# A pool or not a pool



## jpsnwuk (Sep 6, 2018)

Hello, me again, I am looking for propeties with a private pool at the moment, can anyone tell me the approx cost of self maintaining one and is it easy?? A friend of mine has her pool maintained by a company, but its 800 euros a years!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

jpsnwuk said:


> Hello, me again, I am looking for propeties with a private pool at the moment, can anyone tell me the approx cost of self maintaining one and is it easy?? A friend of mine has her pool maintained by a company, but its 800 euros a years!


I look after mine myself. It's not complicated. I buy four-in-one tablets from my local ferreteria for 20 euros and they last for weeks - I put in two a week.
Every now and then I 'hoover' the dirt away.
It's no big effort, imo certainly not worth paying someone for, although if I can't be bothered to hoover I occasionally ask the gardener to see to it.


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## Relyat (Sep 29, 2013)

We had one in the last house. Never had one before but I dealt with it all without problem and didn't cost me one tenth of the price you've been quoted.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

jpsnwuk said:


> Hello, me again, I am looking for propeties with a private pool at the moment, can anyone tell me the approx cost of self maintaining one and is it easy?? A friend of mine has her pool maintained by a company, but its 800 euros a years!


The cost will depend upon the size: a 10x5 metre pool will obviously cost more to maintain than an 8x4 and will take more time to clean. A small pool will require a much lower power pump than a large one and will use less chemicals. I have a 7x4 pool which I maintain myself. I doubt that I spend more than €50 a year in chemicals, top-ups probably add about €25 to the annual water bill and power consumption is hardly noticeable. In July and August, when the pool is used a lot, I probably spend a couple of hours a week in total cleaning. My pool was old when we bought the house ten years ago and last year I spent €4,000 on a total refurbishment: all tiles removed, walls re-rendered, new tiles, new pump and sand filter (something to bear in mind for the future as nothing last forever!).


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## Tom1957 (May 1, 2016)

I do my own pool maintenance, it's not complex or difficult. Some say it's therapeutic and there is a sense of satisfaction in DIY.

You will need someone to show you the ropes though, but there is lots of good info on YouTube.


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## jpsnwuk (Sep 6, 2018)

mrypg9 said:


> I look after mine myself. It's not complicated. I buy four-in-one tablets from my local ferreteria for 20 euros and they last for weeks - I put in two a week.
> Every now and then I 'hoover' the dirt away.
> It's no big effort, imo certainly not worth paying someone for, although if I can't be bothered to hoover I occasionally ask the gardener to see to it.


Fabulpus??? so 20 Euros would last how long??? and u just plop them in the pool?? what do you mean by hoover the pool?? lol oh and how do you empty it in winter?? or for that matter fill it up?


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## jpsnwuk (Sep 6, 2018)

thanl you so much, feeling much better about this


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## AngelEyes123 (Sep 9, 2018)

jpsnwuk said:


> Hello, me again, I am looking for propeties with a private pool at the moment, can anyone tell me the approx cost of self maintaining one and is it easy?? A friend of mine has her pool maintained by a company, but its 800 euros a years!


Have you thought about how much you intend to use it? Do you want to swim in it every day or just look at it? Just look at pools cost less to maintain.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

jpsnwuk said:


> Fabulpus??? so 20 Euros would last how long??? and u just plop them in the pool?? what do you mean by hoover the pool?? lol oh and how do you empty it in winter?? or for that matter fill it up?


No, I don’t empty it in winter. It fills automatically. I clean the floor of the pool with a vacuum type cleaner. I use two tablets a week, I buy more about once a month, maybe less frequently.

It’s worth the not very high cost, imo, as I can swim whenever I feel like it, at two in the morning if I’m so close inclined and as the garden isn’t overlooked I can swim desnuda.


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## jpsnwuk (Sep 6, 2018)

hahahaha, nothing like swimming desnuda!!!


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## DonMarco (Nov 20, 2016)

Don't forget the cost of water. From May to October I lose about 2.25 qubic meter of water a week in evaporation plus another 2 qubic meter to back wash the filter twice a month. So probably about 40 qubic meters or about 100 Euros a year.

I wouldn't be without it though.


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## jpsnwuk (Sep 6, 2018)

cherers, sounds daft this, but do you fill it with a hosepipe or get water delivered?


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## growurown (Sep 3, 2018)

jpsnwuk said:


> cherers, sounds daft this, but do you fill it with a hosepipe or get water delivered?


