You dont want a pool, its too much work!

[ssgumby]

That is what I heard from everyone, some people had pools and labored over them, some never had pools but heard horror stories. I knew I wanted a pool no matter the work, I love relaxing int he pool and to have something that will keep my kids happy AND their friends would be worth all the labor.

Well guess what? There is hardly any "labor". I literally spend 30-45 minutes per day. Of that, its a few minutes checking levels. I alternate every other day between brushing the walls and vacuuming. My pool is absolutely crystal clear and all the "labor" I actually enjoy.

When I vacuum, I get in the pool with mask and snorkel and cruise around cleaning up. How is that labor?? I rarely ever have to add much int he way of chemicals. Initially a lot of salt, some CYA and occasional dose of bleach or muriatic acid. Dosing takes no more than a couple minutes though.

I wonder what all these people who claimed how hard it was, I wonder what they were actually doing?!?!

 

[Smykowski]

I wonder what all these people who claimed how hard it was, I wonder what they were actually doing?!?!

Probably driving back and forth to the pool store and heaving lifting the cash out of their wallet?

 

[chem geek]

For some people, brushing or vacuuming every day would be a lot of work. Even so, there are options for people to cut that down to just once a week so the daily part is just about adding some chlorine and doing some testing -- very fast. If the pool is not near trees that drop pollen, flowers, leaves, etc., then the pool can stay much more clean. For pools near such plant life, one can use a pool cover though one still needs to clean off the cover to use the pool.

Our situation is in between. We have a mostly opaque electric safety cover so brush it off before we open it, but we also cut down a nearby cedar tree that was dropping its needles regularly as it was directly in the "wind blows needles from tree to pool" path. That made a huge difference and though we miss the smell and presence of the tree, the labor savings has been huge.

 

[cramar]

You spend 30 minutes a day looking after your pool.....it's way easier than that, I have a friend that spends about 15 minutes a week on his pool

I'm with you, I spend about the same amount of time as you and it's not that bad, still, some people would just rather spend that time sitting around, which is fine, but they blame the "amount" of work whereas it's just their own lack of desire.

 

[Mike_W]

I enjoy "playing" with my pool. It is just complicated enough to be interesting, but once you understand it, not overwhelming. It is a pleasant distraction from my job stress. And the view of a pretty pool in the back yard is always rewarding. I guess it is like gardening - some people view it as a chore and resent doing the work (or hire it out) while others take pride in the effort they make and end accomplishment of their "work".
Mike

 

[DKT113]

For some people there is no way they are physically able to sweep & vac & test daily and maintain the water / open and close it up for their season. That stuff for many would be physically demanding. Other folks probably are gun-ho keeping water balanced initially and then tire of the "chore" quickly. But when folks say that ~ I don't think they necessarily mean "physically exhaustive labor" I think it's more of a statement that relates to time/money/ effort spent to obtain & maintain vs: time folks actually spend loving the pool after the honeymoon phase passes.

I know I grew up with a pool. My grandparents put one in for me when I was in grade school. Neither of them can swim we had an 11 foot deep end ~ there was no way for them to snorkel to clean it. Both were terrified of the deep end, but granddad would enter in the deep if he tied off with a harness. It was kept impeccable though and they never labored ~ terrified of water they kept a pool that was pretty deep and it truly sparkled. Pretty cool for a couple of folks who couldn't swim and I would have to say didn't get in the thing more than 10 times combined. When I went looking to buy our first house my only requirement was I wasn't looking at anything with a pool. The novelty wore off for me and the kids. We kept ours nice enjoyed it, but as years went by more times than not we said we didn't feel like getting on the suits and getting in. Where we lived (very remote, they just got cable in the last couple years) swimsuits weren't even necessary. It had nothing to do with expense to maintain / time spent maintaining ~ we just didn't have the enjoyment we once had in the water. If I asked most of the people I know if you were to move would you want another pool I believe an overwhelming majority would say they wouldn't bother. Keep in mind we live in PA and have a short swim season.

Now we do have a AGP. Which I really debated it. Never contemplated an IGP. The AGP though I feel like if we tire of it I can rip that sucker down in an instant and have that portion of my yard back. I am not worried about time or money spent to maintain it, but when it isn't being used I would want it out of there instead of looking at lonely, under-enjoyed waters. With an IG Pool it would be too painful to fill it in with dirt to get away from ~ I know three families though within 10 miles of me who have done just that & it wasn't because they couldn't keep the water pretty and none of them needed repairs. Filling in their pools had nothing to do with not being able to afford or maintain them. Family grew up & they quit using them for the most part, and they all wanted their yards back.

It takes me probably 5 minutes a night to test and dose, a couple hours a week to sweep and vac. Would much rather tinker with pool and yard than do laundry housework. I love working outside. With that though, we have the pool and we enjoy it, but I could go home tonight take it down and not be sad it was gone.

 

[Isaac-1]

I think if you ask most long term pool owners, say those that have owned a pool over 10 years, you will see that they go through cycles of feeling this way. Those that continue to find enjoyment in their pools are also often the ones that have learned to minimize the amount of work the pool needs, often through the use of automation. Of course there are lots of other words that could be inserted in the same sentence, dog, kids, house, etc.