Cooling Pool Water in Summer – 8 Ways to Help Chill Out

A backyard pool getting too hot is not a problem that many people encounter, in fact it might be a problem some would be grateful for if they live in colder areas. But it can be a big problem for those that live in some of the warmer parts as, when the weather is hot, that is the time they want to go in their pools to cool off.

But if the water temperature gets too high in the pool it is not refreshing at all.

It is something I have had to deal with a few times where I live during particularly warm weather.

In general, to cool pool water you need to get it moving and expose it to the air as much as possible, preferably at night when the air temperature will be lower. This can take the form of fountains, waterfalls, pool coolers and even just running the pump. All will help to some degree.

If your backyard pool gets too hot in summer then you can try the following to cool it down.

8 ways to cool pool water in summer

Run the pool pump at night

At night the air is generally cooler so if you run your pool pump during the night, rather than during the day.

This will help to reduce the pool water temperature by a few degrees as the movement will help evaporation, which in turn cools the pool.

Run the solar heating at night

If you have solar heating in the form of solar panels or solar domes then you can run your pool pump at night so that the pool water runs through them. They will act in the reverse way to using them during the day (of course do not use them then otherwise the water will heat up again).

With the water running through them, they will act as a pool cooler, working in a similar way to a refrigerator. Since the night air will be cooler than the water passing through, heat will be transferred to the air from the water, cooling it as it does.

Turn on water features

If you have any built-in water features in your pool such as waterfalls, jets etc then make sure they are on. Any additional water movement and access to the air will help to cool the pool’s water down.

They are expensive but the good thing is that they are actually also pool heaters so you can make good use for them early and late in the season when the pool temperature drops making swimming a punishment rather than a pleasure.

Solar fountain

If you don’t have any built-in water features, or want to add to them to try and cool your pool, then you could be one or more solar-powered floating fountains.

These float around the pool sucking up water and send it out as a fountain. The water will cool as it goes through the air.

One of the most popular on Amazon is the OKMEE Solar Fountain.

Pool cooler

A simple way to cool pool water is to use a pool cooler. These are available that insert into your pool’s return jet/s and effectively “mist” the water back into the pool, reducing the temperature by up to 10 degrees before returning to the pool.

They are easy to fit to the return jet and can be left in when swimming – something children actually will love playing in. If your pool gets very hot then you can fit more than one of these; as many as you have return jets.

Available from Amazon – Mistcooling Pool Cooler.

You can see one in action in the video below.

Pool chiller

A pool chiller, also known as a reversible heat pump, works in a similar way as running your solar heating at night which I described above. If you do not have solar heating then you may wish to consider buying a heat pump.

They are quite expensive and operate rather like an air conditioning unit for water, but if you live in an area where your pool is too hot for swimming for long periods it may be worth considering something like the TropiCool TC1000 Swimming Pool Water Chiller to lower the temperature of the pool water.

Shade

It may seem obvious, but if you can provide shade over at least part of your pool then the water temperature will not be heated up so much by the sun.

You could use one of the large cantilever types of umbrella or, depending on the situation of your pool, a “shade sail” such as the Garden EXPERT Sun Shade Sail Sand Large Square Canopy which comes in many different sizes.

Drain and refill

This would be a very drastic step to take to make your pool cooler as it would take a considerable amount of time, not to mention expense to complete. Assuming the high temperatures of the weather continue then it would also be a short-term solution as the pool temperature would rise each day until it was hot again.

You could perhaps partially drain and refill the pool which would be quicker and cheaper.

What temperature is too hot for a pool?

What temperature is too hot for a pool rather depends on what you like to do in a pool.

If you like to just soak and splash around then you will likely be happier with a temperature higher than someone who likes swimming lots of lengths to get fit. In fact, doing strenuous exercise in water that is too hot can be dangerous.

Many competitive swimming associations lay down the maximum (and minimum) temperatures that a pool can be. For example, for Olympic swimming events, the pool temperature cannot be above 82ºF.

However, for a home pool, personally, I wouldn’t be happy going in my pool at below 82ºF – but then I hate the cold. 86ºF to 90ºF is about right for me but any more than that is getting too hot.

Will ice cool down a pool?

Adding anything to a pool that is colder than the temperature of the water in the pool, including ice, will help to lower the overall temperature. But you will need to add so much of it to make a difference that it would not be worth the effort.

If you have access to a chunk of an iceberg that may help though!