To maintain your pool yourself - or hire out - thats the question

[JenniferMarie90]

Hi all, I'm new here and have never owned a pool. I have posted a few other threads and folks here are SO helpful. Our contractor is really trying to push using one of their folks for maintenance, but its not super cheap its $140 a month for a once a week visit. Its do-able $$ wise but I'm like ehh. I wanted to see if they were willing to do that for the swim season from like May-Sept (I'm in Vegas) but they will not, its all or nothing. I have never had a pool and we have pebblesheen so the contractor is like you REALLY need to be mindful of the chemicals, pH, etc. The pool is 14X27 and its just my husband and I, no children. We have a cartridge filter and salt water system too, if that helps to know. Any input on this? Do you have a person who does it, or do you maintain yourself? Does it take up a lot of time? I know time is money!

 

[mknauss]

If you get a SWCG, a proper test kit, and a robot, there is no need for a pool service unless you are physically unable to do any form of maintenance.

We leave for weeks, have even left for a couple months, and not had issues. We do have a relative nearby that will empty the skimmer basket when needed and added pre-measured dilute acid on a schedule. Once you know your pool, it becomes really easy.

 

[Newdude]

I have posted a few other threads and folks here are SO helpful

It never gets old hearing it so, thanks.

but its not super cheap its $140 a month for a once a week visit

With your SWG, the TFP method can probably get you all year on $140. Or close enough, and with minimal effort too. You can put all those savings into a robot to handle all your cleaning, which is a pain by hand, but it’s mental *gosh I’d rather be doing anything else* pain, not physical pain. Roughly 5 months in the robot will be free and offer years of great service.

We have a cartridge filter and salt water system too, if that helps to know

Easy and even easier !!

Any input on this

you got this. And you got us to guide you !!

 

[JenniferMarie90]

Thank you! I have a robot so that takes care of that! And $140 per year versus monthly?! That’s a no brainer. You helped me on another thread I will always recognize your screen name lol.

 

[Newdude]

You helped me on another thread I will always recognize your screen name lol.

So glad I helped you, (yay ) but there’s an army of great folks around me to help out if I’m busy that moment. This place is GREAT.

 

[mrbookmanlibrarycop]

I'll give you my $0.02.

When I moved into our house that had a pool 2 years ago, I had 0 clue about pool maintenance and decided to just go ahead and use the service the prior folks were using. Pretty much the same price per month. One thing I noticed right away is that these services just won't care about your pool as much as you will. Most of the time they were in and out in 10 minutes. They would brush the pool very quickly, vacuum for a couple minutes, throw 3 tablets in, and then leave.
Once I started reading TFP and how to take care of the pool I noticed that it isn't too hard to maintain and I actually enjoyed learning something completely new and taking care of my own pool.
Sure, doing it yourself was pretty intimidating at first but like you I posted a few threads early on, asking questions that are probably very novice, but I got the answers I needed and built up confidence of doing it myself.

Now, I'm opening and closing the pool, doing all the testing/chemicals myself and lastly ENJOYING the pool! I test the pool pretty much daily (5 min), and brush/vacuum on a weekly basis (jealous of your robot). The only thing that is a downer for me is running around getting liquid chlorine when I am low, being the weirdo getting looks at Home Depot with 20-30 gallons in my cart. But with a salt water pool you don't have to worry about that

I'm not saying that all services are bad, I am sure there are a lot more that would do a fine job like your contractor. But there is something about maintaining it yourself that is super satisfying. And then in a year or two you will be the ones answering questions!

 

[Newdude]

being the weirdo getting looks at Home Depot with 20-30 gallons in my cart

You’re the GUY from my one daughters math questions and the other daughters chemistry ones !!
They both start the same way
‘Oscar has 30 gallons of NaClO’.

 

[JenniferMarie90]

I'll give you my $0.02.

