Pool Maintenance: DIY or Go With a Pro?

man cleaning the pool - image purchd from iclipart

A pool is an impressive feature of a home, but it can also be the most difficult and expensive to maintain.

When it comes time to decide between DIY pool care and using a professional pool cleaning service, consider such tasks as maintaining the filter, surface skimming and chemical testing.

What can you do yourself, and what should you leave to the pros?

Weekly Pool Maintenance

Generally, professional pool maintenance will run you between $100-$500 per month, depending on your location and the size of your pool, but mostly your location. In Florida you can get weekly service for $100 per month, but in Virginia, it’s $100 per week. Supply and Demand, I suppose.

Pool care may involve skimming the surface, vacuuming and brushing, emptying skimmer baskets and automatic cleaner bags. After cleaning, water balance is tested and balancing chemicals may be added.

Sanitizer levels are checked and other water treatment chemicals applied. The filter, pump, heater and chlorinator or other equipment is checked and cleaned.

Though pool professionals have the experience and tools for greater efficiency than the average owner, many pool maintenance tasks can be accomplished on your own for less money.

Pool Filter Maintenance

pressure-gauge-for-pools

The filter pressure gauge; check it every few days. When it rises 5 lbs or more, the water flow rate slows down, making filtration inefficient. Pool filters need to be cleaned every 2-6 weeks, depending on their size, age, and the dirt load. But, wait until the pressure gauge has risen 5-10 lbs to tell you when to clean the cartridges, or backwash the [sand or DE] pool filter.

When the pressure gauge is Lower than Normal, it could be that the pump basket or skimmer baskets are full, and are restricting the water flow. Most pump baskets have a see thru lid to tell when it needs cleaning.

To empty the pump basket, shut off the pump, remove the lid and pull out the basket. Some baskets have a twist lock, but most just lift straight out. Bang it out or hose it out and then re-insert the basket fully. Replace the pump lid very tightly, and turn on the pump.

jacks-pool-lube

Other pool filter maintenance items include annual lubrication of O-rings, or replacement of filter media [sand, grids, cartridges] every 5 years or so; which can be DIY friendly. Pumps and heaters can go for 10 years without mechanical problems or replacement.

Pool Cleaning

Pool skimming can be difficult after storms, but with the right process and equipment, you can do it like a pro. First clean off the deck, with a leaf blower, broom or water – so you don’t slip, and so more leaves or debris wont blow into the pool.

leaf-rake-for-pools

Attach your Leaf Rake to your Pool Pole. Extend the inner pole about 4 ft and lock it in place, for a comfortable counter-balance. Walk briskly around the entire edge of the pool, with the edge of the Leaf Rake touching the edge of the pool at the water line. Then push the Leaf Rake back and forth across the surface. Leaf Rakes are also useful to scoop piles of leaves from the floor and steps of the pool.

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Pool vacuums, however, make this job a lot easier for the DIY pool owner. You can buy a nice manual pool vacuum for under $100, and vacuum the pool through the skimmer. A Skim-Vac plate makes the job faster. Be sure to invest in a good pool brush, too. Regular pool brushing is not only good exercise, but also water quality and clarity.

Water powered or robotic vacuums can roam the pool, eating up dirt, bacteria, algae and sand. Automatic pool cleaners can cost half-a-paycheck, but free up half-a-week’s worth of time within the first season. Before you buy, do the research on the best pool cleaner for you and your pool.

Pool Chemical Management

Pools require frequent chemical testing and adjustments. Altering the pH levels consists of adding acid to lower pH or adding a base to raise it. The hardness, alkalinity and cyanuric acid levels should also be checked weekly.

Chemical treatments also involve adding consistent and continuous chlorine to regulate algae and bacteria growth. Shocking the pool with granular chlorine clears the water by removing contaminants and chloramines.

Your pool may also benefit from other chemicals such as:

Many pool owners are not comfortable with their chemistry skills, and actually drive a water sample to the pool store several times per season!

taylor-k2006-pool-store-test-kit

Escape from pool store water testing with the pool test kit that the pool stores use! With the included booklet, you’ll know exactly how to test, analyze and calculate proper adjustment dosages. And, you can always trust the results!


When deciding to DIY or Go Pro with pool maintenance, it is important to weigh all the factors. How much time are you willing to spend on your pool? Do you enjoy working on [cleaning] the pool? Are you comfortable taking care of the pool equipment? Is pool chemistry at least somewhat interesting?

The answers to these questions should lead you to the best decision for you and your pool.

7 thoughts on “Pool Maintenance: DIY or Go With a Pro?

  1. Dwight Parker

    My chlorine generator gets clogged up with white crust very quickly. I thought it may be because I supplemented with chlorine tablets when the water got too warm last summer. what can I do to prevent or slow that down?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Dwight, most likely calcium scale, which is attracted to the electrically charged plates. You may have a high level of calcium hardness in the water, which is likely the cause of the scale, not chlorine tablets. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to lower calcium hardness, except for reverse osmosis or replacing part of the pool water with softer water (the dilution solution). You could however, begin to use a Stain & Scale chemical, like our Stain Away, or Scale Free – to keep minerals like Calcium locked into solution. Won’t stop the crust on the salt cell, but may slow the build-up. Clean it regularly, as the scale buildup on a salt cell reduces output and puts a strain on the cell. Perhaps your next salt system will have ‘reverse polarity’, which provides a self-cleaning salt cell, as the charge is reversed regularly, which throws off attached scale.

  2. Dwight Parker

    Thank you Davy, is it OK to use chlorine tablets in a salt water pool with a chlorine generator?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Dwight, sure that is no problem. Saltwater pools may need to use tablets from time to time, like when the water temperature is below 60° (and the salt cell stops working), or if the salt cell is failing or otherwise not working. Or to assist a small or underperforming salt system. They both produce the same type of chlorine, so completely compatible!

  3. Dwight Parker

    My pool has a built-in automatic water leveler. It has it’s own well near the skimmer well. The water in the well gets really scummy. What’s the best way to keep this water clean?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Dwight, perhaps drop in a chlorine tablet or two, depends on size. Or you could treat it with a good algaecide, or both. Or, if you are talking about the canister of the automatic water leveler, same advice, drop in a tablet (put it in a zip lock bag with an open top, so it won’t sit directly on surfaces, and tie a string to the bag, so you can lift it out to add a new tablet every month.

  4. Even homeowners who choose to DIY can still have a pool cleaning company come out and do a pool orientation. If this is a new pool, or you have moved into a home with a pool and the pool is all new to you, a pool cleaning company can come out (usually free of charge) and show you around your pool equipment, valves, gauges and more. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to know an expert than can come out when you need additional help!

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