10 Reasons To Get A Pool
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Are you on the fence about having a new swimming pool installed? Certainly getting a pool would be considered a major purchase to most people. Even an entry level inground pool is expensive so if you are considering anything that could be considered a "high end" pool installation then you will be spending as much, or more, than a band new sports car. At some point most people who are considering having a pool installed will seek confirmation that this is actually a good idea.
It can be hard to separate yourself with enough money to pay for any one of a number of major luxuries like vacations, or cottage properties, or new additions to your home. Obviously any of these would be great upgrades to your life, but a swimming pool has some unique advantages. If this is the first pool that you are having installed then you might not fully appreciate the benefits of what you are buying. Here are ten very excellent reasons to go ahead and get a pool.
Pools Are Excellent For Exercise
Have you ever heard about the concept of low impact exercise? Things like jogging might be great for your cardiovascular system but they are not great for your joints! Exercise in a swimming pool is routinely listed as one of the single best exercise options for people who need the benefits of scalable exercise routines, but are limited to low impact exercises. This is perfect for people just starting to exercise for the first time, elderly people, people rehabilitating from accidents or injury, but at the same time even world class caliber athletes can get as much exercise as they can handle in a pool. That is about as versatile as exercising gets...but the best part is that pools are fun.
Running on a treadmill is often called a "dreadmill" because of how boring and uninspiring the experience is. Not only is exercising in a pool one of the best possible workouts, with the least possible stresses on the body, but it is also inherently fun. Just about everyone and everything likes swimming!
Tire Out Your Kids
Parents around the world already know about the magic of swimming pools. If you put your children in a swimming pool and let them spend the day splashing about, by the time evening rolls around those suckers will be fast asleep! There is absolutely no other form of entertainment for your kids that is so readily available that will tire them out as thoroughly as swimming...and the best part is that they actually want to do it!
The catch about kids and swimming pools is that they require 100% supervision at all times. Any responsible parent and pool owner can tell you that the only safe way to have kids in a swimming pool is with direct adult supervision. Fortunately a pool is absolutely fantastic at providing the entertainment and all you need to do is lounge by the pool and keep an eye on things while soaking up some sunshine. Oh, and occasionally you will need to look so you can watch them jump in. Children are very insistent about this!
Pools Are A Great Hangout For Teenagers
It was savvy parents who taught me this - swimming pools are a great hangout location for teenagers and they will tend to congregate at houses with pools in the summer. What is significant about this is that once your kids become teenagers they tend to disappear. Many a parent is left to wonder about the safety and security of their teens once they reach an age where hanging out at home is no longer cool.
What if it just happened to be that your house was the coolest place to hang out? This means that you would not need to wonder about where your teenagers are or what they are doing, or more importantly, who they are doing it with. If you have a pool and make your house the local hangout then you have the opportunity to keep an eye on things and get to know the people that your teenagers are hanging out with. In the grand scheme of things having a swimming pool for just this reason is massively underrated.
Two Words - Pool Party
Forget the kids and teenagers...it's time for you to throw a pool party! Sure you can go play board games and have a nice dinner at the house of a friend, but wouldn't you rather go to a BBQ at a pool party? Having a swimming pool is the perfect attraction to build social events around. All age groups from children to grandparents enjoy swimming, and even those that do not tend to like swimming often still enjoy sitting on the edge and dangling their legs in the water. Kids can splash around and tire out leaving the adults to enjoy a much quieter than average evening socializing by the pool.
If you are a person who loves the pool party BBQ scene then be sure to check out my recent food blog entires on how to make your own BBQ sauce as well as this article on fall-off-the-bone BBQ ribs. But if you are planning a party be sure to also read this article I wrote about the timeline you need to follow to prepare your pool for a party.
Pools Are Close & Convenient
One of the very best things about owning a pool is that it is right in your own backyard. This is why so many people obsess about trying to build or recreate a private oasis in the backyard - this is your own little slice if paradise and you can go there any time you want. Sure having a cottage property on a lake would be awesome, but realistically how many times can you get time away from work to drive there?
A swimming pool is so close that you can literally use it even for a minute or two on a whim and be toweled off, changed, and back inside in minutes. When you consider just how often you will be able to use a pool, combined with how long a pool lasts for, you start to appreciate how having a pool will benefit your life literally thousands of times over. The only thing better would be to have an indoor pool that can be used 365 days per year, in all weather conditions.
