The Advantages Of Getting Backyard Swimming Pools

Backyard swimming pools are great for people on their own or those with families. With the coming of summer, it couldn't be any timelier to get one installed in your house. A pool isn't a senseless investment. For one, it can help you beat the heat. But more than that, it offers a lot of other impressive advantages that should more than make up for what they cost.

With a pool accessible in your own house, you don't have to go anywhere else for a relaxing, fun time. That not only saves you money, but effort as well. Whether morning or night, you have the benefit of being able to satisfy your craving for a cooling swim. You don't have to worry about carrying a load of stuff with you to a public pool, or sharing the space with a bunch of kids and adults. You can just take out a pool floater, take a dip and then lie out on top of the water with a drink in hand, and chill out for a few minutes. You can even make this a daily routine if you want, because with your very own pool, you have a personal oasis at your disposal.

A pool will also help you get that needed exercise, since you can do 30 laps every morning or after work, free of charge. Swimming can burn up to 570 to 900 calories per hour. That's more than the approximate of 600 calories an hour of running can get rid of. With swimming, you don't have to deal with that uncomfortable sweaty feeling or have to subject yourself to public display. Considering that a treadmill costs around $315, it would make more sense to get cheap above ground swimming pools instead, and take advantage of its other possible purposes - the third being a good side business or social attraction.

With a pool in place, you can host pool parties every weekend for your friends and family. You can have them bring the beer and barbeque, and you could spend the evening dancing and swimming away. As an alternative, you could also open up your place to your neighbors for a fee. The parents living next to you would appreciate a safer and more affordable recreational alternative for their children when they are out of school. At $5 to $10 per head, you'll be able to earn back the money you spend on pool supplies.

Lastly, a pool will also be an excellent resale attraction if ever you intend to move to another place. You could probably end up with more than what you spent for it, since the house's features will also be included in the price.

Having a pool in your own house can both be an exciting and frightening aspiration - exciting, because of all the fun things you can do with it, and frightening, due to the fact that you may incur a huge amount of expenses. But when it comes to getting a recreational facility installed in your backyard, money doesn't need to be an issue. There are cheap above ground swimming pools being retailed today, and for as little as $150 to $1000, you can actually get yourself brand new backyard swimming pools any time minus the hassle of construction and high costs.

Fine Tuning Your Swimming Pool's Chemistry

Swimming pools can be attractive and can add value to your home. A properly installed pool looks beautiful at first, but poor maintenance can erase all the good looks. It's a waste of money to set up a swimming pool and just let it go murky. Regular maintenance may be tiresome, but a one-time and major cleanup can be even more annoying. Pool maintenance is possible with general checkup and cleaning, both requiring use of swimming pool equipment.

One of the tricky things about maintenance is checking the water chemistry. Note that while the filtration system does much of the work in maintaining good water condition, tweaking the water chemistry is the key to making your pool suitable. Chemical balance is important to keep the growth of microorganisms and the production of harmful chemicals. Certain water conditions favor proliferation of bacteria and other pathogens. At the same time, poor chemistry can also be a sign of inadequate filtration and chlorination systems.

There are signs that indicate poor water chemistry-cloudy water, discoloration and chlorine smell. If you suffer from skin and eye irritation after swimming, this is an indication that the chemistry should be checked.

Eliminate the pathogenic agents.

Chlorine is the most popular disinfecting agent. Although chlorine gas may be used, commercial pool disinfecting agents are in the form of calcium hypochlorite or sodium hypochlorite, the same active ingredient your household bleach has. When a hypochlorite compound is added to water, hypochlorous acid is yielded. This weak acid kills bacteria. Bromide compounds can also be used to disinfect the liquid.

Is chlorine the culprit?

Pool chemistry is largely affected by the amount of chlorine in the liquid. If you paid attention during your high school chemistry class, you would remember that hypocholorous acid is unstable and easily decomposes, especially when exposed to ultraviolet light of the sun. It also reacts with other substances. A stabilizing agent can be added to chlorinators to prevent formation of other chlorine compounds. An example is cyanuric acid, which also keeps hypochlorous acid from easily decomposing upon exposure to the sun. However, it is a common practice among pool owners to chlorinate the water at night to get the best desired effect.

What happens if hypochlorous acid combines with other chemicals?

Hypochlorous acid is supposed to kill bacteria and not react with other compounds. It may react with compounds like ammonia (found in urine) to form chloramines. Chloramines no longer disinfect your pool. Worse, they are irritants, as they cause eye and skin irritation. So, when you suffer from skin irritation, it's not directly because of the chlorine present in the water, but because of the byproducts of chlorine. That unpleasant smell can be attributed to the presence of chloramines. Chloramines can be eliminated by shock treating the pool. This is done by the application of strong pool chemicals to remove organic compounds in the liquid.

What about water pH?

Water pH is one thing that you should not miss. It should be at 7.2, but a range up to 7.6 is tolerable. Test the pH regularly using test kits. Small amounts of hydrochloric acid can be added if its pH is too high. Tests can be done every 6 hours to ensure that the pH level is at the best possible. Adding borate to water stabilizes its pH to some extent.