The Los Angles County Fire Station 126 held a free Water Safety Expo today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the community and we stopped by to check it out. Not only did we pick up some great information on water safety, but we also got to check out their great facility and equipment.
I have a love/hate relationship with my pool. I love it. I hate it. I love to hate it. And, I hate to love it.
It all began when I first moved to southern California from Oregon in 2005. I knew for sure that I wanted a pool. It just gets way too hot down here and you really need a place to cool off. With rivers and lakes few and far between, a pool is a good solution. So, when I found a house with one I was all excited and couldn’t wait to jump in. Then the reality of pool ownership kicked in.
As you can see from the picture above, my pool is not that big. It’s kidney-shaped and is 7′ deep on one end. With a pool this size you have to run the pool pump around 5 1/2 hours per day. Doesn’t seem too bad until you get that first electricity bill. You see, here in southern California there are different rate tiers for how much electricity you use and they are quite pricey in the summer. So as you are trying to keep your stucco-covered house cool, you are also racking up the kilowatt hours trying to keep the pool clean. Then there are all the chemicals that go with that. Now the pool man keeps track of that so I am not sure what all it entails, but he was here the other day and had to do a bunch of extra work. Apparently there is some kind of yellow algae growing in the pools down here this summer courtesy of our strange weather. And speaking of the strange weather, we weren’t even able to swim in the pool until the July 4th weekend because it was just too cool outside and the water wasn’t warm enough. I could’ve heated it up with the gas heater, but then I would’ve racked up a healthy gas bill. Arrgh!!!
I guess what I am trying to say here is beware. Having a pool is awesome and being able to swim in the privacy of your own backyard is very pleasant. Just remember…if you are thinking about putting one in your own backyard take into consideration what it will do to your outgoing expenses. It may be more affordable to brave the crowds and head to the beach.