When I moved into our house that had a pool 2 years ago, I had 0 clue about pool maintenance and decided to just go ahead and use the service the prior folks were using. Pretty much the same price per month. One thing I noticed right away is that these services just won't care about your pool as much as you will. Most of the time they were in and out in 10 minutes. They would brush the pool very quickly, vacuum for a couple minutes, throw 3 tablets in, and then leave.
Once I started reading TFP and how to take care of the pool I noticed that it isn't too hard to maintain and I actually enjoyed learning something completely new and taking care of my own pool.
Sure, doing it yourself was pretty intimidating at first but like you I posted a few threads early on, asking questions that are probably very novice, but I got the answers I needed and built up confidence of doing it myself.

Now, I'm opening and closing the pool, doing all the testing/chemicals myself and lastly ENJOYING the pool! I test the pool pretty much daily (5 min), and brush/vacuum on a weekly basis (jealous of your robot). The only thing that is a downer for me is running around getting liquid chlorine when I am low, being the weirdo getting looks at Home Depot with 20-30 gallons in my cart. But with a salt water pool you don't have to worry about that

I'm not saying that all services are bad, I am sure there are a lot more that would do a fine job like your contractor. But there is something about maintaining it yourself that is super satisfying. And then in a year or two you will be the ones answering questions!

I’m glad to hear you say that because I am kind of a control freak so the thought of someone else maintaining something I just spent so much time and money on? I’m hesitant because you’re right, I know I’ll do a thorough job but it is intimidating because it’s not just the pool being dirty it’s I can mess up the integrity of the pool. And I also don’t want to spend ALL my free time doing it. I feel like 98% of my free time already is taken up with house stuff you know? What did you do first? Read through the pool school?

 

[kazamali]

I'm battling with this right now. I'm a major DIY guy and just finished a pool last year. I'm paying ~$200/mo for service, not including the yearly DE/filter cleanout. BUT with a VERY large investment in this pool and other higher priority items (babies, dogs, work...you know), I'm fine with it (for now) and have the piece of mind since the same guy services my entire neighborhood. (He also personally called me to tell me how to keep my pool going thru the freeze here in TX). I think when life calms down a bit, I'm going to attack that next. Going thru the freeze, I realized that I still don't understand all the valving/plumbing and that REALLY bothers me....but when I dig in I'll be coming here for help!!

 

[thetekgeek]

Welcome Jennifer.

Yes, maintain the pool yourself. You're already SO FAR ahead of the game just by being here and asking questions.

Yes, read through Pool School, but start with the ABC's - ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry - Trouble Free Pool

Then get a test kit. TF100 from tftestkits.net OR the Taylor K2006C. TF100 is the better value because it comes with more of the reagents for the tests you will perform more often. You'll also want the salt test kit added on since you will have a SWG. Speedstir is also a huge help, but not absolutely necessary.

Hang out here often, ask questions as they arise and you'll be a seasoned pro within your first few months of pool ownership.

I started my pool journey with a seasonal above ground pool several years ago and it was awful until I found this site and learned how to maintain the water the correct way. Now, I have a beautiful in-ground pool that has never needed to be "shocked", never had a single chemistry issue and the water feels better than any pool I have ever been in. The folks here are awesome people who truly care about helping others maintain beautiful pools. You won't be sorry, I promise.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jen,

The only purpose for this website is to teach people how to take care of their own pool. If you want to pay someone to ignore your pool, then that is completely up to you..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mrbookmanlibrarycop]

I’m glad to hear you say that because I am kind of a control freak so the thought of someone else maintaining something I just spent so much time and money on? I’m hesitant because you’re right, I know I’ll do a thorough job but it is intimidating because it’s not just the pool being dirty it’s I can mess up the integrity of the pool. And I also don’t want to spend ALL my free time doing it. I feel like 98% of my free time already is taken up with house stuff you know? What did you do first? Read through the pool school?

Yep, I read through the school just to understand the basic maintenance schedule, pool chemistry and how my filter and all the valves work. I just took a half hour here and there just reading, during lunch or whenever I could. And I totally get the house stuff as well! This being my first house, I just had the mindset that the pool is just an extension of the house that needed to be looked after as well. Also, I figured the pool is probably one of the more expensive things to fix should anything happen so I should probably know how it works LOL
It for sure is a bit intimidating at first, but just know that there is virtually no problem that may come up that someone hasn't already experienced here. I've had some of my waterline tiles pop off and I thought my pool was for sure broken. Folks fixed my issue here in minutes.

