Discover the Ideal Pool Water Temperature for Comfortable Swimming

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Summer sun and fun usually mean that you want to go swimming when the temperatures start reaching ludicrous levels. Many people make the mistake of jumping in the pool on the first warm day, only to get the shock of a lifetime when the water is still freezing.

Many people may test the water at this point and see that it is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit but is this the perfect temperature for a pool?

The ideal temperature for a pool for enjoyment and pool health is 83 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 30 degrees Celsius. At this point, the pool water will feel nearly indistinguishable from your skin. Much warmer and it will begin to grow bacteria and other negatives while too low is too cold.

In hot areas, this temperature will be perfect to cool your body without making it impossible to enter the water while in colder environments this is the perfect temperature to warm up your body.

There are more variations of water temperatures that you will find in the world, each one adapted to serve a specific purpose.

If you’re swimming in the coldest parts of the world you may want water that is a lot warmer, while in some deserts nothing other than the coldest water will be ideal.

Knowing how to heat your pool water and what circumstances require the perfect adjustment to the pool water. Here’s everything you need to know about getting the perfect pool water temperature!

When is the Water Too Cold to Swim?

When the water is close to or below freezing temperatures, in even the hottest environments, it can cause permanent damage to your nerves and cause hypothermia.

Pools can be some of the most amazing things in the world, but they can be extremely dangerous if the water is too cold or too hot.

This is because the mass amount of water can easily change your body temperature, which should ideally always be around 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

When pool water is close to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, it means it can lower your body temperature by enough to cause hypothermia.

Not being careful about the temperature of a pool can cause serious damage and be fatal to you or anyone else swimming. It should be remembered that adults can last a lot longer in these cold water, while young children will experience temperature drops in their bodies much faster.

How Does the Outside Temperature Affect the Perfect Temperature?

Many times, it can be extremely hot outside, sometimes reaching 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit, while the pool water is still almost freezing. This is because pool water does not easily heat up by the ambient temperature of the air around it.

This has caused many people to mistakenly build their pools in locations where they will seldom reach perfect temperatures. Ambient temperatures usually mean that the air is a certain temperature and does not directly affect the pool, to change the temperature of pool water there needs to be an active point where heat is introduced.

For most pools that have been planned properly in warmer countries, this will be done by the sun, with other heated pools having complete heating systems that complete this function.

There is only one way that has shown to affect how we feel the temperature of a pool, when it is hot outside almost any pool will feel freezing when you first jump into the water.

How Can You Get Your Pool to Reach the Right Temperature?

There are several ways your pool can be heated, either naturally or with some added system that you can buy. There are many advantages to each one and creating a system of keeping your pool properly heated will mean a longer swimming season for you and your family.

With each addition to your pool, you can gain a greater amount of control of the overall temperature of the pool, with some allowing you to swim in your pool on even the coldest of a winter day.

Clear Water

One of the main things that you always need in your pool is to keep it as clear as possible. When you want your pool to be warmed up through natural means you should always have it be as clear as possible, this allows sunlight to enter and heat the pool as much as possible.

Murky water is always a lot colder the deeper the water goes.

Morning Sun

Almost no one in the world should be in their swimming pool in the early morning, especially if it is in the sun the whole day. This is not only because the sun will be a lot brighter and more likely to burn you, but the water will also be cold.

However, the morning sun will be perfect to heat your pool, which is why it is always best to have your get as much morning sun as possible.

Heated Pipes

Many times even the summer sun will not be enough to heat your pool, this may be because you have an indoor pool, the pool is in a shaded area the whole day or you live in a country where it just does not get that hot.

For these situations you can install a heated pipe system, there are many on the market, that will heat your pool water to a required degree.

Darker Pool

Traditionally pools are blue or white, which is perfect if you live in a country where the sun is shining blazingly hot all the time.

However, if you want to use the natural heat of the sun but you know your pool does not get a lot of sun one solution that has gained popularity has been to paint the pool in a darker shade.

Many times, people will have either black pools or deep dark blue pools. This can raise the water temperature by several degrees.

What makes a warm pool so much more loved?

While swimming is always done to cool down, a cold pool can only be enjoyed for a limited amount of time. If the pool is too cold most people won’t be able to swim for a long time, usually limiting swim time to only a few minutes.

If you have ever been able to enjoy a permanently heated pool you should know that you can enjoy a heated pool for the whole day without ever feeling uncomfortable.

Many homeowners like to swim in their pool after the sun has set as well, which means colder winds could be blowing, but the pool can keep you nice and warm.

Warm pools allow for more fun in the sun and many people will naturally enjoy swimming when they do not first have to force themselves to get adjusted to the temperature of the pool water.

Why Are Some Pools Build to be Colder Than the Ideal Temperature?

While most pools will always be kept at the ideal temperature some pools will be cooled down or even purposefully built to be a lot colder than even normal pools. Many people will wonder why this is and the reason is usually answered by taking a look at where these pools are located.

Cold pools, or pools that are purposefully cooled are usually in warmer countries located in Africa, the Middle East, or in desert environments.

This is because these countries can easily reach temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Fahrenheit on a normal day.

Heated pools in these countries would only be used in the winter, creating a pool that is almost disliked for most of the year.

These countries have natural sunlight that can heat small bodies of water like pools to well beyond the ideal temperature and requires the pool to be cooled down if the owner wants to enjoy the water.

Because, as much as heated pools and spas are loved in colder, snowy, environments a cold pool when it is blisteringly hot outside is also loved.

Final Thoughts on What is the Ideal Pool Water Temperature

The ideal temperature of a pool is only a few degrees below that of your own body, however, if you are living somewhere extremely hot a cold pool might be loved more while snowy environments have plenty of heated pools.

The ideal temperature of your pools depends heavily on what the temperatures are of the world around you. Just be sure you don’t leave the floating toys you have out in the sun, you would be surprised just how far a windswept blow-up doughnut can go.