How long is the pool season? (insurance, for sale, vacation)

[diamondgirl45]

I notice that there are a lot of properties for sale with outdoor pools. What months is it actually hot enough to use one??

[Michigansnowflake]

late June thru August....maybe early Sept. heck , maybe late May..........it varies, but late June thru end of August

[ferris1967]

Hi. I'd wouldn't invest in a pool unless it was heated. It is the opposite in Texas where pools become almost unusable in summer.

[4WDGreg]

In southern Michigan, outdoor pools traditionally open on Memorial Day and close on Labor Day. You could stretch the season a couple of more weeks on either end of summer.

[Coldjensens]

Our pool is heated. We used it through October and then opened it up again for thanksgiving. We have an enclosure for ti if we every find the money or enough friends to put it together, we will be able to swim all year.
Cant say when we could first use it, it was put in in June. We certainly have not opened it up yet this year.

[Andre5140]

Our pool was opened on or just after memorial day and closed in mid-september. It's wonderful. I live in Phoenix now but I think I preferred having a pool in Michigan.

[Coldjensens]

Oops. The high winds opened our pool for us. The cover is gone. I guess we may as well fill it the rest of the way and start using it again. It is getting close to warm enough to use it heated. Supposed to be 60 all weekend.

[One Thousand]

Originally Posted by diamondgirl45

I notice that there are a lot of properties for sale with outdoor pools. What months is it actually hot enough to use one??

Hardcore people with heaters open in mid-April and start using it around the first of May.

Most people try to open in mid-May. (However, when you schedule has alot to do with what day in May you actually open.)

Commercial pools open for business on Memorial day, but are opened by the company prior to that to get any winter repairs out of the way. They close for business on Labor day.

Most people close in September because the kids are back in school.

When children aren't a consideration, but the customer is pretty average, late Sept and sometime going into Oct is normal.

Hard core people go all the way up to mid-Nov.


Those who are "hard core" always have a heater.

If you're seriously considering a pool, and seriously want to extend the season, some things to look for would be:

Is there an attached hot tub? Common in MI, on gunnite pools, are attached hot tubs.

If there is a tub, is the system plumbed so that the tub can be heated seperate from the pool? You can leave a pool unwinterized all the way up to the end of December without winterizing and without heating. If the system supports it, you can heat the hot tub up to that time and continue using it without regard to the pool.

However, there are a few significant details to make that happen, so it's always best to have a professional come and discuss your options. Most importantly! It's important to have a professional come out and inspect the surface (liner, plaster, fiberglass), coping and tile (if any), underground plumbing (pressure test) and system check.

An home inspector cannot-- and will generally tell you so-- inspect these things.

DO NOT!!! Trust the owner's or agent's (yours or theirs) pool company. The pressure the company gets from those people to fudge the report is pretty heavy.

DO!!! get a home insurance policy. If you don't want to splurge on a real inspection-- or even if you do-- an insurance policy will save your a$$. It'll not cover tile and liners, etc. However, the system and plumbing will be and that's probably the easiest for the owner to pretend there's nothing wrong without discovery.


Good luck with it. Pools are great! Get a good company, and it'll be a vacation in the back yard. If you have the co. care for the pool, and you have a good guy doing it, you'll break even on the cost of running your pool for the year compared to chemical expenses if you deal with a 20yr old at a pool store.

Avoid pool stores like the plague. If you must shop at one, don't deal with anyone under 30yrs. old.

If you're talking about above ground pools... I just wasted my breath...

[diamondgirl45]

Wow, that is a lot to know. Maybe I will stick to the public ones, lol. I know that when I lived out west it cost about $2500/year to maintain my friend's pool.
I would probably get more use out of a hot tub....since the winters are longer.

[One Thousand]

$2,500, on a 16x32 with spa, would give you a full six months of use in MI with a professional service (including chemicals.)

Buying a used pool is no different than a house or car. Only a fool goes in blind. The benefit of buying it used is that you don't deal with the builder. (Most people consider it pretty traumatic.)

Hot tub vs. pool in MI:

Summer's hot in MI... and humid. I think most people get about equal use if they're winter users. A difference that you'd find in the Great Lake states compared to the West is that GL states don't cool off in the evening like they do in the West. So, where in the west you'd use a hot tub in the evening comfortably, in the midwest, you'd rather have a pool to escape the heat and humidity.

All the warning for a swimming pool are the same for a hot tub. The difference being is that on a stand-alone tub, a major repair could end up leaving you better off replacing than repairing... which is regrettably common. And, if you're buy a house with a nice tub (integrated stereo, remote, dual pumps, etc.) the risk is exceptionally high.


Good luck! Get the insurance/home warranty. I've known many people who escaped a $1,000 surprise with them.