Is there a standard pool temp?

Sigma Force

Have done my fair share of swimming in the sea in my younger days, no sea where we live now so the pool is a better option as I'm more of a sissy in my old age. When you pay an membership to a decent enough public pool you expect the basics e.g. for it to be clean and reasonably warm. But sometimes the water is freezing, there's no baby pool so little kids have to swim in that cold water too. The young one has a membership also it's hard enough to get her to go swimming and the cold is really putting her off and she really needs to learn.

Is there a standard temperature that all pools have to operate? To be honest I don't care if they are trying to save costs because we all pay an expensive enough membership (it's dearer than some pools that are on the east coast where stuff generally is a bit more pricey) so I'd expect the pool to be warm enough so you're not having a mini heart attack when you get in. I've got plenty of natural insulation and I feel it's cold so god knows how cold kids and the less insulated person feels, it really turns something that should be fun in to a miserable experience.

I know people have complained directly before but nothing's been done, it's very annoying when you have at least a half years left of a membership.

So after all that ranting can anyone tell me is there a particular temp. that they have to abide by in a public pool?

mad m

For Council pools its 25c....Other private ones as you say lower it because of costs....

I was down in Rathmines ages ago, couldnt swim in it to be honest, too warm. But great for kids....

Edit: Just to be clear about Council pools, I don't know if they have to abide by this though.

2old4dacold

pool i used to work in used to be 29C (which was a little too warm for me tbh)

lorcan122

Most pools are different, it depends on who they are catering for, if it is a pool with a large amount of competitive swimmers, then its going to be colder, as it is hard to swim in pools when they are too warm. While some pools would be very warm and these would be for familys and children, it really depends on the pool manager, the pool temperatures might change, from one season to the next.

swimfast

try out markievicez pool kept at a pleasent 27-29 degrees

Nonmonotonic

If the pool has a white flag it should have measurements in the table at the bottom of this page posted up (note temperature 27 -30 degrees).

AngryHippie

Temperature also has an effect on the water chemistry, it influences the Calcium Hardness of the water which cuases scaling or corrosion, depending on the balance of the water.
It has a greater effect however on the disinfection rates in the water, depending on the disinfectant used.
Bather comfort is usually the dominant factor but this also varies with user groups, Squad swimmers who may use the pool prefer it to be cooler, to prevent heat rashes & to help control body temp during periods of high exertion. Casual bathers who just want to splash around and play always prefer a warm pool, Pools with high usage by small children usually keep it quite warm as they get cold very quickly. Same goes for the elderly.

Unfortunately with the rapid rise in costs for heating pools many operators are struggling to maintain their bottom line, and if its a choice between closing the doors or having a cold pool, then obviusly its a better call to try and change your customer demograph before you wind up your business.

There are alternatives to gas & oil for heating, At my last pool, the council had just installed 2 massive reverse cycle 3 phase heaters to replace two old gas burners. Unfortunately after they installed them, they discovered that to run them would brown out the power grid in the suburb, so they've been removed for a more suitable site. Shame seeing as the gas burners are costing in excess of 1000 bucks a day to run.

Talk to the pool management about it, if you can't get a satisfactory answer, vote with your feet