Summer Chilling

Summer heat will be here again soon or, as most of us here say, “soon come.”  A time for festivals and longer days… or so it seems. With July just around the corner, we’ll see some good windy days great for staying somewhat cool, until just about the first week of August when the real heat hits us.  Lots of us now plan trips to more northern climates or go see family in locations not suitable for us to visit at other times of the year.  It would seem our collective blood has thinned so much that opening a refrigerator door for more than five seconds will cause to get cold.

As far as our swimming pools are concerned, this is the time we need to be extra vigilant about sanitation, as the demand for sanitizer (chlorine) increases because of the temperature increase which in itself leads to more frequent pool usage which leads to a greater demand for sanitizer.  Especially with the school holidays approaching, more kids will play in pools.  Unfortunately, world-wide public pools and water parks are a source of many simple but painful ear infections.  Prudent monitoring of the water quality will ensure that no one gets affected and can go about enjoying their summer.

Unfortunately, most private pool owners will see their chemical bills increase drastically in these hot summer months.  When you consider the fact that for every 10° rise in temperature the amount of sanitizer required doubles you will understand why.  Chlorine is a very hazardous chemical and is extremely expensive to ship to our islands.  Nowadays a lot of homeowners wisely choose a salt chlorination system to make their own sanitizer by adding a small amount of salt (sodium chloride) to the water and converting that salt to sodium hypochlorite (bleach).  Swimming pools not only stay cleaner but are far more pleasant looking as well.  Safe and enjoyable water is what it’s all about.

Now if we could just make our days a little longer so that the evenings are filled with some subtle sunlight.  The evening is actually the best time to swim and chill in your pool as the hot direct sunlight is gone but the temperature of the water is just sooo pleasant.  The changing of our seasons here in the BVI is rather subtle; happily, it shields us from unbearable coldness, yet it deprives us of the exquisite prolonged summer evenings that people up north enjoy.  As you can tell, I haven’t had my winter fix this year. Fortunately, my off-island travels soon come…