Hi
Thinking to rent a house with a pool for kids to play in. Does anyone know how much are the additional costs related to maintaining a pool?
Many thanks
How Much Does It Cost to Maintain a Pool?
wei13 on 27/07/2020 - 17:51
Comments
Not much if it's a saltwater pool with working chlorinator.
That's not very common in a house though right?
Yes very common. I've had a few. Had an approx 50k l pool and it cost hardly anything to keep nice.
Well mine is a saltwater pool with a working chlorinator and I wouldn't say it's a super cheap thing to run. There is much more to a pool's chemistry than just salt and chlorine, you know?
I do know obviously. If you aren't paying for endless chlorine, the other things are cheap, and easy to keep in check.
Cool, just ensuring we are on the same page mate.
For the OP's benefit:
Hydrochloric Acid
Chlorine (yes, even with a saltwater pool, you'll need to add chlorine occasionally to perform a "shock")
Cyanuric Acid
Alkalinity
Phosphate neutraliser
Calcium
Algaecide (can be controlled by keeping everything in balance though)Probably forgetting some too…
@akyeeeahdude: You don't need algaecide if you don't let your pool go. You may not need calcium depending on the water where you live. At any rate, chemicals are cheap, and last for ages.
@brendanm: I'm probably just over thinking it because of the logbook I need to keep to maintain the warranty on my pool. If you don't care, then yeah, probably you don't need to do much.
@akyeeeahdude: Nothing wrong with caring, most of the things don't need constant adjustment is all. Once you have it dialled in, it's just small adjustments.
Once rented a house with a leaking pool and screeching filter pump.
Really hurt paying that extra $200/quarter for water when essentially a waste of money.
Chemicals etc weren't a big deal but we rarely had large numbers of people using it.Overall totally worth it. Loved being able to have a swim.
I've got a saltwater pool - it needs practically no attention or work. The odd testing of the water by the pool shop (free), and I think it's cost me less than $150 in chemicals for a 12 month period (and the pool shop tells me exactly what is needed to put in).
Best thing you can do is buy a robotic cleaner as well, makes it need nearly no work. I have a cover but don't bother with it (as I don't want the hassle of taking a cover off if I only want to have a quick splash for 5 mins).
As a renter fortunately you won't be the one to pay when the equipment fails, as that can be expensive.
Electricity to run the pump is probably the biggest ongoing cost. If you rent a house with a pool AND solar, you'll be sweet.
50,000 lt magnesium salt pool per annun
2 bags of magnesium salt $50
Acid - maybe 10 lt $30First question that comes to mind is that of climate. Where are you located?
Good point - it probably costs me more to run my pool in Brisbane then say in Melbourne. Due to the higher average water temp.
This sentence would make a lot more sense if you knew the difference between then and than. While the evaporative costs might be more in Brisbane than Melbourne (across the year, because Melbourne has much higher peak temperatures than Brisbane, but Brisbane has a much higher avg. temp, especially in winter), the heating costs in Melbourne, if using gas, are way higher.
I have an average ~40,000 litre pool (salt water + chlorinator), I usually get the water tested once a month at my local pool shop, the chemical balance is pretty forgiving, and doesn’t really require much… just the usual salt, bicarb, stabiliser and a bit of acid. Doesn’t cost too much, hard to estimate, because I can go months without needing anything and then boom, 3 bags (3x20kg) of salt, 2 bags (2x2kg) of bicarb and 1 bag of stabiliser (1x2kg)… can’t remember cost, but less than $100.
Leaves can be a pain. I try to empty the skimmer box basket once a week. Pool pump basket maybe once a month. Creepy crawly when ever.
It can get costly when things die, but I’m guessing that will be the landlords problem
What about power? Im in SA so power is more of a concern LOL but dont the pumps use a lot?
I've got a plug in power meter in currently. I checked it yesterday and it showed 20kWh after 17 days. Main pump running at 1800rpm for 7hrs per day and heat pump only cycling in winter mode, basically just a three minute flush out (black tubing on the roof)
.You can get variable speed pumps. Pump low and slow is quite efficient for the day to day circulation, and switch to high speed for vacuuming/backwashing etc. I replaced the 1.5HP pump in mine with a variable and cut the power use by more than half.
How many speeds do you have on the pump? Was it expensive… is low speed quieter?
I was thinking of getting a more efficient pump and hopefully a quieter pump, but the current single speed pump is still chugging along. Seems like a waste to swap out a working pump.
Mine is just 2 speed. About 400 watts on low and 1500 on high. I did the calcs at the time and worked out it was less than 2 years payback period to go for it at about $800. Flow is still strong @ 400w.
This is very rough but 1.5kWx10 hours per day x 200 days use p.a. x 25c/kWh = $750p.a. so energy efficient pump can make a difference.
Low speed is almost silent
My salt water pool represents a swap at the moment.. I just maintain the calcium levels & haven't done much in the way of maintenance for over 2 years.. This summer coming I will pool out all the chemicals and stuff and get it looking good.
Depends on the size. I've got a 25 000L pool and it's not too bad. By far the biggest chemical it likes to munch is hydrochloric acid (needed to lower the PH) but thankfully that's not too expensive. In Brisbane, it definitely needs weekly in-depth attention and looking after 4 months of the year - as soon as the water temp rises, that's when issues can pop up. I'd hate to have to look after a 50 000L+ pool as I suspect that would get costly in mid summer.