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Pool Products General

Swimming Pool Maintenance Advice

swimming pool maintenance advice
Impact of swimming pool on bills (water, elect., maint.)?

My husband and I are looking at buying a house that has an in ground swimming pool. The pump is about a month old. There is no hot tub. We are wondering what kind of $ impact it would have on our water bill, electricity bill, and just general maintenance and up keep. How much money (a year) woud we be spending on this pool? Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!!

It depends on the size and condition of the pool, how much you want to do yourself (as opposed to having a pool company) and such.

Unless you need to raise the water level or partially refill the water level, this will not change your water bill. Once the water is in, it’s pretty much there to stay. You would only completely drain it if there was a major problem (replacing a liner, major repairs).

I’ll tell you, I learned the hard way that having one installed is not a cheap endeavor. I bought our 30-foot above ground about 5 years ago. While the initial costs were not that bad, the extras really got me – $600 for the electrician, $700 for the 22,000 gallons of water… and then come to find out they sold me the wrong size pump (which resulted in an additional expense of cleaning, extra chemicals, and eventually the proper sized pump). But once it’s up and running, it is not that bad.

If the pool is in good condition and the pump is new, you’re looking at the cost of chemicals (weekly shock, chlorine, algecide). We now run a DE (diametous earth) filter on ours which requires no filter cartridges and really cuts down on the chemical costs (you can use less chlorine).

As far as electric bills go, ask the realtor to show you the average monthly bills for electric. I think running your filter is about the equivalent of running another refrigerator or appliance. And depending where you live, the pool will be closed up and not in use part of the year (we’re in OH, which means our pool gets used a whopping 4 months a year if we’re lucky!)

I’d also recommend finding a reputable pool company to inspect the pool and get you started. Having someone who knows exactly what the proper chemical and pH levels should be and who can open the pool up in the spring (or close it up in the fall) can really save a new pool owner lots of money and frustration. Sometimes it’s worth paying a company to balance everything and then you just do the seasonal maintenance.

Hope this helps and good luck!

polaris 280 is thrown in