Owning a pool comes with its own share of positive and negative surprises. For example, one day, you could be relaxing in your pool, while on the other, you may have to scrub all the tiles and replace the water because of the dirt build-up. While it certainly is possible to rely on an expensive monthly pool cleaning service, there are better and more affordable options out there as well, such as hiring a local pool contractor when needed. Let’s explore some of them in detail:
The Best Pool Maintenance Hacks to Save You Money
Simply mix baking soda with water, and you can use it as a great substitute for expensive tile scrubbing solutions. Moreover, if you’re simply trying to clean a few spots here and there on your tiles, then you can even do it with a toothbrush. Using baking soda often can help subside algae growth in your pool and save you from the trouble of having to remove it in the future.
If you swim with sunscreen on, you may have already noticed oily spots in the pool water. This also occurs due to the natural oils from our skin, and since it does not mix with water, it does not get filtered either. Fortunately, tennis balls have highly absorbent wool and nylon that can absorb these oils overnight.
Metal stains are some of the toughest stains a pool owner can encounter. Luckily, Vitamin C excels at removing them from your pool corners. You can simply place a few vitamin c tablets or even lemon slices in a cloth and use it to scrub the parts of your pool with the stains. They should start to fade in a few scrubs alone. This method also helps you save money on having to buy and store expensive stain removers that may also be slightly toxic.
Speaking of saving money, you may not have to purchase an expensive pool skimmer as it's quite easy to make one yourself. If you have some old window screen at hand, you can use a hard steel wire to bind it with a long broomstick. This would work just as well as a store-bought pool skimmer while costing a fraction of its price.
While the initial investment in buying a robotic pool cleaner is rather high, it will help you save money in the long run. Most robot cleaners in the market can move along your pool tiles and scrub them as they go, similar to how a robot vacuum cleans homes. This will also save you a lot of time in scrubbing and maintaining your pool so you can spend more time enjoying it. However, if this doesn’t sound like something you’d want to invest in, you could always hire a local swimming pool contractor with ease.
While this certainly isn’t a very affordable method, it will help you a lot if you use your pool quite frequently. If you’re going to use it daily, then running your pump twice each day will help keep your pool ready for your next swim. This will also prolong the freshness of your pool and require a little less maintenance than the other methods discussed here.
As good as pool skimmers are, they aren't perfect, and, in most cases, they may let some fine debris such as dirt, hair, etc. Unfortunately, this debris is also rather lightweight and won’t sink deep enough to get filtered out by your pump. Instead, attaching a muslin cloth to your skimmer will get the job done in seconds.
Calcified water often looks scaly and gross. Removing it requires a strong deterring agent, which is bound to be rather expensive. However, if you let the scales remain, they may damage your filter and require expensive repairs instead. A cheap and effective way to get rid of them is with vinegar and a sponge.
A pool cover, preferably an automatic one, is another item with a high initial cost that will help you save time and money in the long run. It will prevent most dust and debris from falling into your pool when you’re not using it. It will also keep the sunlight out and thereby prevent algae from growing on your tiles.
Final Thoughts
Maintaining your pool on a budget isn’t as complex as it may seem at first. However, you could always benefit from hiring a pool subcontractor at an affordable price from The Pool Connect App. Doing so will help remove the complexities of maintaining your pool yourself while saving you money on a lot of the steps mentioned here.
