Anyone have a pool?

I am about to start the paper work on renting a house with a pool. Just wondering what im getting my self into as far as bills go, and maintenance. The only thing that comes with the pool, is a self cleaner.


Thanks.

Ryanh1801 said:

I am about to start the paper work on renting a house with a pool. Just wondering what im getting my self into as far as bills go, and maintenance. The only thing that comes with the pool, is a self cleaner.

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A lot of it depends upon your weather and surroundings...warm weather, lots of trees and high winds all increase maintenance requirements. I've got all three.

I probably spend about 4-8 hours a week on cleaning and other pool chores, and around $600 annually on chemicals and miscellaneous parts & equipment. The automatic cleaner does help, but it needs to be maintained and adjusted too. Actually, a few weeks back I had to drop over a grand on a new pump and new filter grid elements, but they should now last many years.

If you stay on top of things it's not so bad, but if you get busy and let the pool go awhile, you're looking at hours and hours of work and lots of money to get it cleaned up again. Either way, it's definitely a lot of work. It's comparable to keeping and maintaining a second car...an old, worn out car! I'm fed up with it, and am on the verge of hiring a pool man. All the work is cutting into my brewing time!

If you're renting then you dont need to worry about mechanical replacement. I think the pump costs my parents about $30 a month in electricity and they run it about 12 hours a day.
If you have a heater for the pool that thing can jack the hell out of your electric or water bill. My friend has a 15kW unit and it takes a full day to move the water up 5 deg F. Thats $37 bucks worth of electricity for one day!

yes all mechanical maintenance is covered. It is not heated that I know of, but I will ask. 30 bucks is not bad at all. I think 4-8 hours is do able. Do you order your chemicals online or do you just get them locally? Im hoping the owner will go over some of the basic stuff that needs to be done. luckily the pool area has no trees and is either concrete or deck, no grass.

They require some work but
https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=8957&cat=all&ppuser=10883




well worth it

You might want to talk to your insurance agent about renting a house with a pool...just so there isn't any sticker shock.

As long as there is no Diving board the insurance is not bad

No diving board. I have never had renter insurance, and this place has not said anything about needing it.

Renters insurance is good to have, even if you don't require it. If something catastrophic were to happen to the place you live in, the regular homeowner's insurance only covers the structure itself and that money goes to the landlord. It does NOT cover your belongings. So unless you have renters insurance if the place went up in flames your possessions are gone with no monetary compensation.

Dude, get renter's insurance. I paid 20 bucks/month at my last place....and that even covered my computer if it crashed from a virus......as well as my furniture if it were indelibly stained (like by a spilled bucket of paint), as well as a lot of other things you might never consider....

Pools become more work the less you use them. If you use it often it keeps the water moving and makes it pretty easy to keep clean with a few hours of work. If you don't use it for weeks at a time it can be pretty tough to keep everything clean.

Liquidicem said:

Pools become more work the less you use them. If you use it often it keeps the water moving and makes it pretty easy to keep clean with a few hours of work. If you don't use it for weeks at a time it can be pretty tough to keep everything clean.

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I think it's the opposite...more people in the pool directly translates to a bigger load on your water chemistry and filtration system. Dirt, sweat, hair, body oils, suntan lotion...all of that stuff contributes to the problem and must be dealt with. If you've got little kids swimming, odds are good that "other" bodily fluids are finding their way into your pool as well.

I usually need to shock my water after a busy weekend of pool parties...until I do, it lacks clarity and "sparkle." Your pump should do a more than adequate job of keeping the water recirculating. But it's up to the owner to keep the chlorine and pH levels where they belong, the filter & leaf traps well maintained and the pool itself clear of organic debris...do those three things, and you're in good shape.

Probably $20-$40 per month avg in chemicals in the summer months. When its cool outside your not going thru boatloads of chlorine but in summer you'll be going thru a lot. The water bill there will probaby also be larger than you expected but evap out here is big. You could look into a chem pool service which is usually $30 a mo but they primarily are just dumping in chlorine. Clarifiers and PH management is also important and they usually don't do that or charge extra $ if needed.

I got a good cleaning system (hayward pool vac) so my manual labor is minimal. Maybe 1-2h a week. All depends on size and enviro as mentioned though. Mines a beast at 23k gallons.

