Home w/ a pool?? Necessary or not?? (maintenance, living)

[J Swarthout]

If you find the right place a community pool may not be as bad as you may think. I lived in a condo complex that had like 6 or 7 pools. When we would go to one pool and there were people in it we just went to another that was empty even if it meant a longer walk. In three years of living there I would say 75% of the time we used a community pool we were the only ones. I'm sure that's not typical of most community pools though. I could never imagine living in Arizona w/o a pool.

[Howard Roark]

My parents found out after moving into a house in the late 1960s in California that having a built in pool was an attractive nuisance. They realized if a neighborhood kid gets hurt or drowns in our pool, there would be lawsuits. Even with kids who were invited to pool parties, my parents wisely had the kids' parents sign a waiver of litigation. That kind of obligated the kids' parents to also be present at the parties!

I used to have to maintain our pool as a teenager in order to swim in it. I took apart the filter once a summer to clean it out and put it all back together. Vacuumed it hundreds of times, made sure the chemical balance was within tolerance. The cost of the chemicals are something you should consider. Pools in Phoenix eat up chemicals faster than pools in Fresno (where I'm from) because the heat is usually fifteen degrees or more hotter in Phoenix.

Nevertheless, I would like my own 25 yard lap pool, as I'm an avid fitness swimmer. I am tired of other swimmers not showering before going into indoor pools at gyms. It's gross. If they have to get out to go to the restroom, they should completely shower with soap before coming back into the pool. Yuck! My place of choice to have an indoor pool would probably be in the area of Tucson, somewhere southeast where the summer temperatures don't get quite as hot as Tucson. Vail area or Patagonia!

[madmmac]

Food, water and shelter are really only the necessary things you need.

I have a pool and personally would never have a home in the Valley without one. During the summer I swim probably 95% of the time every night. You get out afterwards and it actually feels cool outside in 100+ degree evenings. Everyone else I know without a pool is hunkered down inside their homes soaking in their A/C whilst I peer at the stars.

Life is short, may as well enjoy it while you can.

P.S....A/C is not necessary in your car either but you may enjoy it!!

[Ceece]

My dad always said two of the happiest days of his life were the day he got the pool ... and the day he sold the house. LOL

[PhinsFan1]

Salt water pools are much more enjoyable to swim in. You don't feel like you need a shower when you get out, and there's no chlorine smell while you're swimming. On the rare occasion we swim in a non-salt water pool (country club, hotel, etc.), the stench of chlorine and the sound of the kids crying b/c it stings their eyes reminds me of why I love our salt water pool.

The pool water does get a bit warm by around August or September. The color of your pebble sheen, depth of your pool and amount of direct sunlight can effect it a little. But yeah, it loses the refreshment factor as the water gets warmer. That said, I wouldn't live here without one, especially with kids...if not for swimming, they'd never leave the house from June - September.

Originally Posted by ciamred

I am just curious how is the temp of the pool when it's 110+ out? and I have been hearing alot about salt water pools out there? What are those about compared to chlorine? Are they cheaper to keep up?

[S. Chris Webb]

"On the rare occasion we swim in a non-salt water pool (country club, hotel, etc.), the stench of chlorine and the sound of the kids crying b/c it stings their eyes"

What stings their eyes isn't usually from normal chlorine maintenance. Pools that you describe are not the same as well-maintained home pools, where only one family uses it. Pools that have a lot of use by many different people (including many crying kids) can have a problem with the chlorine being broken down too fast by the amount of contaminants. This is excessive "combined chlorine". These pools actually need to be shocked much more often to keep this in check. Home pools that are well-maintained at the proper pH and Free Chlorine levels should not leave swimmers experiencing conjunctivitus or reeking of chlorine. Somebody correct me if my science is incorrect.

[S. Chris Webb]

P.S. If the original poster, or anybody else, hasn't figured it out by the diverse postings on this subject, whether or not a pool is important to a homeowner depends entirely on personal preference (and to a smaller extent, budget). Before buying, it is recommended to rent for a while, anyway. If you're not sure, rent a home that has a community or private pool and find out for yourself whether or not it's necessary for you before making the big commitment.

Personally, couldn't live without my pool. My husband and I (no kids) use our pool for at least 4 hours every evening in the summer months. I actually feel a bit saddened at the end of summer when the water gets too cool.

