Bump....

Mike, would you (or anyone else) be able to give an update on what you came up with for your indoor pool?
We are building an indoor pool, and I know we should have had this all figured out before we started, and are wondering the best way to control the humidity. We live in the north and would only get 3 months at the most if we had not decided to go for an indoor pool.
Any suggestions from anyone would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jeanie

We looked EXTENSIVELY into an indoor pool while in the planning stages of our house.

Our home builder wouldn't even construct the area that we wanted to put the pool in. He wouldn't touch anything to do with the pool with a 10 foot pole because of humidity/corrosion issues. He didn't even want to warranty the room that he was building that *connected* with the pool area.

Being in Michigan with such a short season, this is something we really thought we wanted. So, we started getting bids from contractors to build an addition onto our new home. Then bids from pool builders to build a 24x16 indoor pool.

The brakes went on pretty fast when the lowest quote we got for the de-humidifying system ALONE was $65K. The unit, in an of itself was expensive but it was all the duct work and the blowers installed in front of all the windows to keep them from becoming fogged up and rotting was major, too. Then, nobody guarantees nothing. So we gave it up.

If I had an extra $500K to it up right: de-humidifier, cedar ceiling, top of the line windows/skylights/fans and then furniture that wouldn't mold/rot, I'd do it in a minute. It would be a dream come true.

Good luck!

of items I'd need to do it right: an automatic pool cover.

And a fireplace. Not because it would help with the de-humidifying process. But because I can't think of anything better than floating in an indoor pool next to a flickering fireplace while the snow falls outside on the pines. Sigh.
Heaven.

Hi Mike
Check out rollacovers at www.rollacover.com. They are in CT and I am considering getting one. Depending on where your pool will be, they can use one wall of your building as a wall to attach the rollacover. They also make freestanding ones...
Good luck!
Joanneswimsct

Looks like we might have "jumped the gun" on building an indoor pool - sounds like the expense of dehumidifying it might be very high.
Any other information from anyone would be appreciated, also.
Do any of you know if there is a forum online anywhere that is especially for indoor pools.
Thanks, Jeanie

You can find application notes from Desert Aire's web site. Look for AN10.

I work for a company in Australia offering pool de-humidification units for as little as $5000 Aus.

www.airchange.com.au

For Mikes pool it would be approx $30,000 Aus

I have an indoor pool. We bought the house last year and the indoor pool was covered with plywood. It was being used as a sitting room. When we first got the pool going again it was a horrible wet mess. Then after searching online we purchased a solar blanket and run our dehumidifing home unit in the pool area. There is a fan that was exhausting to the outside but it didn't help. The pool was built in the seventies with the pool. After our modifications our moisture problem is non existent even in the winter. I live in Ontario Canada.

Putting an indoor pool in without a commercial size dehumidifier would be a huge, costly mistake that you would surely regret one day. They are extremely expensive to install so it is understandable that you are looking for alternative solutions but the reality is that you need one. Also worth noting is the running costs of these units. They are INSANELY expensive to run.

You have not received much info about the rusting / corrosion concerns you have mentioned. You need to make sure that every last metal component in the entire room is on a bonding grid. Everything. Then you need to install sacrificial anodes inline in the pool system as well as mounting anodes basically everywhere to limit galvanic corrosion. You should also consider adding an automation system to regulate your chlorine levels. You do not want an indoor pool that occasionally has way more chlorine than it needs as this will make corrosion issues much worse. Indoor pools are a huge pain, and a huge expense, but if you have money to burn then they are obviously great to own. If you cant afford every protection for your house, such as a dehumidifier from Dectron, then you should not install a pool indoors. Maybe install one outdoors with a pool enclosure around it.