Help with ventilation for indoor pool

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C

ChristineR

0
Jan 26, 2018
3
Lake Forest, ca
Hi everyone!
Hope someone can help me. We bought a house with an indoor endless pool and we've finally figured out the water chemistry but can't use it case the room stinks and is humid! We would like to use it more like spa around 95 degrees. The room has very high ceilings but only two windows that open slightly and a small door. There is no airflow. We don't know what to do. Skylights, some sort of attic fan, do they make special exhaust fans?? I'm totally clueless and being in Southern California where indoor pools are rare no one can help me. Thank you for any advice!
 
Welcome to TFP! Good to have you here :)

A cover can make a big difference and will reduce heat loss and heating cost as well.

A heating / AC type outfit should be able to help you with ventilation, but probably not the pool industry people. You'll need an exhaust fan controlled by a humidistat to act as a dehumidifier. They would include an inlet (or inlets) as well to move the air appropriately. The next step up from that, which will save energy, is an air-to-air heat exchanger, to keep most of the warmth in while removing some humidity. Or you run it at 100% humidity provided the building materials can handle it.

There's every chance the smell can be eliminated with better water chemistry. If you can smell the pool, then there's something not right yet. Here's a couple of links that will help explain.

TFPC for Beginners
Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Indoor Pool
 
Thank you for your reply but I'm still so confused. Can you show me some examples of a exhaust fan, dehumidifier? Is it a single unit you put in the wall? Do they sell this kind of thing at home Depot or Amazon? We have the chlorine at 3. It is just really stuffy inside cause there is literally no air flow and when it's heated up to 90 it's like a steam room which now I'm worried about damaging the structure. Thank you in advance for your replies
 
I would suggest you refrain from using the pool or limit your use of it until you’ve found a qualified HVAC contractor with experience in indoor pools to evaluate your situation. Running an enclosed space at near 100% humidity is a recipe for a mold infestation disaster. Unless you know for sure that this pool room was constructed for high humidity use, I’d be very worried about damaging your walls and causing mold problems.

Just my 2 cents for whatever it’s worth.
 
At the moment we're not heating it but it's no fun swimming in a 60 degree pool so we want to figure out the ventilation asap! It's impossible to find anyone around with indoor pool experience in our area, everyone just looks at us like we're crazy. So that's why I am looking for help here.
 
You need to test your cc's, what test kit are you using?

There is plenty of information in this thread for you to research and expand on without any local help.

To help, look at attic fans. Your basically just moving a large volume of air in or out and expand on that idea.

Air to air heat exchanger to save the heat in the pool room otherwise heated air moved out is replaced with cold outside air.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
I would suggest you refrain from using the pool or limit your use of it until you’ve found a qualified HVAC contractor with experience in indoor pools to evaluate your situation. Running an enclosed space at near 100% humidity is a recipe for a mold infestation disaster. Unless you know for sure that this pool room was constructed for high humidity use, I’d be very worried about damaging your walls and causing mold problems.

Just my 2 cents for whatever it’s worth.
Click to expand...

That’s a good 2 cents. A pool room can become inhabitable, mold or structural rot.. $$$$
you want to look outside the pool industry for your air handling needs.. I’m sure plenty of qualified contractors are in your area, ask an indoor pool owning school, gym, or park for a reference.

Just on a whim, do you have a defunct system already, perhaps you haven’t recognized it for what it is?
 
My point in suggesting outside help was under the assumption that you’d actually like to have a usable pool room that is comfortable to be in when not in the pool. Lake Forrest CA is a nice area (I lived in Irvine for a few years) but you guys do get hot summers and cold/rainy winters. If all you do is exchange indoor air with outdoor air, then your room is going to constantly fluctuate in temperature and humidity. I would think you’d at least want some thermostatic control of the room air temperature and the ability to keep the humidity under control. To do that, you need an appropriately designed HVAC system that can handle your room air volume and excess humidity from the pool. That’s NOT something you’re going to pickup at Home Depot or order on Amazon.
 

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Just be very careful adding exhaust and make sure a qualified HVAC technician does the work. You can create a deadly CO situation in the entire house using an incorrectly set up exhaust fan if you have a gas furnace.
 
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