Maintaining your luxury item without the luxury price tag
There’s no doubt about it – swimming pools and swimming pool upkeep and maintenance are expensive. Pools are luxury items that often come with luxurious price tags. So what do you do if you are someone who wants the luxury of owning their own pool, but may not have the spare budget for the upkeep and maintenance? There are in fact many ways you can save on swimming pool upkeep and maintenance costs. With just a little (or no) money upfront, you can save quite a bit down the road. However, just like sticking to a diet, saving money on pool maintenance does require day-to-day discipline and sometimes a little more elbow grease. The more consistent you are about keeping your pool maintenance costs down, the more successful you are likely to be.
So if you are one of those folks who wants to roll up their sleeves and do the work to save a little extra dough and ease up on their wallet, here are our 8 tips to save on swimming pool costs:
Use a pool cover
Perhaps the simplest but most effective thing you can do to save money on your pool is to keep it covered with a pool cover. A pool cover is a relatively small investment that can potentially pay for itself many times over in reduced energy costs. By slowing down the rate of evaporation, a cover keeps your pool naturally warmer so your heater (if you have one) doesn’t have to work as hard. For more energy savings, a solar pool cover can provide heat to the pool from the sun’s rays and help prevent evaporation. Preventing evaporation is also incredibly helpful so you don’t have the added cost of adding more water and chemicals to your pool throughout the season.
Check pool chemistry often
Checking your pool chemistry often will help you catch any chemical imbalances, and the quicker you catch any chemical imbalances, the easier it is to address. If you don’t maintain proper chemical balance, you could find yourself facing an algae problem that will be much more expensive to fix in the long run. Keep in mind that many of the chemicals for sale in pool and spa stores are something that you would add to your pool once a problem has developed. If you are proactive with caring for your pool’s chemistry, then you can probably avoid using (and buying) vast majority of these chemicals completely.
Use an energy efficient pump
Don’t make the mistake that so many homeowners do and shut down your pool pump to save energy and utility costs. The truth is, you need to run the pump at least eight hours per day to keep the water circulating adequately and to prevent it from becoming stagnant. Stagnant water encourages the growth of bacteria and attracts pests. Shutting the pump off does not save energy costs, as turning it on and off repeatedly can waste power. A better option is to invest in a timer for your pump and the best option is to install a variable speed pump. Although the upfront cost is higher than a single speed pump, variable speed pumps save you money in the long run by reducing your energy costs up to 90%. Not to mention, many municipalities and states offer utility rebates now for switching to variable speed pumps which can further offset the initial cost.
Only use filter when necessary
Many pool owners choose to run their pool filter 24 hours a day, but why? You know when your pool is in use most often, which should give you a time frame of when your filter should be used to keep your pool clean. Using the filter less will use less energy and therefore reduce your utility costs. Check with your electric company to see if you can save money by running it less during non-peak hours. Just be sure to run the pump enough each day for proper water turnover and not just shut it off completely.
Buy pool chemicals in bulk
Pool suppliers usually offer spring startup specials at the beginning of the season or discounts on discontinued products at the end of the season. Buying your chemicals on sale and in bulk is an easy way to save money since you’ll be using them all year long.
Perform pool maintenance in evening
Adding pool chemicals at night can be beneficial so they don’t burn off under the heat of the midday sun. Also running the pool pump and filter at night can allow you to take advantage of off-peak utility rates which can be substantial. Contact your local utility company to see what special rates might be available in the evening hours.
Lower the heater temperature
Pool heaters are a wonderful luxury that facilitate cool evening swims or can help extend the swimming season. But there is a paid premium for every degree you raise your pool’s water temperature. You can save a lot of money by keeping your pool as (comfortably) cool as possible. Keep the heat down when you pool is not in use and try a solar heater or solar cover to help maintain the added heat from the sun’s rays.
Use automatic or robotic pool cleaners
These self-contained, electronic units can clean an entire swimming pool faster than you. Even better, robotic pool cleaners drive around the pool, climbing up walls and stairs and collecting all kinds of debris on their own. Their filter bags also filter the water, so if you run the robotic cleaner while the filter and pump aren’t running, you can save money while keeping your pool clean. It costs much less to run a small pool cleaner than it does to run your filtration system.
We hope these easy tips will help you keep your pool healthy and ready for action, but also keep your maintenance costs to a minimum. You deserve to enjoy all the perks of pool ownership and keep your wallet happy this swimming season!