Having a pool sounds like a great idea, especially for those who enjoy summers and don’t want the effects of climate change to do a number on their bodily exterior.
But if you’re gonna get a pool, you’re gonna have to do a whole lot of upkeep to keep that boy in tip top shape. So, you’re either committing, or hiring someone to do it for you… or, well, pushing the responsibility onto your significant other, despite having promised you would take care of it when you bought the house.
With a great pool comes great responsibility, and responsibility isn’t something that some really want to assume
Image credits: Zinkevych_D (not the actual photo)
Even if you promise to take care of the pool, you can still try to weasel out of it until someone blows a fuse and the internet has to decide who’s at fault
Image credits: LightFieldStudios (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Financial_Mortgage15
Issues with pool upkeep also seemed to highlight another marital issue, and that is passive aggressive communication
A Redditor recently shared how he and his family purchased a house. It has a pool, and there was a condition that if they got it, the Mrs. would be responsible for the majority of its upkeep. At this point, it feels like she should do all of it as she has never cleaned the pool once, despite using it full on, and always pushed the responsibility onto the husband.
A conflict ensued, one that the r/AmITheA-Hole community was happy to jump on to discuss. The majority ruled that OP is not a jerk as it’s just fair that the person using it the most should be the one cleaning it the most. Simple as that.
Others pointed out that the Mrs. pulled a bait and switch, which is a bit of an evil thing to do. Yet others suggested some simple solutions like stopping maintaining it or getting a service to do it. Oh, and of course Reddit got down to some shenanigans too by suggesting if they like tilapia. [wink wink]
For context, cleaning a pool is something that is best explained in steps, and if it gets to that degree, you know it's not easy
Before you even begin cleaning pools, you gotta understand that there is no one way of cleaning it. There's skimming, scrubbing, vacuuming, backwashing, emptying, and, of course, adding pool chemicals for that extra bit of disinfectant spice.
What do you need in order to clean it? Well, there's a pool wall brush, tile brush, telescopic pole, skimmer net, pool vacuum, garden hoes, backwash hose, and all the pool washing chemicals that go along with it.
Already it feels like the viscera cleanup crew has to be hired to do it, but it gets better. Better Homes And Gardens provides a nine step explanation of what has to be done in order for the pool to be spotless. This includes inspecting the pool, cleaning the pump basket, scrubbing the walls and skimming the pool, emptying the skimmer basket, vacuuming the pool, backwashing sand and diatomaceous earth filters and finally, testing the water and adding appropriate pool chemicals to bring balance to it.
Yep, not an easy feat, but definitely a necessary one. Some of it is done once a week, other things can be done once a month. And, of course, there's also the general seasonal scrub before and after swimming pool season. So, if this is not for you, consider investing in a cleaning crew, or into an entirely different source of home entertainment.
Whatever the case, we'd love to hear from you, so let us know your takes and stories on anything or everything you've read here today in the comment section below! And if you feel like you need more pool stories, then look no further.
Some folks had questions about the rest of the housework and how it's divided
But across the board, it was not the jerk for the author of the post, pointing out a number of issues