I'm sure over 90% of the people here had the same feelings you did, but now they are experts with their pools and could tell you everything about it.

Honestly, most of my maintenance time now is spent brushing/vacuuming the pool and dumping chlorine in daily, which you don't have to worry about either of those things. The majority of my time is spent doing cannonballs and seeing how high I can throw my nieces in the deep end!

 

[mrbookmanlibrarycop]

You’re the GUY from my one daughters math questions and the other daughters chemistry ones !!
They both start the same way
‘Oscar has 30 gallons of NaClO’.

Is it bad when after buying the chlorine, the cashier asks how the pool is looking and I answer, "what pool?"

 

[JenniferMarie90]

Welcome Jennifer.

Yes, maintain the pool yourself. You're already SO FAR ahead of the game just by being here and asking questions.

Yes, read through Pool School, but start with the ABC's - ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry - Trouble Free Pool

Then get a test kit. TF100 from tftestkits.net OR the Taylor K2006C. TF100 is the better value because it comes with more of the reagents for the tests you will perform more often. You'll also want the salt test kit added on since you will have a SWG. Speedstir is also a huge help, but not absolutely necessary.

Hang out here often, ask questions as they arise and you'll be a seasoned pro within your first few months of pool ownership.

I started my pool journey with a seasonal above ground pool several years ago and it was awful until I found this site and learned how to maintain the water the correct way. Now, I have a beautiful in-ground pool that has never needed to be "shocked", never had a single chemistry issue and the water feels better than any pool I have ever been in. The folks here are awesome people who truly care about helping others maintain beautiful pools. You won't be sorry, I promise.

I've got the TF100 in my cart right now! They will be doing the gunite next week and then sometime after that, the pebblesheen, which I'm suddenly on the fence about after reading different things on here. I figure one thing out, and another hesitation pops up lol

 

[Newdude]

I figure one thing out, and another hesitation pops up lol

As long as in floor cleaners aren’t what’s gonna pop up....... we can help with the rest. They are 10X the cost and don’t clean half as well as the robot. You are sitting pretty and ahead of the game already.

 

[JenniferMarie90]

I had two friends try to talk me into them but with so much extra piping, cost and complication we opted out and the contractor is adding a robot instead so no worries about that! My contractor isn’t a fan of pebblesheen so I worry how many pools have they actually installed it in because I’m reading installation of it can make it feel more or less rough. I went into my friends pool who have 10 year old pebbletec and I really don’t mind it. I have snagged toes on regular plaster at different times.

 

[Newdude]

I had two friends try to talk me into them but with so much extra piping, cost and complication we opted out and the contractor is adding a robot instead so no worries about that

They lost me at $8k to install. *record scratch* whaaaaaaat ?

 

[SoCal_Pool_Owner]

the contractor is like you REALLY need to be mindful of the chemicals, pH, etc.

But he is only going to check chemistry once a week ??? And add enough chemicals to hopefully last you for 7 days? Sounds like he is advising you against having a service if chemistry is really important ... Honestly, pool maintenance is one of the enjoyable parts of pool ownership for me. It takes about 10 minutes a day to test and add chemicals. And that is during swim season without a SWG. It will be even less for you. Most of the other maintenance you would do anyway like scooping leaves and keeping it clean. The only tough part may be the filter cleaning a few times a year but even that is only intimidating the first time until you figure out how to take the filter apart, put it back together, and have it work when you are done.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I've got the TF100 in my cart right now!

If you haven't finalized the purchase yet, add a Smart Stir to the cart. It will make testing easier and more consistent (and it's kinda fun to use). I basically stirs the test sample for you. It will take you over the free shipping threshold, so you'll save about $12.

 

[JenniferMarie90]

They lost me at $8k to install. *record scratch* whaaaaaaat ?

Yes it was $4500 additional for us! I was like yeah, nah lol