Nothing beats a refreshing swim on a warm day, but what temperature should pool water be before swimming?
What if the pool is too hot to be enjoyable or, worse, if it’s so hot that algae ,bacteria, and other microbes have begun to grow?
What if the water in your pool is so freezing that you can’t breathe and your skin feels like it’s on fire?
The ideal swimming pool temperature is much more critical than you would imagine.
We did some research to try to get a definitive solution to the subject of the ideal pool temperature. The short answer? Th ere is no single answer. Several factors influence how warm or chilly you should keep your pool temperature, as well as how you maintain that temperature. It’s only a matter of determining which of those criteria apply to you and making the best decision possible for your circumstances.
What Is The Best Temperature For A Swimming Pool And How Important Is Pool Temperature?
On a scorching hot day, have you ever plunged into a pleasant, refreshing swimming pool? It’s either a pleasant surprise or a terrifying awakening. Perhaps you entered your pool and felt as if you were taking a hot bath on a hot day. That’s also not enjoyable. So What Temperature Should Pool Water Be Before Swimming?
The most popular pool temperature for a swimming pool in a home setting is between 78°F and 82°F (26°C and 28°C).
However, certain temperatures can be detrimental for certain at-risk individuals and groups, as well as making your pool exposed to contamination. Other temperatures, on the other hand, are more suitable to sports pursuits.
It depends entirely on who uses your pool and for what reasons.
Fun Activities For Friends And Family
If your pool is a summer gathering spot for the entire family and a large bunch of friends, you’ll need to consider the ages of the swimmers.
Is it simply for fun that everyone is hanging around? Or do a few people use your pool for exercise or other purposes? Everything has a consequence.
Swimming Lessons for Children
Swimming lessons should begin at the age of four, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. For children’s swim lessons, what temperature should pool water be before swimming lessons take place for children? The Red Cross recommends a pool temperature of at least 84°F (29°C). This serves to keep their bodies warm and loose in a new environment, as well as to avoid any breathing difficulties caused by water that is too cold. W hile you may not be conducting professional swimming classes in your pool, if you’re teaching a youngster to swim, consider boosting the pool temperature for at least the duration of the activity.
Important: Swimming lessons does not prevent a youngster from drowning. If you have children in or near a swimming pool, make sure they are always supervised. Consider taking safeguards to avoid catastrophe, such as purchasing a couple of different types of pool alarms.
Health and Safety for Seniors
Human bodies are less tolerant of extreme temperature changes as we age, making us more susceptible towards both cold and hot. This is especially true in swimming pools, where too-warm or too-cold water can be both uncomfortable and harmful to seniors’ health. So what temperature should pool water be before swimming as an elderly person?
Consider adjusting the temperature of your pool to anywhere between 86°F and 88°F (30°C and 31°C) when the elders in your life utilize it for recreation.
Water workouts are very beneficial for people with arthritis. The buoyancy of the water reduces joint tension and reduces the chance of falling when exercising.
If anyone with arthritis, whether elderly or not, will be utilizing your pool, temperatures between 84°F and 88°F (29°C and 31°C) will be most comfortable. If they have restricted function owing to arthritis, even higher temperatures, between 86°F and 90°F (30°C and 32°C), will help them.
Health and Fitness Advantages
You don’t have to be a pensioner to exercise in a pool. Swimming is a great full-body workout with various advantages:
Healthy Heart
Reduced Blood Pressure
Relieves Lower Back Pain
Improves Your Mood
Better Lung Function
Increased Life Expectancy
What temperature should pool water be before swimming if you are swimming as a form of exercise? The normal temperature range of 78°F to 82°F (26°C to 28°C) is recommended for water aerobics and swimming. As a result, you can receive a lot of health benefits without changing the temperature considerably.
What To Consider Before You Alter The Temperature Of Your Pool.
If you generally keep your pool at 78°F (26°C), raising the temperature to 90°F (32°C) or even 84°F (29°C) to accommodate a toddler, an elderly guest, or someone with arthritis might put a burden on the pool heater and your energy costs.
If this type of visitor would only use your pool on occasion, heating it to the correct temperature for them isn’t really cost-effective. It will also mess with the chemistry of your water.
If you have an elderly member of your family, someone who suffers from arthritis, or you frequently have senior visitors, you might want to consider having a hot tub rather than just adjusting the temperature of your pool.
The temperature in the hot tub will always be between 98.6°F (37°C) and 104°F (40°C), which is the recommended maximum safe temperature. It also provides the very same buoyancy for low-impact exercise, albeit it may be necessary to sit instead of stand. But is it truly a sacrifice to sit in a lovely, warm, bubbling hot tub?
Benefits of a Controlled Pool Temperature
In addition to safeguarding swimmers, maintaining a consistent and appropriate pool temperature can effectively safeguard the pool itself.
Bacteria And Algae Control
You’re continually fighting pool water pollutants, which you largely control using chlorine or another sanitizer, as well as filtration. If you allow the pool temperature to rise too high, you’re essentially inviting algae and bacteria to take up residence in your pool. When the temperature in your pool rises to roughly 85°F (29°C), bacteria and algae become at ease and begin reproducing at an incredible pace. Maintaining your swimming pool below that level won’t totally eliminate algae and bacteria, but it will make it harder for them to bloom, thrive, and become an issue.
