Should You Hire a Pool Maintenance Pro or DIY?

How hard can it be to keep your pool clean? Maybe you’re asking yourself this question as you review your budget, or you’re planning to build a new luxury pool and are wondering if you can manage the pool maintenance yourself. Either way, quality pool maintenance is essential for health and safety, to preserve your investment, and increase your property value.

There are plenty of resources available that offer basic instructions for pool care. Not to mention, you could YouTube “how to maintain a pool” and check out some videos to learn. But watching someone with experience handle tasks like vacuuming a swimming pool, changing filters or cleaning tile makes these jobs look easy. (Wait until you try it yourself.) And, are you really prepared to commit the time and resources to maintaining a pool yourself? And, what if something goes wrong?

If you’re wondering whether to hire a pool maintenance professional or to take matters into your own hands, here are some factors to consider.

Are You Ready to Manage Regular Pool Maintenance Tasks?

Removing debris with a skimmer and maintaining the proper water level are literally surface issues. Pool maintenance goes much deeper. You should perform these tasks weekly for a crystal-clear pool:

• Vacuum the pool
• Brush the tile line, walls and floor
• Polish handrails and ladders
• Clean out trap baskets
• Test water and correct chemistry
• Backwash filter

>>DIY or Pro? How much time do you have to spend maintaining your swimming pool every week? Do you have the pool equipment and chemicals on hand? These tasks can take several hours, while a pool maintenance team has the equipment, chemicals and expertise to efficiently complete regular pool maintenance.

Will You Save Money By Maintaining a Pool Yourself?

Cost is a key factor, and many people figure that doing pool maintenance yourself is cheaper. Who doesn’t want to save money? Let’s do some number crunching to figure out if hiring a pool service is worth it. Following are some expenses you’ll incur if you choose to maintain your own pool.

• Chemicals
• Testing kits
• Filter replacement cartridges
• Replacement sand or DE for filtering
• Pool vacuum

>>DIY or Pro? All of the equipment and supplies you’ll need to properly maintain your pool can add up. Not to mention, figure in what your time is worth. How would you like to spend the spare hours during the weekend: cleaning the pool or enjoying your outdoor living area?

Will You Detect Pool Problems Before They Turn Into Repairs?

The role of a swimming pool contractor goes beyond keeping your pool water healthy, safe and appealing. During regular cleaning visits, a pool technician also will assess mechanicals, including the heater, pool pump system, pool lights and other working parts. If there is an issue, we can catch it right away or troubleshoot potential problems so they don’t turn into costly repairs.

We’ve seen beautiful, expensive pools deteriorate quickly when maintenance is even slightly neglected or repairs are overlooked. Also, if you have a pool technician visiting your property to maintain your pool regularly, if a repair is necessary, your property takes priority.

>>DIY or Pro? If you have the technical experience to troubleshoot your own pool equipment and to identify potential structural issues, then you might be able to handle this important aspect of pool maintenance. While you might be able to handle vacuuming and skimming your pool, and perhaps backflushing a filter, there’s more value to a pool maintenance visit than the cleaning tasks.

Enjoy Your Pool—Let the Pros Do the Work

Some homeowners enjoy maintaining their own pools, and if that’s your preference and you are willing to invest in the equipment, chemicals and time to learn how to do it right, then have at it! Usually, people realize that the cost of DIY pool maintenance is not much less than if they hire a professional to do it for them. And, if the purpose of your pool is to create an outdoor oasis at home where you can entertain and relax with family and friends, wouldn’t you rather spend time doing just that? We thought so.

Learn more about Neave Pool Service and how our trained pool technicians can help extend the life of your pool. Make the most of the swimming season in New York and Connecticut and leave the maintenance to us.

Call us at 845-463-0592 in Hudson Valley, 914-271-7996 in Westchester and 203-212-4800 in Connecticut. Or, fill out this simple form and we’ll get in touch with you.