Buying a home with a pool brings the luxury of a resort or club right to your own backyard. Imagine sunning yourself by the side of the pool, then taking a quick dip to cool off – it’s a vacation every day. While the fantasy of owning a pool appears ideal, the reality is that owning a pool requires a lot of work. More than you probably anticipated when the moving company started unloading boxes into your new home. If you never owned a pool before, read below for pool maintenance pointers.
Daily Pool Care
Some daily pool maintenance is self-explanatory like putting pool toys away and sweeping around the pool’s exterior. Other jobs like skimming the pool should be done often, says How Stuff Works, to keep it clean, and strainer baskets should be emptied, too. Jobs like vacuuming the pool, brushing the walls, checking the water, PH and chlorine levels as well as looking for leaks should be done on a weekly basis. Add baking soda into your pool to maintain the sparkle.
Safety and Security
If you don’t already have fencing around your pool or the fence needs repairs or replacing, you must install a proper fence with a locking gate immediately in case any animals or small children wander into your backyard and visit the pool area. Go over pool rules with your children and any guests you host, children and adults alike, so there’s less chance of an unfortunate accident happening and everyone is aware of your expectations like no food while in the pool, for example. Either way, you must remember that your homeowner’s insurance fees will rise with the addition of a pool to your property. Energy bills will also increase, so be aware of this fact.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Consistent upkeep of your pool will increase your enjoyment, so monitor your pool for cracks, check the pool filter, test the water for proper levels and keep bugs away from your pool area by planting lemongrass which contains citronella, for instance, suggests Trulia. Trulia also recommends putting tennis balls in the pool which will absorb oil from things like sunscreen. Once pool season is over if you live in a cooler climate, you will need to winterize your pool by tending to the following issues, says How Stuff Works, including “disconnect[ing] the heater, pump and chemical feeders,” cleaning the entire pool and then “superchlorinating” it. If you complete all these tasks and remember to cover the pool, your pool is ready to close. When the long winter is over, give yourself a few days to prepare the pool for the next season because everything that you unplugged must be restarted, and the cycle begins again.
Hiring a Pool Person
If the thought of all this work beyond checking pool levels and removing debris from in and around the pool overwhelms you more than all the work that the moving company performed for you, hire a pool person and/or company to open your pool and provide periodic maintenance. Although the expense may be greater than if you tended to the maintenance yourself, you may not have the time or expertise to follow through with it. Companies specializing in pool maintenance will know right away if your pool is in good shape or needs repairs or a chemical adjustment to the water.