If you need to raise the pool’s temperature to accommodate visitors, shock it more frequently to keep algae, germs, and other impurities at bay. If that’s not an issue, attempt to keep the pool chilly to avoid an algae bloom.
Water Balance
Because the warmer temperatures in your pool makes it easier for bacteria and algae to establish themselves, your pool’s chlorine or other sanitizer will have to work much harder to eliminate them. This means the sanitizer will deplete more quickly, and the chemistry of your pool will be off.
You’ll also have to add sanitizer more frequently, so controlling your pool temperatures within a reasonable range saves you money on chemicals.
Maintain Swimmer Comfort
You want anyone who swims in your swimming pool to be comfortable, aside from maintaining particular temperatures to make at-risk swimmers safe. No one will appreciate it if it is too chilly or too hot. What’s the purpose of owning a swimming pool then?
To make the majority of swimmers comfortable, set your pool heater’s thermostat to between 78°F and 82°F (26°C and 28°C). Perhaps a little cooler if you live in a hotter environment, or maybe a little warmer if you live somewhere milder.
How To Determine Pool Temperature
All pool heaters include built-in thermostats that allow you to set and maintain your desired pool temperature. However, just as your home’s thermostat may not precisely reflect the temperature in the room furthest away from it, the heater thermostat may not be totally accurate.
Use a pool thermometer in addition to the thermostat to acquire an exact pool temperature reading. Digital, analog and infrared are the three varieties available. For accuracy and cost-effectiveness, we suggest digital.
Analog thermometers are notoriously difficult to read reliably, and infrared thermometers are prohibitively expensive for home use. Unless you enjoy shooting what amounts to a laser at your pool and don’t mind that added cost.
Controlling Pool Temperature
Knowing what temperature your pool should be is really only half the battle. You must now learn how to keep it stable.
Select An Efficient Pool Heater
To heat your pool, you have three options.
You can count on the sun, but you’ll be winging it and have no control over the pool temperature. Furthermore, the water will frequently be much cooler than is acceptable in some areas during certain seasons of the year. A Solar Pool Cover, on the other hand, can allow you to take advantage of this free heat source. Regardless if you have a pool heater, we recommend installing a solar cover to assist maintaining heat.
If you have access to natural gas, a Gas Pool Heater can be a cost-effective solution. If not, a heat pump is an option.
Finally, a Solar Pool Heater allows you to use the sun in a much more targeted and efficient manner. It’s definitely worth checking into if you have the room on your roof or in your yard.
Before making a decision, consider all of your options thoroughly.
Get A Digital Thermostat Pool Heater
Any heater will include a thermostat, but digital thermostats are much more precise and user-friendly. Microprocessor-controlled thermostats are so much more dependable, albeit more expensive. However, you will save money on your energy bills.
Money And Energy Savings
Pool heating, as well as pool chemicals and other pool maintenance tools and equipment, is an investment. While you want to maintain your pool temperature consistent and everyone comfortable, you also don’t want to increase your energy costs.
A few tips for heating your pool will keep things comfy in the pool as well as in your wallet.
Reduce The Temperature
Consider decreasing the water temperature by a degree or two if you don’t need to keep it at a warmer temperature for children or elderly. That’s all there is to saving money:
Depending on where you live, each degree temperature increase will cost you anywhere from 10% to 30% more in energy bills.
Turn Off The Pool Heater.
Going on a trip? While you’re gone, there’s no reason to have your pool heated. Reduce the temperature, or better yet, turn it off, to save money and energy.
But won’t it cost you extra effort and money to re-heat the pool when you return? It will consume some energy and money, but just not quite as much as keeping the pool heater on while you aren’t even in the pool.
During The Day Use A Solar Pool Cover.
Another method of harnessing the sun’s energy. If you’re going to be away from the swimming pool for a while, put a solar pool cover or a solar blanket over the top of it to heat the water and retain the heat, depending on the sort of cover you use.
Consider acquiring a solar cover reel if you find that a total-pool cover is too hard to use on a regular basis. Alternatively, you might use solar rings. It’s simple to set up, take down, and store.
At Night Use A Pool Cover.
During the day, both your pool heater and the sun warms the water. Cover your pool in the evening to keep some of the heat in. When you remove the cover in the morning, your heater will not have to work as hard to bring the pool temperature up to the desired level.
Put a solar blanket on the water if you don’t want to entirely cover the pool if you’re only planning to use it the next day. It won’t keep as much heat in as a traditional cover would, but it will help.
Pool Heater Maintenance
It would be a pity to let your pool heater go out of service after spending so much money on it. It, like the rest of your pool equipment, requires routine maintenance. Keep it in good working order, and it will last much longer, saving you money on replacing it too soon.
Temperature Of An Above-Ground Pool
If you have an above-ground pool, you could be asking what to do to set and regulate the temperature.
Well, there is no distinction.
Above-ground pools benefit from the same suggestions and strategies we’veshown as in-ground pools. You’ll be alright if you have a reliable above-ground pool heater, maintain it, and use a pool cover.
Conclusion
What temperature should pool water be before swimming? Not too cold, not too hot, just the right temperature.
You are the only one who can establish the ideal swimming pool temperature for you. It doesn’t matter if the pool is for youngsters or elderly, or if it’s just for pleasure and leisure, once you’ve settled on a required temperature, the rest is easy.
Just make sure to keep health and safety in mind, and everyone will be able to have a great day in the sun in your own backyard pool.