Thinking about buying house with pool in Arizona. Do I have to get it cleaned all yr?

[BlueSteel]

Just wondering what the typical amount of maintenance will be. For about 5 months I'd think I wouldn't be able to use it.. so I'm not really sure what people do during that time in Az with pools?

Any advice would be great, thanks.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

In our climate, we do not really close the pool. It just gets too cold to want to swim in it. You still need to maintain the chemistry just like you would in the summer, although the chlorine loss is much less in the winter.

Regarding the "typical amount of maintenance", it depends. If you spend enough time on the forum learning, most members spend less than 5 minutes per day to maintain the chemistry. Then you will also need to clean the pool as required (depends on your debris load).

The TFPC method we teach is really just about understanding your pool’s chemistry and through accurate testing, adding only what the pool NEEDS and not what someone wants to sell you.

I suggest you take a look at the articles in Pool School starting with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[BlueSteel]

Thank you , 6 minutes to reply! I appreciate it, looks like I have some reading to do.

 

[jblizzle]

No problem. There is a LOT to learn by reading Pool School and the various forum posts. As always, feel free to ask questions as they come up.

 

[BuckeyeChris]

Welcome to TFP!!!

In our climate, we do not really close the pool. It just gets too cold to want to swim in it. You still need to maintain the chemistry just like you would in the summer, although the chlorine loss is much less in the winter.

Regarding the "typical amount of maintenance", it depends. If you spend enough time on the forum learning, most members spend less than 5 minutes per day to maintain the chemistry. Then you will also need to clean the pool as required (depends on your debris load).

The TFPC method we teach is really just about understanding your pool’s chemistry and through accurate testing, adding only what the pool NEEDS and not what someone wants to sell you.

I suggest you take a look at the articles in Pool School starting with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

In the pool math calculator, leaving all fields untouched but just changing the water temp, the chlorine recommendation doesn't change. It seems that for the pool temp field, it doesn't matter what you put. Since pools use "much less" in the winter, and "much more" in the summer, how do I know what water temp the pool math calculator is using?

I was hoping it would give me a different chlorine demand at 60 F than 100F, but it doesn't. It makes it look like the amount needed is the same year-round.

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Welcome to the forum Bluesteel

If you have a cover on a reel it helps with keeping dirt out and chemical in and rolls up pretty easy depending on your pools shape. Mine is a pain because of the angled part but it does do a great job of keeping heat in (much needed here) and dirt out.

 

[jblizzle]

In the pool math calculator, leaving all fields untouched but just changing the water temp, the chlorine recommendation doesn't change. It seems that for the pool temp field, it doesn't matter what you put. Since pools use "much less" in the winter, and "much more" in the summer, how do I know what water temp the pool math calculator is using?

I was hoping it would give me a different chlorine demand at 60 F than 100F, but it doesn't. It makes it look like the amount needed is the same year-round.

You are misunderstanding the way PoolMath works. It just tells you how much chlorine to add to get from the "Now" number you entered to the "Target" number that you entered. That amount is chemistry and has nothing to do with temperature. You will need to maintain the same FC target levels all the time. But, when the water is colder and the sun is less intense, the FC level will drop slower than in the summer.

The temp in PoolMath just affects the CSI calculation.

 

[swoopman]

The FC level at which a pool is kept is dependent on how much CYA (stabilizer) is in the water. Changing the temperature won't change the FC level needed for the pool. What does change is that with lower sun angle, shorter amount of sun, lower temps and low/no bather load the cholorine/bleach that is added to the pool will last longer (not be consumed as fast) so you don't use as much to maintain the same FC level at lower temps.

 

[BuckeyeChris]

yeah, ok I see where my thinking got tripped up.