That is your choice.. When we have big get-togethers, we have ice delivered by helicopter from the artic circle.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

jpsnwuk said:


> cherers, sounds daft this, but do you fill it with a hosepipe or get water delivered?


Depends where you live. In some areas, especially on the coast, pools have to be filled from a different meter than the household supply and the rate per cubic meter is much higher. I am told that in some cases it is therefore cheaper to have a pool filled by tanker. Where I live, in the Alicante mountains, our water supply company never has any restrictions. Pools can be filled from the domestic meter. The water charge is also much cheaper than in urban areas so a tanker would never be needed.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jpsnwuk said:


> cherers, sounds daft this, but do you fill it with a hosepipe or get water delivered?


To top up - from the tap.

To fill from scratch, some water companies encourage you to buy from them & fill from the tap - others will prosecute you if you do.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

The Skipper said:


> Depends where you live. In some areas, especially on the coast, pools have to be filled from a different meter than the household supply and the rate per cubic meter is much higher. I am told that in some cases it is therefore cheaper to have a pool filled by tanker. Where I live, in the Alicante mountains, our water supply company never has any restrictions. Pools can be filled from the domestic meter. The water charge is also much cheaper than in urban areas so a tanker would never be needed.


Our recent video campaign from AMJASA, our water company

Zona Multimedia | Amjasa


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> Our recent video campaign from AMJASA, our water company
> 
> Zona Multimedia | Amjasa


That's an interesting video! It certainly tells a different story than the ones I've heard from friends in other coastal areas. By the way, my local water company charges €1,58 m3 for the first 50 m3 and €1,98 m3 thereafter.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

The Skipper said:


> *That's an interesting video!* It certainly tells a different story than the ones I've heard from friends in other coastal areas. By the way, my local water company charges €1,58 m3 for the first 50 m3 and €1,98 m3 thereafter.


English subtitles by me, of course  

Just goes to show - our water is comparatively expensive, but still a lot cheaper than a tanker & WAY cheaper than bottled!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> English subtitles by me, of course
> 
> Just goes to show - our water is comparatively expensive, but still a lot cheaper than a tanker & WAY cheaper than bottled!


Good video and well done you and the others on the board.


On the subject of pool or no pool I wouldn't have one if there was a community pool nearby, which in my case there is and OH definitely wouldn't have one . I wouldn't want the extra cost, work and although I am sure this will not influence anyone's opinion, it really is an environmental no no especially in the south with an ever lowering water table...


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

:focus: We live in the Campo and considered having a pool when we first arrived. To be honest 


Can’t be bothered with the processes involved in permissions
Overground, no permissions but again they do need concrete hard surface to sit on 
In four years I’ve never thought. “ wish I had a pool”
On a limited income it’s one more thing to go wrong 
Every village in our vicinity has a pool, they can maintain them:clap2:


Actually PW I’m with you. They’re not very environmentally friendly, lots of concrete needed, plastic liners or preformed plastic and like you said, I’m not comfortable filling a pool in the middle of the Campo whilst watching local farmers bring down bowsers of water for their sheep, cattle and goats. Extremadura is not short of water at the moment, however I don’t want to contribute to even less water for the future. As you say. Lots of local pools. Each to their own, but swimming pools for me are a big no, no


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Megsmum said:


> :focus: We live in the Campo and considered having a pool when we first arrived. To be honest
> 
> 
> Can’t be bothered with the processes involved in permissions
> ...


As well as the environmental considerations, almost all domestic pools are far too small to really swim in. 15m long would be the absolute minimum required, imo. In fact most of the communal pools I see when looking at properties advertised are also too small. I would not want a pool just to look at (as someone said earlier) or to bob about in so they are useless to me.

Outdoor pools, unless heated (and therefore very expensive to run), will probably only be used between May and October, unless you are particularly masochistic. For the other six months of the year you just have an expensive ornament requiring upkeep, and you can't keep up your swimming all year round. I will stick to my 20m, indoor, heated, salt water pool at my gym, thanks.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> As well as the environmental considerations, almost all domestic pools are far too small to really swim in. 15m long would be the absolute minimum required, imo. In fact most of the communal pools I see when looking at properties advertised are also too small. I would not want a pool just to look at (as someone said earlier) or to bob about in so they are useless to me.
> 
> Outdoor pools, unless heated (and therefore very expensive to run), will probably only be used between May and October, unless you are particularly masochistic. For the other six months of the year you just have an expensive ornament requiring upkeep, and you can't keep up your swimming all year round. I will stick to my 20m, indoor, heated, salt water pool at my gym, thanks.


