How To Use A Swim Spa Year Round
How to Use a Swim Spa Year Round
Do you love the idea of swimming in your backyard? But are you bummed out that you live in an area that experiences more winter than it does summer? There is a solution for swimmers who would love the ability to swim in their backyard but suffer from long, harsh winters. Want to learn how to use a pool year-round? Maybe it’s time to see what swim spashave to offer.
Where Do Swim Spas Fit in The Range of Backyard Pools?
If you’re looking at the range of water tanks that you can install in your backyard, at one end you have the full-sized swimming pool. These are great for large families who like having people come over and share in all the good things a swimming pool has to offer. But, unless you build it indoors, you definitely won’t be using it during the harsh winter months. At the other end of the scale are hot tubs. These are relatively compact. Combine that with the water’s high temperatures and their energy efficiency and you can use these all year round, no matter how extreme your winters get. That said, you won’t be swimming laps in your hot tub. In between these two extremes are lap pool and swim spa. Lap pools, although much smaller than full-sized swimming pools, still hold a lot of water and cover a lot of space. Keeping that water warm enough during the winter is going to cost you a fortune. swim spa, on the other hand, aren’t much bigger than your largest model of hot tub. This allows them to be used year-round without sending you to the poor house.
How Do Swim Spas Work?
A swim spa gives you the best parts of a swimming pool and a hot tub. Swim spas generate a current that’s so strong that when you swim against it, you’ll be held in place. It’s similar to how a treadmill works on a jogger, but the treadmill is a current of water rather than a looping conveyor belt. And because you’re kept in place while swimming, you’ll never reach the end of the pool or need to turn around and swim back to the other side. This treadmill-like function allows the swim spa to be much smaller than a lap pool or full-sized swimming pool. And because of this smaller size, it’s easier to keep the water heated. As a matter of fact, you can turn up the heat to a point that it mimics the effects of a hot tub. So, whether you want to swim or soak and relax throughout the winter simply depends on how you set the thermostat. Some swim spas have two separate tanks - one made for swimming and other made for soaking. This allows you to have two different water temperatures at the same time. It also permits simultaneous swimming and soaking.
What Do You Need to Know About Winter Use?
If you’re planning on using your swim spa year-round, you’ll need to take a few precautions. You’ll want to make sure to buy a quality model with the most insulation possible, like the leading energy-efficient insulation that Hydropool offers. This will help keep the water heat in during the cold months and prevent the possibility of sky-high energy bills.
Invest in A Quality Cover
A well-insulated, tight-fitting cover for your swim spa will make swimming and soaking a much easier proposition over the colder months. Not only will it help trap the heat, but it will also keep out debris such as snow, sleet, hail, dust, and dirt. It’ll help keep your water warmer and cleaner.
Keep the Heater On
If you do plan to run your swim spa over the winter, plan on keeping the heater going throughout the season. Allowing your water to freeze can cause major damage. If you plan on not using it for a while, but don’t want to shut it down completely, simply turn the heater down to a point where the water won’t freeze.
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