I have no idea why that happens.
I shall have to pray to forgiveness to San Miguel

We got so fed up with getting so little use out of our pool for so much work that we had it covered with a glass and metal conservatory and it was the best thing we ever did. In the hot summer we opened all the net covered windows and doors and when the water started to cool we kept them all closed and the water stayed warm. Neighbours used to come round and swim in our pool when theirs were too cold.
No dust in the pool and no insects (especially wasps) surrounding us when we were swimming.

I just looked at sliding glass covers, and they were €5 - 6000

A little bit of highjacking here, have you tried the sin alcohol SM with lemon tea? No, well don't it's disgusting.


We use our pool when mr whale tells us it is 20 about April/May time and stop when he say tells us it 20 in October/Novemeber. The grandkids have been here in Feb when mr whale tells us it's bloody 14 and are you made to have taken the cover off this damn pool and let those kids jump all over me. They love it, they don't feel the cold but we always have a hot bath ready for them to warm up in. As for us big peeps, well we know better

Crispy, the kids don`t feel the cold. In winter (Lancashire -5+) my boys are stll walking around in short-sleeves screaming they don`t need a coat on for school..and I`m `wrapped up warm` in about 20 layers with the central heating as full as it will go!

Sorry, going to get told off eventually... this has nothing to do with pools. Who has an outdoor pool in Lancashire? Plenty of millionaires here with indoor ones though....

My children were in the pool late Feb. and normally go through 'till Nov.

BUT ... we do have solar heating for the pool. What with this and a summer cover, we raise the pool temp by at least 10C!

At the moment (no cover and no heating) the temp is mid 30's


I don't think you can ask for more than that from a pool (10 months of the year) unless it's totally covered or indoors.

Thanks everyone. I am moving out to Spain with my children in 2 weeks.

We have had the pool company ready and waiting since July to start digging but have had to keep delaying them until we had been to the notary to complete. This will now be this Friday. I am now wondering if we are better off waiting until next year. Only thing is the same company are doing the patio and raising the garden walls to keep my dogs in and we have allowed our new neighbours to have the ornamental gravel the builders have laid.

Our garden now resembles a war zone - like the idea about burying the kids though! If they so much as mutter a word of it being too cold I'll drowned them in it!

In principle of course the pool is usable all year round if you keep it clean and clear. Unlike some of my neighbours, I never let it get manky in the winter as I think it is a breeding ground for all sorts and I prefer not to invite more mossies or whatever. We do keep the pool cover on whenever it is not in use which saves evaporation and chemicals. My daughter has been for a swim in November and yes it was a tad chilly at 18C. OK for a swim but not so for a lazy dip. Maybe we are a bit spoilt with the warmth of the pool from June through to September but in my opinion the value of the pool when it is very hot weather makes the cost of having and maintaining the pool well worthwhile.

We are definately getting a cover but how much was the solar heating?

I saw a heat pump unit for an average pool offered at around € 5000. Solar panels can work but you do need a large area to collect enough heat. A floating pool cover not only traps heat in but stops the evaporation which is a massive loss of heat.

The first year we used the pool Mar - Nov. Needless to say the neighbours thought we were tonto. This year we didn't open it until early Jun. I intend to close it in mid Sep. The problem I have found is not the water temp but the air temp. This can of course be solved with a conservatory. I find that a summer cover whilst retaining heat overnight creates a lot of dirt/dust/algae on the cover. A winter cover is brilliant and keeps the pool virtually ready for the next season. Talking of which it is 35 degs so time for a swim.

I once saw a pool cover that was basically small plastic balls floating on the surface. You didn't remove them, but just dived thru.

Hopefully surfacing with the same number of balls in your trunks as you dived in with

Just shake the surplus out.

"Daddy, daddy, what are these for?"

"Four??????"

when its not green !! April thru til October .