You make a good point but I would not be living in Spain if my house did not have a pool. The Boss made it a condition of moving here! She uses the pool far more than I do. Her first swim of the year is normally in April when the water is only 20c! I tend to use it only in July and August - when the air temperature is in the high 30s there is no better way of cooling down than diving into a pool. Mrs Skipper, by the way, often gets out of bed at 2 or 3 am on hot summer nights and jumps in the pool to cool down. You can't do that in a public pool (especially without a swimming costume!).


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

The Skipper said:


> You make a good point but I would not be living in Spain if my house did not have a pool. The Boss made it a condition of moving here! She uses the pool far more than I do. Her first swim of the year is normally in April when the water is only 20c! I tend to use it only in July and August - when the air temperature is in the high 30s there is no better way of cooling down than diving into a pool. Mrs Skipper, by the way, often gets out of bed at 2 or 3 am on hot summer nights and jumps in the pool to cool down. You can't do that in a public pool (especially without a swimming costume!).


When we just used to come to Spain for holidays, I would swim in unheated outdoor pools in December - I wouldn't like to contemplate doing that now! I hate chlorinated water (it makes my eyes sting) and have hair that takes me 40 minutes to dry, which makes just jumping into a pool rather a time-wasting exercise when I've then got to set about rinsing the chlorine out and getting the hairdryer out.


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## growurown (Sep 3, 2018)

Lynn R said:


> I hate chlorinated water (it makes my eyes sting) and have hair that takes me 40 minutes to dry, which makes just jumping into a pool rather a time-wasting exercise when I've then got to set about rinsing the chlorine out and getting the hairdryer out.


Who said the pool needs to be chlorinated?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

growurown said:


> Who said the pool needs to be chlorinated?


The one I use is not - but I think you will find that the vast majority of domestic ones are treated with chlorine. Anyway, the same applies to the pointlessness of simply jumping into a pool and getting out again, if every time I do it I have to spend 45 minutes rinsing and drying my hair. If I jumped into a pool at 3am to cool down, could I really go back to bed with sopping wet hair? Some people may be able to, but not me. I find a ceiling fan keeps me quite cool enough at night even when the temperatures are in the high 30s.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Trying to swim in an 8m pool (seems to be the most common size for domestic ones) is hopeless. I go swimming 3 times a week and do 50 laps of a 20m pool. It takes me 13 strokes to get from one end to the other. In an 8m pool it would be about 5. How could you possibly maintain a proper stroke rythm doing that? It makes it an annoying and frustrating exercise instead of the relaxing one it should be.


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## growurown (Sep 3, 2018)

Lynn R said:


> Anyway, the same applies to the pointlessness of simply jumping into a pool and getting out again, if every time I do it I have to spend 45 minutes rinsing and drying my hair. If I jumped into a pool at 3am to cool down, could I really go back to bed with sopping wet hair? Some people may be able to, but not me. I find a ceiling fan keeps me quite cool enough at night even when the temperatures are in the high 30s.


In our local pool the wifey as does every other female needs to use a bathing cap so your sopping wet hair analogy is another moot point for yourself not having a pool.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

growurown said:


> In our local pool the wifey as does every other female needs to use a bathing cap so your sopping wet hair analogy is another moot point for yourself not having a pool.


In her own pool she isn't likely to use one...

IME hair can & often does get wet, even with a cap.

In many - maybe most - public pools here, it isn't just the women who have to wear caps - everyone does.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> In her own pool she isn't likely to use one...
> 
> IME hair can & often does get wet, even with a cap.
> 
> In many - maybe most - public pools here, it isn't just the women who have to wear caps - everyone does.


 In my little corner of Spain I have never seen ANYONE wear a swimming cap, I’ve not noticed any signs telling anyone to do so. I wouldn’t swim in a pool if I had to wear those horridly uncomfortable hats. I just pile my hair on my head. Rinse off when I get out and towel dry. Living in the Campo on solar means I’m used to towel during hair


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## jpsnwuk (Sep 6, 2018)

growurown said:


> That is your choice.. When we have big get-togethers, we have ice delivered by helicopter from the artic circle.


