Homeowners can save money with pool and deck maintenance tips
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A pool can be a good investment for your home, but you've got to be proactive in maintaining it.
Leisa Thomason is the owner of Florida Pool Advisors. She inspects pools with a checklist.
"So I always tell people, even if you have weekly pool service coming to go ahead and at least visit your equipment pad once a week because leaks can develop or noises can develop. So if you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, it's just a really good idea to catch it as soon as possible," said Thomason.
Getting to know your pool's chemistry is key.
Getting to know your pools chemistry is important.
"Chemistry is the most important thing you can do for a pool to be healthy. Either learn how to take your own water sample you know, your testing yourself, or take it into your local pool store for testing," said Thomason.
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She said if you have oak trees nearby that could be a problem.
Checking pool equipment is a part of maintenance.
"Because during certain times of year, they drop just huge amounts of leaves into the pool, and it's become a nightmare for a lot of people to where their skimmers could be like literally packing full in one day and causing their pump to start sucking air because the water can't get through," explained Thomason.
Also look out for leaking.
"I checked for structural cracks. I check for, obviously, problems with the equipment, whether the settling is there, settling going on around the pool, you know, that needs to be addressed. Sometimes over the years, the deck may start to settle and there would become some trip hazards, ways you can stomp your toe or trip and fall," said Thomason.
Checking pool equipment is a part of maintenance.
Companies like Alpha Foundations see this quite often.
"First and foremost, with your pool deck, obviously with any type of concrete, you want to keep water as far away from it as possible. Once it starts falling and cracking it never stops. It's not going to get better," said production manager Alex Snuggs.
And it can be costly.
"You could be looking at, you know, a minimum of a couple thousand dollars all the way up to, you know, tens just depending on the severity of your pool deck. Make sure you have a good gutter system that when you get heavy rain falls, will push the water as far away from the deck as possible," explained Snuggs. "You always want to make sure you have your soil built up at least halfway up the side of your concrete. And the reason we advise people to do that is because if you have it lower than the bottom of your concrete, it's just a great way for water to seep underneath and essentially pull the soil out of it."
It's proper care that could keep your money from going down the pool drain.