I probably say the same thing every year, but pool ownership isn't all sipping Pimms, and lounging amidst bikini-clad beauties. There are plenty of downsides.
Firstly the pool has been covered all through the winter months, and the black plastic tarp' will be deep in rotting leaves, about a foot of stinking water, and probably plenty of Frogspawn. It's never a pleasant sight.
After the majority of the leaves have been removed, the water has to be pumped off; I have a small electric pump for this but it gets easily blocked. Once the water is mostly gone, the last of the leaves have to be removed, and the black plastic winter cover taken-off, cleaned, dried, and folded away.
Then, and only then, can one look into the water. Usually it's not too bad, but there are always a few mysteries, dead Frogs, etc, on the bottom, and the whole thing needs to be well cleaned, and the chemicals added. This complete process takes a minimum of two or three days.
Then comes the tidying, cleaning, gardening, etc. 9 months with no attention means that the whole pool area is a mess!
We need to clean all the dirt from the surrounding flagstones (the beach). I now have a Karcher type pressure hose, and it does a great, if time consuming, job.
By this time things are looking better. If it hasn't rained, it will have taken at least a week, and all that remains is to trim back the overgrowth, cut the wretched flowers/seeds off the Palm trees, and do general tidying.
What will the water temperature be? Well, after opening it tends to be quite low; well under 20 C. If the sun shines it will take a few days to reach our minimum swimming temperature of 22 C.
I'm NOT looking forward to the task, but at least afterwards it should look like the above!
You haven't mentioned your knee for a while. Also, don't know what shape your back is in. To put it another way: Be careful what you put either through. Best to know one's limits. Clean pool and surrounds yourself, repent at leisure. Might be better to let what my English father-in-law called "his little man" (honestly!), also known as handyman, to do the "heavy lifting". Sometimes it's best to just throw money at a problem.
ReplyDeleteWhichever, the end result looks most pleasant. And cold water is good for you!
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Back and hips still both giving trouble. I just hope they'll behave enough for all the work (and driving) I have to do. I don't mind cold water, but there are limits!
DeleteMy Dad always said when in doubt pay for a tradesmen/professional to do the work. Do they not have pool service companies in the region?
DeleteNo. Even with the very high unemployment in the area, it was very difficult finding a gardener. We've found one now (he is English!).
DeleteIt’s hard work enjoying yourself, isn’t it?
ReplyDeleteBut believe me boredom isn’t easy too!
I didn't mention the daily cleaning. About 20/30 mins each morning after a cup of coffee. Because the pool is surrounded by greenery, it all needs attention every day; both inside the pool and out.
DeleteAw gosh, it all sounds too much of a faff to me, not to mention the waste of precious water and all those chemicals, but whatever turns you on as they say! Hope you have a lovely enjoyable summer and get plenty of swimming in. I'm lucky, I'm right next to the sea here should I wish to have a dip...but I don't, it's too damned cold and full of god knows what! I'll stick to paddling in my canoe.
ReplyDeleteCertain people here swim every day. It's cold, and I wouldn't recommend swallowing the water; but they enjoy it. I'll stick to the pool, but it's only for 90 days.
DeleteIt's only fair that Lady Magnon should undertake these onerous tasks once in a while. This year - why not relax on a sun lounger barking out orders while your missus gets on with it? That would be true equality. When are you scarpering down there?
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, I've tried that, whilst mentioning my bad back, but like Queen Gertrude she just shouts "The gentleman doth protest too much, methinks"
DeleteSuggest that you check out a "Pool Skim" with the help of Mr Google. Might have mentioned it before, but we had one for years and a couple of years ago I had to replace it. I think I bought it through Amazon but remember I had to pay in dollars - they don't appear to be sold in Europe. The cost altogether worked out at around 120€. While you are using the pool it's ideal as it collects all the detritus that falls on the water into a net that just needs emptying. It fits onto one of the pump outlets.
ReplyDeleteLiving here full time, I have a pool cleaner who comes once a week in winter and twice in the summer.
Our detritus (leaves, lizards, toys, etc) just go into the skimmer filter 'bucket', and I empty that each morning. Doesn't that do the same thing? I can't afford a cleaner to come-in; I am forced to do it all by myself!!!
DeleteOur neighbour in Tenerife had a pool, which we looked after when they went travelling. We both decided it was too much work for us to have one of our own.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot of work. Most people do the cleaning, etc, very early in the mornings, so it's unseen. But it HAS to be done.
DeleteMy neighbor has a pool similar to your pool. They have a cover on a large roller at one end. The cover unfurls and attaches on all sides making a solid surface on top of the pool. Nothing collects or gets beyond the cover.
ReplyDeleteThis cover might be beneficial for you.
We do have a 'Solar Cover' on a roller, but it's more for day to day use, rather than to over-winter. It was designed to stop evaporation and retain pool warmth. It's a bit old now, and we don't use it any more.
DeleteThink of the pleasure after the pain.
ReplyDeleteThat's what keeps me sane!
DeleteThere's so much maintenance but so much enjoyment later. Lovely to have a pool to dip into midsummer
ReplyDeleteYears ago we used to go to a nearby lake to swim. It took ages to get there, it was filthy, and was always cold. It wasn't a difficult decision to build our own pool.
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