Well, make the most of it, with global warming your supply is running out


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Megsmum said:


> In my little corner of Spain I have never seen ANYONE wear a swimming cap, I’ve not noticed any signs telling anyone to do so. I wouldn’t swim in a pool if I had to wear those horridly uncomfortable hats. I just pile my hair on my head. Rinse off when I get out and towel dry. Living in the Campo on solar means *I’m used to towel during hair*


6 years ago, a German lad stayed with us on a school exchange. 

One day he asked for a hairdryer... 3 females living here, looong hair - not a hairdryer between us.

They've kept in touch & he visited us this summer - stayed for a couple of weeks. 

He brought his own hairdryer


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Next-door-but-one installed an above-ground puddle about 4-5 metres wide. They have now moved away and sold the house but left the puddle. It is now a mass of algæ and a mosquito breeding ground.


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## DonMarco (Nov 20, 2016)

Pool or not a pool.....that is the question.

Absolutely YES, YES,YES

I and all my visiting friends and family absolutely love my pool even though it only measures 8 x 4 meters. Its just wonderful to spend time swimming on your own or having a good time playing in the water with your grand children when ever you want. You can keep your noisy public pool and beaches and don't be put of by people who will always find fault in everything.

Ask yourself – how many people with a pool wish they didn't have one and, then ask yourself, how many people without a pool wished they had one.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Changed mind on posting


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

growurown said:


> In our local pool the wifey as does every other female needs to use a bathing cap so your sopping wet hair analogy is another moot point for yourself not having a pool.


I have to wear a bathing cap to swim in the pool at my gym (I actually prefer to wear one rather than have wet hair swirling around and getting over my face). My hair is still very wet when I take it off as swimming properly involves immersing your head under water for much of the time and bathing caps are not waterproof - the water gets in around the edges.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

jpsnwuk said:


> Well, make the most of it, with global warming your supply is running out


I thought he meant he gets his ice from the local lorry park when he said it came from "the artic circle" (sic).


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> I have to wear a bathing cap to swim in the pool at my gym (I actually prefer to wear one rather than have wet hair swirling around and getting over my face). My hair is still very wet when I take it off as swimming properly involves immersing your head under water for much of the time and bathing caps are not waterproof - the water gets in around the edges.


They're for keeping the hair out of the water, & therefore the filters, not the water off the hair, of course!


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> When we just used to come to Spain for holidays, I would swim in unheated outdoor pools in December - I wouldn't like to contemplate doing that now! I hate chlorinated water (it makes my eyes sting) and have hair that takes me 40 minutes to dry, which makes just jumping into a pool rather a time-wasting exercise when I've then got to set about rinsing the chlorine out and getting the hairdryer out.


I quite understand the hair problem but my other half has a short back and sides and I don't have any! If your eyes sting in a pool the water is not being properly maintained. Pool water in perfect condition should be PH neutral, crystal clear and not smell of chlorine.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> They're for keeping the hair out of the water, & therefore the filters, not the water off the hair, of course!


Yes, my experience with pools and swimming caps or whatever they are called...
In "comunidad" pools they are not used
In town sports centres and private sports clubs you have to use them
Rubber caps are no longer used. They are not intended to be waterproof at all. They are nylon/ polyester and are used to keep hair out of the water and filters. Also used in all spas that I've been to, and I have been to a few.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

DonMarco said:


> Pool or not a pool.....that is the question.
> 
> Absolutely YES, YES,YES
> 
> ...


Like to have a pool a my disposal, but I am really happy not to have one myself.
There are urbanización with 10 houses, 25 houses, 50, 100 ++, sleepy villages with pools, some natural pools, towns and city pools which are huge. You can't say " noisy community pools" and think that that's all the choice that people have.
In my own case, urb outside of Madrid, about 100 families, 98% Spanish I estimate, sometimes hard to find a good spot on a Sat or Sunday afternoon. At other times, especially in the morning you could be on you own or with less than 10 people. Some years I use it about 3 times week, other years I don't go near it. It was a great to have it this year though to use for physiotherapy after a fracture


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

DonMarco said:


> Pool or not a pool.....that is the question.
> 
> Absolutely YES, YES,YES
> 
> ...


