Pool maintenance is part and parcel of owning a pool. The headache for most pool owners is deciding whether to do it themselves or engage the services of a professional.
The answer to the above question is yes. It is quite obvious that calling upon a professional to clean your pool will yield delightful results. If you can find a dependable and excellent pool company, you will be pleased that you did.
Another upside to involving professionals is that it saves you time and energy, so you can focus your efforts elsewhere.
When should you do swimming pool maintenance yourself?
Swimming pool maintenance is a task that you can carry out on your own. However, it will require you to have a great deal of expertise in pool management, the right equipment, and a bit of time on your hands. I will go into details.
- Experience in pool management
If you have experience in pool management, you will find it easy to navigate the murky waters (pun intended). They say experience is the best teacher, and that statement holds true in this field. You will know what to expect and what tools to make use of while managing your pool. And you can do it without the help of a professional.
- You are on a tight budget.
A tight budget can mean that hiring professional services might not be in the cards. This means that you must improvise and find a way to clean your pool yourself. This is where watching video tutorials on YouTube and other educational platforms can come in handy. There are videos that can carry you through handling simple tasks such as chemical balancing and testing.
- You know your way around pool chemicals. Most pool owners prefer not to get their hands dirty by dealing with the pool chemicals. Those who are new to the world of pool management, in particular.However, if you are familiar with pool chemicals, you will have no trouble navigating them.This is the technical aspect of pool management, and most pool chemicals require lots of tests and adjustments to get them right. Hence, it’s quite understandable why a lot of owners will prefer to use a professional.
- Have some time on your hands.
You must note that cleaning your pool is not a once-in-a-blue-moon occasion. It is a task that will require you to do it on a weekly basis. If you have some time on your hands, you can carry out this tax yourself. However, you must make it a constant chore because any lapse in cleaning your pool can result in the accumulation of debris, leaves, and unwanted chemical imbalances.
Is it worth it to clean your own pool?
There are two major considerations when deciding to clean your pool yourself. They are price and efficiency.
- Cost: This consideration is dependent on the cost-effectiveness of cleaning the pool as opposed to hiring a professional. It might surprise you to know that there’s not much difference in price between cleaning the pool yourself and hiring a professional. Any professional can perform your monthly Comcast cleanup for $80 to $115. On the other hand, purchasing cleaning equipment yourself or having it purchased can cost between $20 and $100. As you can see, there’s not much difference.
- Effectiveness: If you are starting out using a DIY approach, it’s most likely that you will feel overwhelmed since you are quite unfamiliar with the pool chemicals. To be honest, it’s very likely that your work will initially fall short of that of a professional. However, as you gain more experience cleaning your pool, your work may improve to the point where it is comparable to that of a professional.
Hence, having these considerations in mind, you can make a choice based on your pocket size and the amount of time you have on your hands to get better at cleaning your pool.
How often should a pool be professionally cleaned?
To have your swimming pool in the best possible condition, it is advised that you clean your pool at least once a week or a few times a month. If you feel that you are not up to the task of doing this yourself, hiring professionals is the way to go. The professionals will not just skim your pool; they will also backwash your filter to remove accumulated debris. In addition, they will scrub the tiles of your pool to remove any form of algae and organic matter. In addition, they will soon run tests on your water to ensure that there are no chemical imbalances.
The only exception to this might be during periods when the pool might not be in use, such as the winter months. However, you must ensure that your pool is properly winterized. During the summer months, ensure that your water levels are properly checked. This is because the water levels can decrease due to evaporation.
What is the cheapest way to clean a pool?
You might be wondering if it is possible to substitute the conventional pool cleaners with alternative products that you can pick up at your nearby grocery store and do it for less. The answer is yes. While there are some products that are quite irreplaceable, I will list some wonderful alternatives that will do just as well as the conventional products.
- Baking soda: Your favorite leavening agent also happens to double as one of the cheapest cleaning options out there. A paste made by mixing baking soda with water can help spot-treat algae and leave your tiles sparkling.
In addition, baking soda is a wonderful tool for increasing the alkalinity of a pool.
- Muriatic acid: When you need to acid wash your pool, muriatic acid, which is a pool formulation consisting of hydrochloric acid, is crucial for this. You can use muriatic acid or gentler alternatives; they will still work effectively.
- Bleach: Household bleach is also a cleaning agent that you can use to remove stubborn stains that baking soda might not be capable of removing. The upside is that you can also use bleach when shocking your pool.
- White vinegar: White vinegar is just perfect for removing calcium buildup in your pool. No one likes that chalky white outline on pool surfaces. Mixing equal parts of vinegar and water can take care of that eyesore.
- Lemon juice: Another flavorful alternative to vinegar is lemon juice. It does a similar job to vinegar, as well as taking care of rust and some of the metal fittings around your pool. Mixing equal parts of lemon juice and water and then applying it to surfaces can be effective at dealing with rust.
How can I save money on pool maintenance?
I will be listing some strategies that you can use to ensure a more cost-efficient approach to maintaining your pool.
- Regular maintenance: You guessed right! The number one thing you can do to ensure that you don’t spend much in the long run is regular cleaning and maintenance. When you carry out regular checkups on your pool and the equipment around it, you can easily fix any faults or damages as they appear. Trust me, you will save more by fixing issues earlier before they get worse.
- Turning off features when not in use: You can save money by turning off those features that are electric-powered. Water bubblers, water jets, and other installations consume lots of energy, so turning them off when not in use can help cut down on your electric bill.
- Using pool covers: Pool covers are important features that you need to invest in. They can help reduce the rate of evaporation and also help lower the amount of time you need to leave your heater on for. is because they can help keep the pool warmer for longer periods of time.
How do professionals clean swimming pools?
Cleaning a pool is a task that you can perfect in a few easy steps.
- Use a skimming net to remove debris.
- Shock the pool. You will need to hyper chlorinate the pool to kill unwanted organic matter such as algae.
- Scrub it down. Take hold of your brush and remove any visible algae still clinging to the walls and tiles of your pool.
- Use a pool vacuum to remove the unclogged debris. Thus, I want to ensure that that debris doesn’t go back into the filter.
- Backwash the filter. Give your filter a backwash to remove accumulated debris.
- Get the chemical balance right. Test the chlorine levels and pH. Adjust accordingly.
- Lastly, run your filter for up to 8 hours a day. This will help the chemicals circulate effectively and also remove debris from the water.
