Having your own pool available to take a swim whenever you feel like it is a dream. You don’t have to worry about finding a place to go for fun in the sun or a dip in the water to cool down. Your own backyard becomes the go-to spot for you and all your closest friends.
However, the pleasures of a backyard pool are weighed down by some downsides, the main one being the cost. Even if you are buying a house that already has a pool installed, there are expenses that you just can’t avoid in the maintenance that pools require. Some facts just have to be faced, and one of those is that pool ownership is expensive. That doesn’t keep people from enjoying though, so if you are dead set on having that pool, or if you maybe already own one, how can you avoid yours being an incredibly costly expense?
Why Do Pools Have to Be So Expensive?
To start, we have to really dig in and determine why pools are so expensive in the first place. Well, there’s a lot that goes into them, from the basic factor of the water needed to have something to swim in and all the maintenance tasks that keep that water safe and sanitary to the expensive repairs that are always bound to become needed at some point. All of these various costs add up to a recurring loss to your pocketbook. You’ll hope you’re really getting as much use out of that swimming pool as you can be.
That cost can add up to be thousands of dollars a year to own and enjoy the use of a backyard pool. Of course, for many, the expense is absolutely worth it. Yeah, it can be a lot out of your yearly budget, but if you can afford it and are going to be getting good use out of it, a pool may very well be a good way to spend the money. To still save where you can, take a look at each expense of the pool and work to determine where savings may be hiding.
Water and Electricity
Just keeping the pool filled and operational can cost you. As a homeowner, you understand very well that neither water or electricity is free. It’s probably also not a surprise that pools require both of these utilities. So don’t be surprised if putting that pool to use this summer quickly raises your bills. Just one year of a pool can cost you several hundred more dollars in this department.
There simply isn’t a way around this expense, but it is possible to reduce it through a few techniques. By investing in a pool cover, you can obtain some protection against water loss in your pool. In addition, a variable-speed pump is a more energy-efficient option for your pool that can help cut down the electricity costs.
Regular Maintenance
Many of the expenses of pool ownership really come down to the maintenance tasks that make sure it stays clean. For the sake of every swimmer’s health, maintenance is an absolute essential, but it can be a lot. To save on time and make sure all the tasks get done correctly, a lot of pool owners will pay professionals for these services, costing them hundreds of dollars.
If you decide to do this yourself though, you could end up saving a whole lot. While taking on the maintenance tasks will require a significant time investment, most pool owners can easily pick up the tasks. These include skimming, brushing the walls, vacuuming, and using chemicals.
Chlorine and Other Chemical Costs
Those chemicals that are much needed for upholding the pool’s cleanliness will also cost you, of course. Managing sanitation of pool water requires constant monitoring to keep up the delicate balance. You will need to test the water routinely for pH, chlorine levels, and other aspects of the chemistry. Too high levels of pH will require adding muriatic acid and too low means having to add in soda ash. It is also important to ensure sufficient levels of chlorine, by continually purchasing and adding in more with a traditionally chlorinated pool.
The expense of all these chemicals can be reduced by buying in bulk and heading to the store at the end of pool season when you can expect sales. You may also want to reconsider the way your pool is chlorinated altogether. Chlorine is one area where you can really save if you choose a salt water pool. Then, you will only have to pay the cheaper price of salt instead of the high price for chlorine.
The Expenses of a Salt Water Pool
A salt water pool won’t eliminate the financial issues of pool ownership altogether, but it does offer many advantages. While the cost of a salt water pool chlorine generator and the salt it takes to make it work is added, one advantage is that these items can cost you a lot less than all the chlorine you’d otherwise have to purchase. Do your research on the pros and cons of a salt water pool before committing to your decision, but do keep in mind that this is one way to potentially avoid high costs.
When Repairs Are Needed
Regardless of which kind of pool you end up with in your backyard, a needed repair is always inevitable. At some point, something will break and a replacement part will need to be paid for. On occasion, a problem with the pool will be too much for any owner to handle on their own, and a repair professional will need to be called in and their services will need to be paid for.
Taking care of repairs yourself may seem like an evident cost-saving solution to repairs, but it just isn’t always possible to DIY it. In fact, if your efforts go wrong, you may just end up causing a bigger mess and higher cost for yourself. Instead, your best bet to reduce repair costs is to really invest in the maintenance tasks. With regular maintenance, you’re much less likely to end up losing too much money to repairs.
Cost-Effective Pool Ownership
It may not be cheap to own a pool, but if your backyard pool is an essential part of your dream home, there are ways to make it work. You can have your beautiful backyard summer days in the pool. With some careful planning, you can keep this dream of a pool from being too much of a costly expense.