Like to have a pool a my disposal, but I am really happy not to have one myself.
There are urbanizaciónes with 10 houses, 25 houses, 50, 100 ++, sleepy villages with pools, some natural pools, towns and city pools which are huge. You can't say " noisy community pools" and think that that's all the choice that people have.
In my own case, urb outside of Madrid, about 100 families, 98% Spanish I estimate, sometimes hard to find a good spot on a Sat or Sunday afternoon. At other times, especially in the morning you could be on you own or with less than 10 people. Some years I use it about 3 times week, other years I don't go near it. It was a great to have it this year though to use for physiotherapy after a fracture 
Friends and family very happy to use communicated pool!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Like to have a pool a my disposal, but I am really happy not to have one myself.
> There are urbanización with 10 houses, 25 houses, 50, 100 ++, sleepy villages with pools, some natural pools, towns and city pools which are huge. You can't say " noisy community pools" and think that that's all the choice that people have.
> In my own case, urb outside of Madrid, about 100 families, 98% Spanish I estimate, sometimes hard to find a good spot on a Sat or Sunday afternoon. At other times, especially in the morning you could be on you own or with less than 10 people. Some years I use it about 3 times week, other years I don't go near it. It was a great to have it this year though to use for physiotherapy after a fracture


The members of the health club where I swim are mostly Spanish. I time my arrival for between 2.30 and 3.00 pm when they are at home having lunch/siesta, and almost always I have the whole pool to myself until 4.00 pm when the childrens' swimming lessons start, at which time I beat a hasty retreat to the gym. Noisy, it is not.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Lynn R said:


> The members of the health club where I swim are mostly Spanish. I time my arrival for between 2.30 and 3.00 pm when they are at home having lunch/siesta, and almost always I have the whole pool to myself until 4.00 pm when the childrens' swimming lessons start, at which time I beat a hasty retreat to the gym. Noisy, it is not.


We always go to GP the village pool in the afternoon, similar to you, usually pretty much alone,as soon as siesta finished and the kids start piling in we get up and go home


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I've enjoyed having a pool, ours is big enough to swim in but I've used it twice this summer.
When I move I won't be looking for a house with a pool. I'll use the one in the village which is safer anyway as if I have a heart attack or something when I'm swimming someone will fish me out (hopefully).

We both used the pool a lot over the last decade of living here and it's handy being able to swim at any hour of the day or night with or without swimwear. But it's now superfluous, alas...


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> When I move I won't be looking for a house with a pool. I'll use the one in the village which is safer anyway as if I have a heart attack or something when I'm swimming someone will fish me out (hopefully).


That's a very good point actually, Mary.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Megsmum said:


> We always go to GP the village pool in the afternoon, similar to you, usually pretty much alone,as soon as siesta finished and the kids start piling in we get up and go home


Thank goodness for the siesta, eh? At least we know what is guaranteed to be the quiet time.

At the health club children aren't allowed to use the pool except during the swimming lessons, so it is never busy or noisy at any time really. The public indoor pool is too busy for my liking, though, mostly it appears with pensioners who spend more time bobbing about and chatting than they do swimming.

Some of the village pools are in really lovely settings with great views, but the problem I'd have with them is that they're only open (at least around here) from June to September so just like with a domestic pool I could not swim all year round. Our local waterpark closed for the season already last weekend, having only opened in mid June. I don't know how they make the place pay with such a short season.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Lynn R said:


> Thank goodness for the siesta, eh? At least we know what is guaranteed to be the quiet time.
> 
> At the health club children aren't allowed to use the pool except during the swimming lessons, so it is never busy or noisy at any time really. The public indoor pool is too busy for my liking, though, mostly it appears with pensioners who spend more time bobbing about and chatting than they do swimming.
> 
> Some of the village pools are in really lovely settings with great views, but the problem I'd have with them is that they're only open (at least around here) from June to September so just like with a domestic pool I could not swim all year round. Our local waterpark closed for the season already last weekend, having only opened in mid June. I don't know how they make the place pay with such a short season.


Our house in Prague had an in -ground heated pool with a sliding cover so you could use it in winter. We must have looked strange going out to the pool through deep snow in wellies and bathrobe. Once something went wrong with the pool heating and the water was so warm it was like swimming in soup, in fact the warm was so warm you couldn't swim. We should have put bath salts in it....


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Our house in Prague had an in -ground heated pool with a sliding cover so you could use it in winter. We must have looked strange going out to the pool through deep snow in wellies and bathrobe. Once something went wrong with the pool heating and the water was so warm it was like swimming in soup, in fact the warm was so warm you couldn't swim. We should have put bath salts in it....


That would have amused the neighbours, apart from all the bubbles drifting around the neighbourhood.


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