Swimming pools are one of the most popular and enjoyable “extras” you can have in your home. They can provide hours of safe, healthy exercise and fun. Especially if you live in an area prone to cold, long winters, an indoor swimming pool can extend that enjoyment throughout the year. But any in-ground pool, whether indoor or outdoor, represents a significant investment. Not only that, indoor swimming pools carry some important implications for the comfort, safety, and longevity of the rest of the structure. It is very important, if you are considering the installation of an indoor swimming pool or the purchase of a home that already has one, that you have all the facts in order to make the best decision.

Ventilation: It’s Not Just about the Humidity

One of the most important factors for long term use and enjoyment of your indoor swimming pool is proper ventilation and climate control. This is one of the most important indoor pool design decisions, but it’s one that many people never consider because you don’t really see the equipment involved. Also, the consequences of inadequate or poorly installed ventilation often don’t become obvious for many years. But this area is where many indoor swimming pool owners make their most costly mistakes.

Chlorine Plus Humidity: A Troublesome Combination

Some builders, knowing that the increased indoor humidity that comes with indoor pools can cause deterioration in structural materials, advocate installation of high-end, expensive finishes and materials. While that’s not a bad idea in itself, what many people don’t remember is that chlorine, the same chemical in bleach, not only dissolves into the pool water, but also evaporates into the atmosphere. That means that tiny amounts of this highly corrosive element go everywhere the air goes in the indoor pool enclosure. Given enough time and enough buildup, this means trouble for any finish or structural material no matter how much it cost or how durable it’s supposed to be. Not only that, but recent research suggests that long term exposure to atmospheric combinations of chlorine, sweat, and urine (sorry, folks, but kids don’t always get out before they go) can contribute to higher incidence of asthma and other respiratory diseases.

The Answer: Achieving the Right Humidity Balance

A qualified installer of indoor swimming pools can advise you about the optimal humidity level you should maintain in your swimming pool enclosure, and can also advise you about the right dehumidifying equipment to install in order to make sure your indoor swimming pool gives you years of fun – and nothing else!