and a drink...it is worth every penny to have a paradise in your own backyard!

[howbout]

I love our pool. Yes, it's work SOMETIMES but if you carefully maintain it and don't neglect it, it's really not bad. We moved into this house which already had an IG pool three years ago and my kids were 1 1/2 and 4 1/2 then. We ALL love it and even got a pool heater so we can swim year round. Of course we DO live in FL so....but when we moved (from a house with no pool) to this one, it was WONDERFUL. Of course we all LOVE to swim, my kids are absolute fish, and we have a LOT of hot weather. I can't imagine NOT having one!

[halito]

i think that you should get a pool. i swim in my grandmother's pool. so get one!