How much does it cost to maintain a swimming pool?

Swimming pools are a lot of fun in the summer months, as well as a great way to cool off. Unfortunately, if not properly maintained a swimming pool can become a breeding ground for bacteria such as E.coli as well as protozoa, fungi, and viruses within just two weeks. Swimmers introduce a variety of contaminates into a swimming pool with each entry, including lotions, cosmetics, urine, fecal matter, and dirt. Left alone, your pool can quickly become a toxic soup that no one will want to enter.

This is why maintaining your pool on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis is so important. There are numerous methods for pool maintenance, and the size of your pool and the amount of use it gets will factor into how much and what type of maintenance you’ll need, all of which can affect the cost. Swimming pool maintenance costs, on average, $475 to $800, with the average homeowner spending around $640 on a monthly pool service during summer months.

Swimming pool maintenance

Health risks

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a report on recreational swimming pool maintenance. WHO recommends daily and weekly treatment of swimming pools to avoid a number of different health risks that can be associated with all types of pools. Standing water, such as a swimming pool, can become the breeding ground to a number of different bacteria, viruses, and pathogens. People with lowered immune systems, children, and the elderly are at particularly high risk of contracting serious illnesses through the use of an unmaintained swimming pool. These pathogens can become introduced to the water through a number of different sources including fecal matter, insects, rodents and pests, groundwater runoff, and users who may already be ill. Once introduced into the water, the use of pool heaters help to encourage the growth of these pathogens along with other organisms such as algae until the pool becomes unsafe to enter. Proper filtering and chemical maintenance can prevent these issues from occurring and keep your pool safe for use.

Types of maintenance

Pools take a lot of maintenance on a regular basis to keep them safe for use. This maintenance changes depending on the time of year, whether you are opening or closing the pool, the size of the pool,and how much use it may get.

In addition, depending on the type of pool you have and whether or not it is covered or lined, as well as what type of water you have, you may need to brush or clean the liner ³, check hardness levels ¹ and adjust chemicals accordingly, as well as maintain the equipment. Most pool cleaning services can do these things for you if you get on a regular maintenance schedule. Otherwise, you may need to perform these actions yourself.

Types of chemicals used in pool maintenance

There are a number of different chemicals that you may need to help maintain your pool These include things like shock, chlorine ⁴, sanitizer, and algaecide. What your pool will require will depend on its condition, the type of water you have including hardness levels ¹, and how much use it gets. The common types of pool chemicals that you will likely need include:

Labor

Professional pool maintenance can help keep your pool clean on a weekly or monthly basis. Most people will hire a company to come out once a week to check levels ¹ of chemicals, clean the pool, and empty the filter basket. This service costs around $50 to $120 a month on average. Weekly service typically takes about an hour to perform; opening or closing the pool may take three to four hours depending on the amount of work needed. Most pool service companies work on a weekly or monthly basis, but you can sometimes hire them for a one time service call at a rate of about $75 per hour.

Types of pool cleaning

Cleaning is a big part of regular pool maintenance, but the cleaning process isn’t one-size-fits-all. Your pool’s ideal cleaning method depends on the materials that built it. There are several pool cleaning methods.

First, there’s drain cleaning, which virtually every pool will need on a regular basis. Cleaning out the drain is simple, but should be done regularly as long as the pool is open. Your pool maintenance service should include leaf removal and drain cleaning as part of the price.

Second, pool brushing and vacuuming can keep your pool’s surfaces clean. Your maintenance service will use a pool brush to scrub the pool’s sides and floor, or they may run a pool vacuum if you own one.

Finally, there’s pool draining. It’s highly unlikely that your pool will need to be drained, especially for cleaning purposes. A skilled pool professional will only drain a pool for one of three reasons: to make a repair that can’t be done underwater, to balance the amount of dissolved solids in the water, or to wash the pool with chlorine ⁴ or acid. In the case of chlorine ⁴ or acid washes, the pool maintenance professional will drain enough water to reach the parts that need to be cleaned. A chlorine ⁴ wash will remove algae from the pool walls. An acid wash, on the other hand, actually strips the top layer off of the pool’s surface. Both of these methods are extreme and should only be done when other cleaning methods won’t work.

Opening and closing

In addition to regular monthly maintenance costs, you should also consider the cost of opening and closing your pool. When temperatures drop below 65°F, closing your pool will protect it from debris and contaminants while you’re not using it. Of course, if you close your pool, you’ll have to open it back up again once the weather gets warm enough for swimming. Closing a pool costs an average of $250, and opening it costs an average of $225. While your pool is closed, you won’t have to pay for monthly maintenance.

Enhancement and improvement costs

Automatic pool cleaners

Automatic pool cleaners are available which will vacuum and clean the pool, removing debris, leaves, and some stains. They cost around $600 to purchase.

Winterizing your pool

Winterizing your pool at the end of the season involves draining the pool and pipes, cleaning it, fitting the pump ⁶ and filter for winter, and putting a cover on. You can hire a professional pool company to winterize for you for around $150.

Additional considerations and costs

• Some homeowners choose to maintain their pools on their own. In this case, you will need to invest in a skimmer ($10), vacuum ($600), and brush ($30) in addition to the chemical supplies.
• Having a swimming pool raises your liability insurance, which in turn will increase your monthly payments. Speak to your homeowner’s insurance agency to find out what your monthly payment will be.
• One of the most expensive parts of maintaining a pool is the electricity needed to run the pump ⁶ and filter, with most people paying between $50 and $300 each month.
• Part of swimming pool maintenance is the occasional need to repair leaks, which costs around $300.
• Always discard any unused chemicals at the end of the season. Follow local ordinances for disposal, and purchase new chemicals when you reopen the pool.
• Always keep pool chemicals away from sources of heat and open flame, as many are flammable.

• If you have a saltwater pool, you can expect lower maintenance costs because your pool requires fewer chemicals than a chlorine ⁴ pool does. Saltwater pool owners can expect to pay about $600 in maintenance costs for the season.

• If you have an above-ground pool, your maintenance process will be essentially the same as that of an in-ground pool. Cleaning and maintenance will cost the same amount per hour, but the maintenance specialist will have to spend less time on an above-ground pool, thus lowering total costs.

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Remodeling Terms Cheat Sheet

³ Liner: A covering, usually made of vinyl, for the walls and floor of a swimming pool, used to keep the water in and protect the pool's surface.

⁶ Pump: A device used to move air, liquid, or gas by mechanical means