Used to be, I didn't get why more people didn't have a pool in their backyards. I get the high cost, but if it is already included with the house or if can get financed as part of the house payment, why not? I think I get it now. Pools (I am referring to both pool and hot tubs) are a pain in the ass. I rank them right up there with kids in the amount of time they need dedicated to them. At least a kid can throw out the trash once in a while or help cut the grass. Fuck, a pool just sits there in the backyard being needy (dare I say, like Eliza, in Hamilton 😀 ).
Anyway, usually, I turn my back on the backyard to get through the cooler months, but since the pool was fairly clean and Baby A says he is inviting friends over for Halloween, I decided to clean the hot tub, just now (Sunday morning). I feel like if I do it before Wife gets up, it is done by magical fairies because no one sees the work being done. I usually get up super early on the weekends to have some alone time to write and reflect and enjoy a cup of coffee without having to engage with people (Wife is not needy, but even Superman had his Fortress of Solitude where he could fart in peace). It has been really easy the last few times, comparatively speaking. I have a little sump pump and I throw it in the hot tub and after about forty minutes, it will be down to about 4-5 inches in depth in the lower region where maybe it has a few gallons of water. This is usually where all the nasty green algae collects as I go and wash the walls down. It is then easy to take my bucket and capture this water as the hose fills it back up, I then take one of the pads we use on the dishes with the rough green surface and scrub the walls clean. Because it is fiberglass, it cleans up with minimal effort. I do the bucket thing like 4-5 times and the water slowly goes from nasty brown green algae looking stuff where things could slither and hide to a faint green tinge, to just the sandy dirt left on the bottom. I have a vacuum wand thing that works through venturi forces. It uses the pressure of water pushed back towards me at the end of a tube to create a vacuum which then sucks up the pool bottom, picking up dirt and debris with it. It used to have a fancy cloth bag, but it tore, now I just use some old thick socks and that is good enough to catch the stuff picked up.
After about a half hour of this, I just let the hose fill it up and float some new bromine tablets in the floating dispenser and call it done. It really only turns green because I don't go out there and routinely refill the tablets but it can be too much to ask for, at times. I am going to say that I will do better and that I will keep up with both the pool and hot tub from now on, but I always think that and 4-5 months later, it'll be green again. Oh well, I am hoping to at least have a decent looking backyard through these holidays as algae grows a lot slower in the cooler weather. I need to get my shit together to show Wife I can handle the responsibilities of a pool, and then a boat and then ultimately, some land along a lake or coast. Come on Big Boy, get it together!!
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