The Pro's and Con's of owning a Swimming Pool.

We are lucky enough to have a swimming pool with our farmhouse here in Gozo, and I would not have it any other way. I have never owned, nor had to run a pool before we bought this house, and at this time of year it is a wonderful luxury to have. Nothing beats slipping into the pool to refresh yourself, day or night, to escape the heat and humidity, the heat can exceed 40 degrees centigrade and the humidity can approach 100% at times here in Malta & Gozo.
We have just had the pool tiled with nice Spanish mosaic tiles to cut out the cost of having it repainted every 2 years. The final cost of this little project came to €2500.00, it should be money well spent, time will tell. Then I started thinking what an expensive luxury a swimming pool is and is it really worth it when you think we are 3 minutes from the beach.

A list of the pro's and cons of owning a pool.

Pro's

1. Cool convenient welcome relief from the heat.
2. A classy way to entertain your guests.
3. Just add a barbecue to a pool, and some friends, an instant winner.
4. Everybody loves to at least look at a clean baby blue body of water. It's almost hypnotic.
5. It keeps my wife happy. (She is looking over my shoulder at the moment)
6. On hot sweltering days when you can't go to a beach, it really is a life saver.
   
7. Adds to the value of the house, here in Malta and Gozo.
   

Con's

1. Cost of Pool chemicals each month.
2. Cleaning the pool every day.
3. Chemical test every 2nd day.
4. Vacuum pool once a week.
5. Top up pool (around once a month in the summer months).
   
6. Clean pool filters about once or twice a week.
7. Repainting of the pool base once every 24 months (If the pool has a painted finish).
8. Servicing of pool pump every 2 years.
   
9. Pool licence Fees.

The pool is now full of water the sunshine is high in the sky and it is hot, Yes I think it is worth it.

'Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air…' Ralph Waldo