It is a huge investment to build a stunning swimming pool in your backyard that will have several years of returns in the form of good memories of family and friends, better health and well-being, and maybe even an increased value to your lifestyle. That said, by running your pool as cost-effectively as possible, you will gain much more from that investment.

Follow the tips mentioned below by the experts at MommySavesBig to save money on pool supplies by making them last longer and gradually, increasing the longevity of your swimming pool. 

1. Save Money by Closing an Above Ground Pool All By Yourself

Closing your above-ground pool will cost hundreds of dollars. That depends of course, on how big your pool is. The first thing you can do is discover how you can winterize your above ground pool.

• Apply closing additives to the water.
• Drain 6 to 8 inches under the skimmer from your pool.
• Disconnect the hoses from the filter and the pump.
• Pull out and store all the drain plugs from your pump and filter in the pump basket. 
• Store the pump and filter it in a safe spot.
• Place a plug for the winter in the return line.
• Blow up the air cushion for the pool cover and float it in the middle of the pool. To keep it in the center, you can use something called the Pool Pillow Pal.  
• Spread the pool cover and protect it with wire and winch clips or winter cover clips.
• To keep the cover in place, add water bags to the deck.

2. Make Use of Energy Efficient Pumps

 

For the most part, traditional pool pumps operate at a single rpm, which in low-intensity operations, such as filtration, consumes electricity. Throughout the life of the tank, adding an energy-efficient pump will save you more than you would expect. There are a variety of models to pick from, starting at around $500.00. This is a bit cheaper than a single speed or dual speed pump, but with no time, the energy savings would account for the difference and certain states do have variable speed pump energy rebates.

3. Smart Cleaning 

In the first place, the happiness of swimming into a crisp, cold, and incredibly clean pool is by far the most inviting aspect of owning one. However, except for wasting money, making the automated cleaner run indefinitely or adding excessive chemicals does little. To keep your pool in top-notch and swimmable conditions, it pays to learn just what tools you need.

When it comes to buying pool chemicals, by buying them from an online pool supply, you can save on prices. “Big-box” firms can appear a steal, but chemicals are not necessarily pure and contain “fillers” in order to keep their prices at a cheap price, so you end up using twice as much to get the job done.

4. Choose Supplemental Sanitation

When you continually have to apply them to the water, chlorine and other chemicals will become costly. The use of additional sanitation, such as the Advanced Oxidation (AOP) system, in pool water will remove unnecessary toxins and pollutants. This would encourage you to reduce your intake of chlorine dramatically to almost nil, giving you a much healthier swimming experience and at the same time saving you money. As the manufacture of chlorine produces a large amount of waste and carbon dioxide, the environmental footprint can also be minimized by consuming less chlorine.

5. Opt for a Variable Speed Pump

Compared to standard single-speed and dual-speed pumps, variable-speed pumps will save you a lot of money on electrical expenses. Variable-speed pumps have more powerful engines that allow you to optimize the speed of your pump to suit the needs of your pool. You can operate it for much longer by lowering the pump rpm, having much greater water circulation in the pool while wasting a fraction of the electrical resources.

Not only are variable-speed pumps a fantastic economic investment for your home, but compared to single and dual-speed pumps, they are still much safer for the climate. Some areas have laws requiring a variable-speed pump to be used.

6. Choose Solar Pool Heaters and Solar Covers

Another way you can save money and the atmosphere at the same time is with solar pool heaters. This will allow you, particularly during the spring and summer months, to harvest solar energy and use that energy to keep your pool at the proper temperature. Solar pool heaters will lower your energy cost dramatically, which could even qualify you for tax incentives.

Solar covers, sometimes known as solar blankets, keep the heat in the tank, keep the pollutants out and help to draw heat from the sun. If you have a solar pool cover just at night, it helps prevent the heat from escaping out of your pool.

If you have a pool heater, you can turn the heater up to the desired temperature, shut it down, and then leave the solar cover on at night. It’ll help the heat from your heater last longer in your pool water. If you don’t feel like putting a solar cover on and off your pool every night, try liquid solar covers. They are easier to use and cost even less in the short term.

7. An Optimum Chemical Balance is Crucial

Follow a daily regimen to monitor for pH, alkalinity, cyanide, calcium hardness, gross dissolved solids, and residual chlorine levels in the pool water. Maintaining the right chemical composition of your pool water will save you time and resources in the long term, and it will decrease the number of additives you need to apply to the water and reduce the amount of additional work you need to do to clean the pool water.

Often have a decent supply of pH Increaser on hand since this pH level will shift regularly. We recommend that you track your alkalinity levels as well if you have issues with pH equilibrium. The inclusion of Alkalinity Increasers raises the pH level of your tub. The perfect alkaline standard ranges from 100 ppm to 150 ppm. Alkalinity is a pH barrier that helps prevent the pH from going up and down, thereby absorbing large shifts in the water until it impacts the pH.

It’s also a smart idea to have a heavy stock of alkaline rises on hand since alkaline levels will fluctuate very quickly. The perfect calcium hardness ranges from 175 ppm to 300 ppm. Without calcium, the water will grow greedy, and you can try to feed your thirst by feasting on the plaster of your tub, and everywhere else you can get it. That’s essentially what the calcification on the walls and bottom of your pool is. Introducing calcium hardness to the water will help shield your pool walls and equipment in the long term.

8. Shock Your Swimming Pool Weekly

Let’s presume your pool has been clear all summer. You’ve been checking the water on a daily basis, and everything is going perfectly. 

Then you skip shocking your pool for one week. Remember, it’s sunny during summer and your kids are swimming in it. All of a sudden, the pool is turning green and/or cloudy. Now instead of doing your usual routine and shocking it once a week, you’re forced to triple shock it to get rid of the green. And you’ve got to work the filter machine 24/7 to help clean up the cloudy water. You just wasted a lot of extra money pouring more shock into the water and operating the filter longer. Shocking your pool every week helps keep your pool safe and tidy and saves you money.

9. Robotic Pool Cleaners Can Do the Job

These self-contained electrical systems can vacuum the entire swimming pool quicker than you do. Robotic pool cleaners move through the pool on their own, climb walls and stairs and gather all sorts of particles in their fine mesh filter bags.

These bags also filter the water, so if you run a robotic cleaner while the filter and pump are not working, you potentially save money while keeping your pool clean. It costs a lot less to run a tiny pool cleaner than to run the filtration machine.

10. Use Filters Only When Needed

Most pool owners prefer to run their pool filters 24 hours a day but it is not actually needed. You will be more likely to know when your pool is used more frequently and can give you a timeline when your filter can be used to keep your pool clear, and by spending less energy/cost to operate the filter. Check with the electricity supplier to see how you can save money by running it less at non-peak hours. Only be sure to operate the pump enough every day to make a decent water turnaround and not just shut it down entirely.

There are a lot of better ways to use the saved money with more pool toys to pool party supplies. By using these basic measures to minimize waste and making your pool more effective, you can save a lot of money while reducing the environmental effect of your pool.

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