Swimming Pool Advice Needed
 

I have a swimming pool and would like to know how often I should have it serviced. Right now, it's being done weekly and its very expensive. I'm the only one that uses it. Any recommendations on how often and typical cost to have it serviced.

During summer months, once a week. Winter, every other week.

Once a week and have them teach you how to empty the Skimmer bucket…. You are one of the Lucky ones!

Have you watched what they do on a service call. Think you could do that?
It’s really not rocket science……

OP, what do you consider very expensive, I believe the pool service I use for our spa charges around $120/month for a pool, the spa is $60 a month.

Our pool used to be $120 per month but it has steadily gone up over the last couple years. Most services now charge between $150 - $160. Their cost for labor and fuel has gone up, but their biggest price increase is the cost of chlorine tablets for a non salt water pool and stabilizer for a salt water pool. By far the largest domestic producer of chlorine and stabilizer was a plant in Texas that burned down. Most of the remaining supply of those products comes from, you guessed it, China. If we were full timers I would definitely do the service myself, it’s not rocket science. Unfortunately, being a part timer, we have to hire a service company or our pool would quickly become a swamp during the hotter months.

Once a week is usually the package choice. Not sure if it's the only option. Anyhow, once a week works for me.

My son does his own.
Punch-a-penny taste his water for free with occasional purchase.
He claims the cost of pool maintenace in a joke

Pool: n. A hole in your yard you throw money into.

It's a joke, it is only a joke

He is right!

Shadow the pool cleaning service. Ask questions and take notes. Review the notes and type up instructions for yourself. Print the instructions. The next time the pool service comes, ask them to review your instructions. Make any needed changes. Search on-line for cheapest chemicals. Now, subtracting the cost of the supplies (chemicals, test-strips, etc.), calculate your savings. If the savings aren't that much, then ask yourself if a home without the hassle of a pool would be better for you.

Step by step videos available on YouTube

We had a pool in NJ. I did not want one in the Villages. The cost in time and money wasn't worth it. TV has plenty of pools that appear to be well-maintained. A pool is a hole in the ground you pour money into.

I have a cover on my pool that looks like transparent light blue bubble wrap. It costs about $300 and lasts in our intense sunshine about 18 months. I have a salt water pool. My pool guy says it really does prevent a lot of chlorine loss and water loss. Before I had it, water had to be added every week. Since then, hardly any water has been added, and chemical use is way down.

I pay $2,000 for the year for full weekly pool cleaning and and all the chemicals. In the couple years I’ve owned the house, repairs to the pool system have added a good $1,000 a year. If you have a birdcage and a pool cover like I have, probably bi-weekly would be okay, or you could even do it yourself. But you probably won’t be able to do repairs by yourself. The man from whom I bought my house cleaned the pool himself for twenty years.

All pools are high maintenance.Our pool guy said pools are holes in the ground into which you put money. Equipment has a finite life span. Scale from Florida water develops on the side of the pool, water chemistry is fussy. We do once a week, T&D. pool and spa. 155/month. There's a lot to know and if you don't, your pool chemistry can go bad very fast. Over a long time, we had rust stains in the pool from the Villages water. Difficult to remove, easy to prevent. If you want to see how complicated self-pool care can get, go to troublefreepool.com You'll see that pool care can very complicated. Good luck if you do it yourself.