The temperature has been a sweltering 103 degrees for a week. Luckily, you dont install tar and gravel roofs for a living, your car is air conditioned, and when you get home, all or part of it is air conditioned. But when you go to take that refreshing dip in your pool, you end up basting in 25,000 gallons of braising liquid.

Do you try to cool the pool or use it as a crock pot?

Lets try cooling it off first with these four suggestions that varying widely by price and practicality.

Pool Heat Pump
Yes, it is possible to cool your pool with a heat pump. The Aqua Cal Heat Wave H155 can cool as well as heat your pool with the flick of a switch. The cooling side of the heat pump operates at 83,000 btus.

At that rate of cooling, it takes approximately 19 hours to cool a 25,000 gallon pool 10 degrees. This is quick cooling by any standard, and 10 degrees can be the difference between cool and cook. If your pool heat pump needs replacing, this unit is worthy of your consideration.

Solar Pool Heaters Can Cool The Pool Too
During the hottest part of the summer, running the solar system at night can cool a pool to a more refreshing swimming temperature - down several degrees in one night if the conditions are right. Also, if your pool is too warm, leave the solar blanket off at night to allow more heat to escape.

Ice is Nice
You can cool your pool with ice if you add enough of it. Cubed ice cools quicker than blocks but either way youre going to need tons of it. One of the contributors to the Myth Busters forum calculated it would take 5,600 pounds of ice to cool a 25,000 gallon pool 5 degrees.

Depending on the size of your vehicle and the condition of your back, you could easily collect 560 10 pound bags of ice with only 6 or 7 trips to the supermarket.

The Pool Cooler
This simple and ingenious device uses evaporation to lower the temperature of your pool. The main component is a three foot long, 1 inch diameter plastic pipe with multiple holes drilled vertically into the upper half of the pipe. Water is diverted through the holes and creates a misting effect that produces evaporative cooling.

According to the manufacturer, After the initial installation of the adapter to the water return line (less than 2 minutes), The Pool Cooler connects and is fully functional in less than 30 seconds.

Over the course of a week, this nifty device will reduce the temperature of a 30,000 gallon pool by 5 degrees when the air temperature is 94 99 degrees. At $29.95, you could probably afford to install more than one.

If you live in the Northeast, like I do, cooling the pool is one item youll never have to worry about showing up on your to do list.