What type of pool is more comfortable to swim in?

Does the material your pool is made from make a difference to water temperature and how exfoliated your skin is after a dip? It sure does!

Vinyl Liner

The polymer vinyl liner is really smooth. Which makes walking on the pool floor and feet sliding against the pool walls a pleasure. The steps tend to be plastic which is more foot music for you. A dark liner colour will absorb more UV which will increase the water temperature nicely.

Concrete

Some people are not the biggest fans of plaster since it is not smooth to the touch. Which makes sense. You wouldn’t use a plaster loofah in the shower would you? Longer-lasting Pebblecrete finishes tend to be even rougher. Anyone who has spent a day in a concrete pool as a kid will remember their knees and feet looking a little worse for wear.

When I was a kid, my best friend’s folks had a deep concrete pool (yay for bombies off the patio). The downside however, was that in the height of summer, the water temperature was cold enough to have the Captain of the Titanic worried. Concrete is naturally cold in any application (think polished concrete floors in a house…brrr). Naturally, the deeper you build your pool, the greater the volume of water the sun (or a mechanical heater) has to warm up to a comfortable water temperature.

Fibreglass

Gelcoat is a very smooth finish. Without a non-slip surface, you’d be sliding around the pool like greased lightning. While good quality manufacturers ensure the pool floor and steps are non-slip, your feet won’t need swimming booties to keep them abrasion-free like concrete pools. Other than wrinkled hands and feet, a full day in the pool won’t leave any reminders long after you are dry.

Fibreglass is a good insulator which gives fibreglass pools a reputation for warmer water temperatures than concrete pools. Fibreglass needs less full sunlight to be a pleasant swimming temperature. We certainly use our fibreglass pool long after our concrete pool neighbours have put away the blow-up donut’s and called it a day on the swimming season.