ScubaSteve said:

Dude, get renter's insurance. I paid 20 bucks/month at my last place....and that even covered my computer if it crashed from a virus......as well as my furniture if it were indelibly stained (like by a spilled bucket of paint), as well as a lot of other things you might never consider....

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Renters insurance is a must. I pay $150 for a year for $30,000 coverage. And like scubasteve said, it usually covers things that you don't think of, mine covers damage I may do somewhere away from my house, like knocking over a friends TV and breaking it. My renters insurance covers it! The cost is minimal and the benefits great, if you end up needing it.

+1 for renter's insurance. When I was renting, I used to pay $110 per year for 35k in coverage. I'll pay $9.17 per month for the peace of mind...

I don't know much about the cost. My parents bought a house with an inground pool when I was 6 so guess who got to do a lot of the cleaning. Got a few tips

Get a timer for the pump and run it at night only cut down electricity costs. This is extra helpful if there's a chlorine dispenser on the pump. Sunlight breaks down chlorine so adding it at high noon is a waste of chemicals. Also take your chem tests early in the morning, that'll give you a decent reading, if you take it late in the day it'll read a lot lower than at early morning.

Also be mindful when messing with the chemicals, a little bit of water on a chlorine tab will create a lot of gas and it BURNS. I went to the army surplus store and got a gas mask after my first lung full of the stuff, though my sinuses stayed clear for about 3 days. I highly recommend this if you ever have to take the cap off a full chlorine dispenser to fix a leak.

Also brake fluid + chlorine = fire.

FWIW I'll probably never own a pool myself. If I do ever end up with a house with one, it'll probably get filled with dirt and turned into a nice flowerbed/greenhouse.

DesertBrew said:

Probably $20-$40 per month avg in chemicals in the summer months.

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BlindLemonLars said:

I usually need to shock my water after a busy weekend of pool parties...until I do, it lacks clarity and "sparkle." Your pump should do a more than adequate job of keeping the water recirculating. But it's up to the owner to keep the chlorine and pH levels where they belong, the filter & leaf traps well maintained and the pool itself clear of organic debris...do those three things, and you're in good shape.

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Upgrade to saline (chlorine generation) and shocking the pool means pushing a button. In the winter I dial the chlorine down, in the summer I dial it up. I haven't added (or bought) anything but salt since I built my pool 2 years ago.

For those unfamiliar, you're probably thinking what I did when it was suggested. Who the heck wants a salt water pool?!? If so, you gotta try one. it's not "salt water", it's water with some salt in it.. It's about as salinated as a tear or the saline solution you squirt in your eyes.

Ryanh1801 said:

Im hoping the owner will go over some of the basic stuff that needs to be done. luckily the pool area has no trees and is either concrete or deck, no grass.

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I would be concerned if he DOESN'T go over everything in detail with you, if you are expected to care for it. If not and you funk it up, he'll be looking at thousands of $ of repairs when you move out. I'm amazed that anyone would rent a house with a pool and not have a pool service. I think it's too much responsibility for a renter to assume.

pldoolittle said:

Upgrade to saline (chlorine generation) and shocking the pool means pushing a button. In the winter I dial the chlorine down, in the summer I dial it up. I haven't added (or bought) anything but salt since I built my pool 2 years ago.

For those unfamiliar, you're probably thinking what I did when it was suggested. Who the heck wants a salt water pool?!? If so, you gotta try one. it's not "salt water", it's water with some salt in it.. It's about as salinated as a tear or the saline solution you squirt in your eyes.

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I heard that but have been too lazy to investigate. Do pool supply stores like to "promote" this? I.e. cut into their chem profits I'd assume. Got a site to share?

BigNick73 said:

Also brake fluid + chlorine = fire.

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Sounds like you may have a story to share?

DesertBrew said:

Sounds like you may have a story to share?

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Nothing spectacular. I was at some party just after high school and a kid from the local Math and Science school was making coke bottle rockets by putting a little bit of brake fluid in the bottle and then using some paper making a bowl for a little bit of chlorine, screwing the top on and propping it up side down. Well the brake fluid would soak through the paper and it'd react and launch the bottle about 30ft with a small flame and a pop.

Well me and some friends made some that were more akin to Molotov Cocktails which when exploded on water the brake fluid floats and burns and it looks really neat.

pldoolittle said:

Upgrade to saline (chlorine generation) and shocking the pool means pushing a button. In the winter I dial the chlorine down, in the summer I dial it up. I haven't added (or bought) anything but salt since I built my pool 2 years ago.

