Hola,

Still planning my DREAM!
Can anyone, who has time, to go through what it takes to look after a eg 10 x 6mtr pool. I would need the hows and donts to maintain, costs to run the pool... does the pump need to be on 24/7 all year? etc etc This must be a cost to go in my budget as I hope to buy Villa with out any hidden costs.

Tips and advice please.

I am looking at villas with private pools but I also see villas with communal pools...cant decide HELP please!

KeithToon

Ps if your too busy sunbathing I will forgive you for not answering LOL...

Setup is the key. Shock it first, keep a tester around to measure Ph and Chlor levels, and maintain as it says on the tin. The warmer you keep the pool, the more chlorine you'll need. Prices for chemicals vary greatly, so generally you're best off to find the local wholesale supplier and buy from them if possible. We try to use as little chlor as possible, but the higher the chlor (and with a warm pool, you usually need anti-algae too), the less maintenance.

Like everyone, we run the pump on a timer - half hour every few hours, all off at night. That generally does the trick. But you will need to vacuum it every few days. Lots of dust in the air.

and... no matter how frugal you are, it still ain't cheap to run. Electricity is expensive.

The pump is the biggest expense in having a pool.

Many "pool experts" say you should run it for 8 hours or more a day and always when someone is using the pool.

Frankly this advice is pretty irrelevant to most domestic users and really only applies to commercial pools and then usually for legal H&S reasons.

Pushing clean, disinfected water through a sand filter achieves very little apart from removing any small particles which could affect the clarity of the water and, probably more importantly, stirring it up so that the active disinfectants (the chlorine) are dispersed evenly. In commercial pools they have to cater for what they call "Faecal Incidents" - I don't need to elaborate!

I run the pump every day in the winter for about 20 minutes and in the heat of the summer for about 90 minutes every morning. I have a dual tariff electricity contract so power used up to 1pm is at less than half price. The total energy cost with this regime is insignificant.

The pool has never been emptied (but of course topping up effectively changes the water over time) and the water is always crystal clear. As we have a very cheap water supply I always vacuum to waste as that ensures that the really small dust particles don't pass through the sand filter.

Apart from a weekly check on Chlorine and PH levels and routine leaf removal and cleaning that's about all I have to do. We don't use a winter cover.

I was told by a man that I met on holiday last year who had a swimming pool that he used bleach, he told me that it was safe to swim in within a few hours after putting the bleach in. He told me that prior to this he had been using branded blocks or tablets or something I think from a pool supplier that was much more expensive.

I expect he had all the necessary testing equipment?

I got to know him quite well and he was definitely an intelligent man so I assume he did his home work before using bleach. Also he had been using the pool and he had his skin on and he was still alive.

Yeah, we tried this after a local recommended it. Cheap, yes, but Neil looked pretty funny with his bleach blonde hair. :-)

Domestic bleach and basic pool Chlorine are usually the same - sodium hypochlorite.

Most people use the tablets or granules as they contain additional compounds such as algicide, stabiliser etc as well as the basic disinfectant and they are simple to use.. The chemicals used for the disinfection usually contain chlorine in one form or another.

I doubt that domestic bleach (unless you buy it in industrial quantities) will be any cheaper as it is very weak compared to pool chlorine.

I would not think it wise to use ordinary household bleach. If you spend all that money on a pool, it makes sense to use the proper stuff.
We have a 9 x5 pool.
The pump runs 1 hour twice a day in winter and 2 in summer, making use of the cheaper tariff
We use chlorine tablets,antialgas, and an occasional flocculante tablet in the skimmer
Occasionally, we use chlorine granules on any stain on the bottom of the pool.
Don't use multiaction tablets- there is no way a tablet can have sufficient of each chemical required, unless it is a tiny pool.
Hoovering to waste every time seems very wasteful of water, surely not necessary every time?
The sand has never been changed in 12 years and it is fine.
The filter basket in the pool pump needs emptying from time to time.
Our neighbours were unaware of its existence.

Given my time again, I would not have a pool. For the use it gets, it is a very expensive puddle, especially if/ when there is a leak!

Hola,

Loving all the tips and help.............
What is "hovering to waste" sorry I love my detail!!!

Keithtoon.

For hoovering-read vacuuming!

Hi Keith.
Tip mate don't forget to check the house out to see if it suits & you cannot live in a pool.
Sorry but I have heard so many say "it has a pool to die for" and when you look in the property.................

The 4 in 1 tablets are fine - it just depends how many you use at a time. I find 4 tablets a week in summer are fine for a 100m3 pool. They are not significantly more expensive than granules and much easier to use.

I usually only need to "Hoover" about every 3-4 weeks, but I have found that the dust can be so fine some goes through the sand filter.

Yes, you could argue that it is a waste but we could refill our pool for about €20 if we had to, so the "waste" is only a few cents and the water ends up running down the hill and irrigating our 100 Almond trees!

Important to check the pool location - will it be shaded by the property or trees?

I went for the lazy option = a man that looks after the pool.

It's also the expensive option!

I did start off DIY, but after a year decided I had better things to do.

It's not as expensive as you might think. When my pump broke down my pool guy repaired it ................. for free! Hate to think how much a pool shop would charge for a call out?

Hola, thank you all...... So hoovering does what exactly, sucks the water up and cleans via filter? Does the water not go back into pool. Does anyone know cost in euros of the electric to run pump per month. Or am i being to exact!

Scorching hot here today in sunny hertfordshire..... Rather be in mijas costa!

Keith