SWIMMING POOL ADVICE: If you knew then what you know now.... (electric, area)

[Potential_Landlord]

OK this may be far-fetched maybe even super far-fetched... Every summer we hear stories and warnings about "killer amoebae" which enter the brain via the respiratory system due to swimming and diving in contaminated water. This seems to happen mostly in the Deep South, but could it also happen in Phoenix area swimming pools? Is clean-looking pool water a guarantee it is amoebae free? -Sorry I want to keep my brain for a while still

[cre8lite]

very educational thread! how about opinions on pool covers? pros/cons of automated vs manual?

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by Potential_Landlord

OK this may be far-fetched maybe even super far-fetched... Every summer we hear stories and warnings about "killer amoebae" which enter the brain via the respiratory system due to swimming and diving in contaminated water. This seems to happen mostly in the Deep South, but could it also happen in Phoenix area swimming pools? Is clean-looking pool water a guarantee it is amoebae free? -Sorry I want to keep my brain for a while still

Having chlorine/free chlorine at the proper level is the key for preventing such a thing from happening.

I have a feeling those lakes where people got that microbe from weren't very well chlorinated. oh, and don't go in those funky looking green pools with no chlorine.....probably not a cool thing.

[esiebert7625]

Originally Posted by Potential_Landlord

OK this may be far-fetched maybe even super far-fetched... Every summer we hear stories and warnings about "killer amoebae" which enter the brain via the respiratory system due to swimming and diving in contaminated water. This seems to happen mostly in the Deep South, but could it also happen in Phoenix area swimming pools? Is clean-looking pool water a guarantee it is amoebae free? -Sorry I want to keep my brain for a while still

There have been no cases of someone getting infected by killer amoebas in a pool except for Arizona:

What We Do

Just keep your pool clean and you wont have to worry about snorting killer amoebas. Also another benefit of having a salt water pool is you're guaranteed to be killer amoeba free as they can't survive in salt water

General Information | Naegleria fowleri | CDC

[Bates419]

Originally Posted by cre8lite

very educational thread! how about opinions on pool covers? pros/cons of automated vs manual?

I have the automated cover and can't recommend it enough. The obvious safety aspect is there. Plus the ability to heat you pool year round without spending a ton of money. And you use less chemicals and the pool is always clean. And lastly for lazy folks like me it takes 10 seconds to take the cover off to have a swim, and I can't state enough how much more I use the pool since eliminating the hassle of a roll up cover.

[BlueCat1105]

Funny - I asked earlier this year about an automatic cover for a pool and pretty much everyone who responded acted like I was from the moon for asking about such a thing. The general tone of the thread was that almost no one covers their pool out there.

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by BlueCat1105

Funny - I asked earlier this year about an automatic cover for a pool and pretty much everyone who responded acted like I was from the moon for asking about such a thing. The general tone of the thread was that almost no one covers their pool out there.

The vast majority of people don't cover their pools out here. Especially for a non-automatic cover, it's just a major pain. I've read some posts in this thread of those who have an automatic cover and they certainly aren't cheap. For all the years we've had a pool out here, we've never had a cover of any kind. Sure, when we get a real windy day, leaves and such fly in it but a few minutes using a leaf skimmer it's an easy job to remove them. We had an in-floor cleaning system and that certainly makes cleaning much easier also. We never had a pool that looked dark from mud or dirt blowing in from dust storms either. In the northwest valley where we had our pool, and the southwest valley for that matter, we usually seem to miss most of the dust storms out here and at worst catch the edge of them. Algae growth and such is prevented from proper chemical balance. The only thing I can see a benefit in for cost savings is if someone heats their pool in the winter to keep the heat from escaping but realistically, most people I've known have a hard time using their pool in pool season weather, let alone year round. At any rate, when we had a pool, the cost/benefit just didn't work out for me when I ran the numbers. Not even close, especially with a non-heated pool.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by stevek64

At any rate, when we had a pool, the cost/benefit just didn't work out for me when I ran the numbers. Not even close, especially with a non-heated pool.