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A co-worker/friend of mine has such a system, and he raves about it. I can't justify the initial expense right now, but I'm planning to refurb the pool in a few years and I'll look into it then.

Thanks for all the info guys.. We are still negotiating out the details on the house, and our relater is trying to get the chemicals provided by the owner.. We did find out the owner's relater will go over everything needed to do with the pool, the person that owns the house does not even live in Texas anymore.

Ill look into renters insurance, although in my 4 years living on my own I have not needed it yet.

The saline system will pay for itself pretty quickly.

I dump in 5 or 6 bags of salt from Lowes at the beginning of the season and that's it.

And the water is silky soft.

BierMuncher said:

The saline system will pay for itself pretty quickly.

I dump in 5 or 6 bags of salt from Lowes at the beginning of the season and that's it.

And the water is silky soft.

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You must have kids (splashing water out of the pool).
I've never had to add salt in over 3 years.

olllllo said:

You must have kids (splashing water out of the pool).
I've never had to add salt in over 3 years.

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That and I'm a clean fiend. I vacuum pretty often and like to do back washes to keep the sand filter cleaned out.

Yes, the backwash.

I have the removable filters and the pop ups so there you go, No backwash, no vacuuming.
My water is alkaline. So I'm always adding acid.

I had a pool in CA and built one when we moved to TN. I wish I had gotten the saline chlorination system. I'll have to add it at some point in the future.

I had a pool company when we lived in CA but have been doing all the maintenance with the new pool.

Find a local pool shop and take them a water sample every few weeks at first. They'll test it for you and tell you what you need to do to adjust the water. Once you start getting an idea of how often to add chemicals and such, it's pretty easy. I usually add 3 tablets a week into the pool during the warm months. I'll shock it about once a month or after a busy weekend. Add algicide in every other week and your good.

I probably spend $500 a year on chemicals. I don't have many trees around the pool, so my auto cleaner does a pretty good job. All in all, I probably only spend 10 minutes a week on upkeep.

Ryanh1801 said:

Ill look into renters insurance, although in my 4 years living on my own I have not needed it yet.

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YET.... Just like car insurance never need it till you do. Get the insurance just for peace of mind The first person they sue is YOU after they get everything they can its the landlords turn in the hot seat. It shouldn't be all that much average here is 200 a year.


I had an above ground pool for several years when the kids were young but I took it down a few years ago. It was to much hassle for the amount we used it...And I needed room for my new garage

DesertBrew said:

I heard that but have been too lazy to investigate. Do pool supply stores like to "promote" this? I.e. cut into their chem profits I'd assume. Got a site to share?

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I don't know. Ours has one on display, but since we have one it's kind of pointless to push it. I would think the would sell it. It is an expensive upgrade ($1500-1800) and makes for very happy pool owners. Happy pool owners tell others who are more likely to become customers as well.

This isn't a bad site:
http://phoenix.about.com/cs/wet/a/saltpool01.htm

jdoiv said:

I probably spend $500 a year on chemicals.

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Upgrade to saline. I probably spend $50/yr on salt.

Keep the wife away from the pool boy. I've seen a LOT of documentaries about what happens...

DesertBrew said:

I heard that but have been too lazy to investigate. Do pool supply stores like to "promote" this? I.e. cut into their chem profits I'd assume. Got a site to share?

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My Dad has had a pool for 31 years...basic chlorine set up.

He came to visit last year (our first year for the new pool). When he swam in the water and checked out the hands-free salt system, he wnet straight back home and upgraded to the saline system.

It is AMAZING...the difference.

One other plus...we can leave town for two weeks and have no worries about the water. We can return home and jump straight into the pool.

BierMuncher said:

One other plus...we can leave town for two weeks and have no worries about the water. We can return home and jump straight into the pool.

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Yep. I take the water in before just before the season opens (we don't close our pool), and they tell me it's fine. (after 3 months without anything but leaf removal). Oh wait, this year I had to add 10# of hardness up because we've had a lot of rain and I've pumped it down about once a week.

If you want to spend more time playing in your pool and less time working on your pool, make the switch.

Thanks for the saline tip. I'm gonna get some quotes.