Increase The Perceived Value Of Your Home
You can definitely make an impression with perspective buyers for your home with a swimming pool. Those who like pools will certainly take interest in a house with a pool for all of the same reasons you are considering to add a pool right now. Now, it is important to differentiate between perceived value and actual value. Adding a swimming pool does not increase the value of your house like updating the kitchen or adding new windows does. You will not get a direct return for your money.
The reality is that the majority of people do not want a pool when they are house shopping. These people will not consider a house with a pool, and so you end up selling your house to a smaller group of interested buyers. Less buyers means less demand which means less value. You do not add a pool to your house in hopes of raising the real estate value but if you want a pool anyway for yourself and do not plan to sell your house any time soon, then you can enjoy the pool now, and enjoy that someone like yourself will likely come along one day and buy your house specifically because it has a pool.
Pools Grow With You Over Time
Despite the best of intentions none of us can predict the future. When you consider a purchase like a new sports car, or a vacation properly like a cottage on a lake, part of the consideration is that this suits your lifestyle at the time. But if you flash forward 25 years into the future how much of your life, and your perspective, will have changed? Will you like doing the same things then as you do now?
What if you buy a cottage property but down the road you get promoted at work and take on more responsibility which means less time away for fun at the cottage? Or what if the cool sports car does not fit kids that you did not have when you got the car but have now? A swimming pool is good if you are single and young or married and old and all points in between. A pool can be fun and useful to you now, and can continue to be fun and useful for you in the future as well, even if you change the reasons that you appreciate having one for.
Pools Make Family Memories
I was very fortunate to grow up in a family of swimming pool builders and as such we had a very large, very nice swimming pool. I literally don't know what you would spend all of your time doing as a kid if you didn't have a pool because the pool is where I spent every summer...right up until I started working on pools at which point I really started spending my entire summers by the pool! Almost every happy memory I have of growing up is tied to that pool and the fun we would have as a family. We spent every day of the summer in the pool with the BBQ going on the patio, with friends and family always over to enjoy the experience with.
A patch of grass in your backyard can never hope to provide fond memories for your family like a swimming pool can. If you want to foster a family environment at home and build fun and happy memories, I can not think of a better way to accomplish this than by having a pool installed.
Improved Sleeping Habits
If you struggle to sleep every night like I do then I am sure you can appreciate how frustrating it can be to not be able to turn off even when you need to. Well, kids are not the only ones who sleep well after playing in the pool! Swimming is a great form of exercise which makes you more tired, but your body has to work pretty hard to keep you warm when you are in (relatively speaking) cold water. Even if you heat your swimming pool water you will likely find that you get cold after a while in the water. This is because even a few degrees drop in body temperature would be a fairly severe change for your body. For this reason your body works to keep your core warm when you are in the pool. This amounts to further energy expenditure that your body will want to make up for. If you have trouble sleeping then a regular daily swim could be the magic solution that you have been searching for to help you be tired when you need to be tired. As a bonus a swim first thing in the morning is just about the fastest way to wake yourself up that there is other than stubbing your toe when you get out of bed.
Treat Yourself
The final reason to get a pool is simply because you should treat yourself. Life is filled full of work, and stress, and frustration, and there is very little time for peace and quiet for most people. When you die you do not get to take all of your hard work with you so at least if you get a pool you get to enjoy yourself a little bit along the way.
Getting a pool is not so much like buying a possession as it is like starting a new hobby or cultivating a new lifestyle. Because of the cost of the pool and the maintenance demands, you will be compelled to use your pool as much as you can. Nights where you might sit around and wonder if you should go somewhere or do something will now be spent, by default, in the backyard hanging out by the pool. When you are picking a house for everyone to have a dinner party at your house will always be the favorite because of the pool and how easily the kids are entertained. Regardless of your personal reasons, getting a pool is a just about the most rewarding luxury purchase that a person can make.
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Swimming Pool Steve is an award winning, second generation swimming pool specialist from Ontario Canada and one of the most trusted voices in the swimming pool industry. With over 20,000,000 views on the Swimming Pool Steve YouTube Channel, winner of the Pleatco Pool & Spa Industry Leadership award and author of hundreds of pool and spa articles both online and in print. Steve is committed to helping pool and spa owners as well as pool and spa industry workers learn more about the technical side of building, renovating, repairing and maintaining all types of swimming pools and spas. Follow Swimming Pool Steve on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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