Trying to cost-justify anything to do with a pool is down-right funny.

An automatic pool cover can easily tip the scale of making your pool a dream or a nightmare. We had a neighbor who didn't have one and their pool was always full of sand and plant material, whereas ours with the automatic cover was always sparkling clean. I suppose if you live in an urban cement-city with no dust storms, no plants and no wind, then maybe it's not that big of a factor. But that's not the Arizona I know.

It's great for non-heated pools too as the cover will heat your pool. It may get too hot in the summer, however, opening the cover for a few hours will help cool it off, especially at night. And of course, as has been mentioned, evaporation without a cover is a big deal. If you have hard water, that a lot of additional calcium that you're adding to your pool every day by your auto-filler running so much to keep your pool topped off.

Also, don't forget that with an automatic cover, you don't need a pool fence, or gates, per AZ regulations.

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by kdog

Trying to cost-justify anything to do with a pool is down-right funny.

An automatic pool cover can easily tip the scale of making your pool a dream or a nightmare. We had a neighbor who didn't have one and their pool was always full of sand and plant material, whereas ours with the automatic cover was always sparkling clean. I suppose if you live in an urban cement-city with no dust storms, no plants and no wind, then maybe it's not that big of a factor. But that's not the Arizona I know.

It's great for non-heated pools too as the cover will heat your pool. It may get too hot in the summer, however, opening the cover for a few hours will help cool it off, especially at night. And of course, as has been mentioned, evaporation without a cover is a big deal. If you have hard water, that a lot of additional calcium that you're adding to your pool every day by your auto-filler running so much to keep your pool topped off.

Also, don't forget that with an automatic cover, you don't need a pool fence, or gates, per AZ regulations.

Please understand I'm talking "benefit" as in enjoyment, not an investment here. Or in the case of something like a cover, that it provides a benefit in one's situation. And I understand the resale value of a pool, trust me. And getting a pool the 1st place....if one isn't going to use it much, or really enjoy looking at it, I see it as a waste of a good chunk of money, so I still think there has to be a cost/benefit to it for such a large purchase and the accessories that go with it that cost a few $.

We never had a pool filled with sand and plant material except for a few days a year when a big wind would blow leaves in that was easily scooped out by yours truly. Sand/muddy water? Never. The in-floor cleaning system makes it super simple for whatever is there.

We lived in Surprise when we had our pool. It's not a matter of the city being "cement-city", just a matter of where the dust storms come from and what city one is in the valley based on wind patterns on how much of that dust one will get. Dust storms start further south of Phoenix and drop the dust all over the place, doesn't matter how much concrete is in the immediate city though in the northwest valley where Surprise is, we got very little dust overall compared to other places in the valley that usually get much more because we are not in the main path of dust storms. They were cool to watch to the east of us though.

I agree on it getting the pool too hot in the summer.....often when we wanted to cool off the most, the pool was too much like bathwater for us to get refreshed. Yes, I know an aerator can cool things down a bit but not as much as we liked.

In any case, glad the cover is worthwhile for you. We are at the opposite end of the spectrum now after having a pool for many years.....glad we don't have one anymore as it was getting old for us and we wanted to do other things in our backyard in our home that we live in now.

[lewdog_5]

Originally Posted by Bates419

I have the automated cover and can't recommend it enough. The obvious safety aspect is there. Plus the ability to heat you pool year round without spending a ton of money. And you use less chemicals and the pool is always clean. And lastly for lazy folks like me it takes 10 seconds to take the cover off to have a swim, and I can't state enough how much more I use the pool since eliminating the hassle of a roll up cover.

Does that keep too much heat in the pool in the summer or not affect the temperatures much when it's scorching out? I'd love to keep the heat in the pool in the winter months to increase the length of my swim season.