[Howard Roark]

Good point, but in my personal situation, I'm a fitness swimmer. I require 25 yard pools for swimming for a decent swim fitness workout. However, large pools like that are expensive. So I swim at a decent sports facility (decent means having a 25 yard pool). However that also means that after a two mile swim, I would not really care whether or not I'm in the water anymore that day. I had enough of water. By the way, a morning August swim in Phoenix on a 117 degree day seems to keep me dry for hours, not breaking a sweat, after I get out of the pool and towel dry. And I swim in the summer in cold indoor pools in Chandler. Those that make you wanna swim fast!

So I would not care about wanting to jump in a pool in my backyard after being in one for 70 to 75 minutes!

Originally Posted by madmmac

Food, water and shelter are really only the necessary things you need.

I have a pool and personally would never have a home in the Valley without one. During the summer I swim probably 95% of the time every night. You get out afterwards and it actually feels cool outside in 100+ degree evenings. Everyone else I know without a pool is hunkered down inside their homes soaking in their A/C whilst I peer at the stars.

Life is short, may as well enjoy it while you can.

P.S....A/C is not necessary in your car either but you may enjoy it!!

[kdog]

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

What stings their eyes isn't usually from normal chlorine maintenance. Pools that you describe are not the same as well-maintained home pools, where only one family uses it. Pools that have a lot of use by many different people (including many crying kids) can have a problem with the chlorine being broken down too fast by the amount of contaminants. This is excessive "combined chlorine". These pools actually need to be shocked much more often to keep this in check. Home pools that are well-maintained at the proper pH and Free Chlorine levels should not leave swimmers experiencing conjunctivitus or reeking of chlorine. Somebody correct me if my science is incorrect.

That's my understanding as well. The nice thing about the salt water generator (SWG) is that because it holds the chlorine level so steady that you don't end up with a lot of combined chlorine. We had our pool in AZ for 5 years and it never smelled of chlorine and the water always had a nice "soft" feel to it. You didn't smell like chlorine when you got out.

Also, count me in the camp of folks who think pools are a requirement in AZ. Ours was always the focal point of our backyard and we entertained and just hung out there all the time. Granted this was in northern AZ where the nights are cooler than what you have in Phoenix.

I maintained our own pool and had far less hassle with it than neighbors who used a service. I hate to generalize, but suffice to say there are a LOT of flaky pool services. Plus, as a home owner, you should know what's going on in your pool.

The amount of chemicals and the amount of maintenance a pool needs depends greatly on the design of the pool. Features like an SWG, in-floor popups cleaners or cleaning robots, automatic pool covers etc make a huge difference in the difficulty level of maintaining your pool. That's where the theory of buying a home with an existing pool starts to fall apart. You don't know whether you're inheriting a blessing or a nightmare. We had an automatic pool cover on our pool and I can't say enough good things about that. Given the choice, I wouldn't want to own a pool without one.

We had an integrated spa on one section of our pool, and that got year-round use, at least every other day. The pool was used mainly in the summer. However, we would often heat the entire pool as a novelty on Thanksgiving and Christmas when we had guests. Now we've moved to northern CA and miss our pool and Arizona in general. We'll probably get a portable spa for the backyard, but not a pool. The weather is just not as conducive here for a pool as Arizona is.

Who wouldn't want a backyard like this.

[madmmac]

Originally Posted by Howard Roark

Good point, but in my personal situation, I'm a fitness swimmer. I require 25 yard pools for swimming for a decent swim fitness workout. However, large pools like that are expensive. So I swim at a decent sports facility (decent means having a 25 yard pool). However that also means that after a two mile swim, I would not really care whether or not I'm in the water anymore that day. I had enough of water. By the way, a morning August swim in Phoenix on a 117 degree day seems to keep me dry for hours, not breaking a sweat, after I get out of the pool and towel dry. And I swim in the summer in cold indoor pools in Chandler. Those that make you wanna swim fast!

So I would not care about wanting to jump in a pool in my backyard after being in one for 70 to 75 minutes!

You actually get a better workout doing more flip turns than stroking.

I also swim a bunch in the early mornings during the summer. It's pretty much a lap/play pool, about 60 feet in length. Heck, I play golf during the 117 degree days and enjoy swimming in the evenings too. I also enjoy the privacy and maybe an adult beverage as warranted!!

Everybody's different. I know, my wife tells me that all the time.