Help. What's the easiest way to care for a "never going to be used again" pool?

[Flot]

Short version: Parents in their late 70s. Dad stopped taking care of the pool ~10 years ago, let it become a swamp, we got it under control over a period of months and hundreds of dollars, and are now on the 6th or 7th "professional" pool service. Going rate is now $125 a month, and the last guy just quit because it was too much work. In retrospect I should have let dad fill it in with dirt 10 years ago, although there are legitimate reasons not to. (like grandfathered in zoning and lot placement)

Pool is in SW Florida so it's hot year around. Uncaged with trees that drop small leaves around and into it. Equipment is a single speed pump and a cartridge filter. Pump runs 10 hours a day. Plumbing is in poor shape and we've patched a few leaks.

No one is ever going to intentionally swim in this pool ever again. I am fine with doing anything possible to the water to keep it marginally clear, as long as it won't literally dissolve a body if someone were to fall in.

In addition to finding another pool "professional" what can I do to simplify maintenance? Although he truly isn't, my dad has declared himself physically incapable of doing anything other than looking out the back window and possibly calling one of us kids if the pool is dark green. I have learned that we get the call somewhere around day 10, which is when mom will usually admit that she is looking for a new pool guy.

I thought about SWG but I feel like that's a whole new can of worms of potential problems and things to monitor. I thought about an auto chlorine dosing system but again - not sure how "set and forget" that can be. This is definitely money down the drain, so looking for creative solutions that a somewhat disinterested pool service can keep going.

 

[mknauss]

How often can someone be there to test? How much does water cost?

 

[dfwnoob]

I'd say all of it probably depends on how much work you're willing to put into it and what exactly needs to be done (pictures would be great). Do you live close by your folks?

I don't know how Florida is, but in Texas real estate disclosures have a specific checkbox for "there was once a pool here but now it's filled in". So I'm not sure what home value impacts that may have down the line. Or if it would be worth less than a house with a swamp in the backyard. If all of the equipment and the plaster is truly trashed, this would be a hard decision, especially since it's not at your house.

All of that being said, a SWCG would certainly simplify the pool care here, but it does take a little time to get things levelled out and some testing still needs to be done a couple of times a week. A robot would help with the leaves and twigs that fall into the pool, but they're pricey. If it were my own pool, it would be a no brainer to fix it. But for aging parents, that's a tough one.

 

[ajw22]

Put a solid cover on the pool and close the pool. Turn off all the equipment. Let the water go green under the cover. Check the water level every few months and top it off.

That preserves the pool for a future homeowner. The water can be cleared and probably the pool replastered at a future time.

 

[Flot]

Sorry for the late reply, let me try to answer some of the above:

- How often can someone be there to test? Well, at $125/month, it seems we can count on someone showing up 2x a month, maybe. Are they testing the water? Honestly I doubt it. At this point I'm happy if they vac out the worst of the leaves, dump in a few gallons of chlorine, and don't break any of the equipment.
- How much does water cost? That's an interesting question - I don't know but it's not cheap, the few times "there was a leak" their water bill was $200-300 with my dad throwing the hose in the pool every few days.
- I don't live near my folks (3 hour drive) and typically am only there 2-3x a year. Let me tell you how much fun it is to take a long weekend off, pay $1000 for a hotel, and find out that I'm spending the day doing pool maintenance.

Covering the pool is an interesting idea but I really can't imagine how that wouldn't turn into an actual biohazard situation with florida heat? I'm open to the suggestion although it feels a bit wrong.

I'm really just looking for a way to minimize the work the apparently disinterested pool companies will have to do to keep it looking okay and not actually turn someone into the joker if they were to fall in. As of right now the pool is in "I wouldn't swim in it" condition but nothing is actually living in there. I'm not trying to return the pool to pristine blue - I'm trying to maintain it at not-a-complete-eyesore levels.

PS: Current pool guy quit and acknowledged that we paid him through end of July. It's now July 23 and he's been a no-show all month, but has told me by email that he's been out twice. Dad currently dropping in a bag of chlorine shock every 5-7 days, but he's putting that effort in on a short term basis.