Cost of operating a pool in San Diego? (Bonita: how much, house)

[jnojr]

How much does it cost, on average, to have a normal-sized pool? Water, electricity, chemicals, cleaning, etc.

[echo42]

I have an 18,000 gallon pool without a heater. My swim season is from middle of April until middle of October. My grandson's season is longer...I just cant take the cold water after October.

I pay a "pool guy" in Bonita 80 bucks a month. That includes chemicals and weekly visit for vacuum and skim clean. In the heat of summer (now) I run the pump for twelve hours a day. My pool guy said that running the pump is generally about 25 cents an hour, the simple math is it's about a hundred more on my SDGE bill. I run it about 8 hours a day the other months and only about 4 hours a day in the winter just to keep the water circulating.

Water is hard to gage but I would say its about 50 bucks extra in summer per month. We drained the pool this spring and it cost about 200 to fill it back up and our pool guy charged us 100 to clean the filter and start up chemicals.

[USDefault]

If you are heating it, forget it. That surely will kick you into SDGEs new high-tiered rates. I'd say for a 25,000 gallon pool at ~ 80 degrees, it will cost around $500+ a month just in energy bills, and yes, I know some people who are paying that for their heated pools. The killer is the tiered rates, because once you get into them, your bill shoots up, and a regularly heated pool will put you there.

An alternative is solar heating, but a quality solar heating system for a decent-sized pool that actually works is going to cost $4000 minimum. They do work though.

If you don't heat it, costs can be significantly less, perhaps even $100 a month if you are efficient. Problem is, if you don't heat the pool and the water temps fall below 75 degrees, no one will use it, it will be freezing and very uncomfortable. Sub-75 pool water temps are frequent given San Diego's temperate climate, especially when September ends. If I was going through the trouble and expense of a pool in San Diego, I'd want it available year-round.

[ShelbyGirl1]

There are so many factors! Chlorine? Salt? Spa connected? How long do you want to run it? Heated? Any water falls or water features? We have a disappearing edge pool, which in turn uses up more water if the " edge" is running. Will you be using a pool surface or cleaning it yourself. And what is normal size?

[janineg]

It was $85 a month for the pool guy (weekly cleaning and all chemicals). Electricity was definitely higher due to the filter pump. What worked great was the pool cover we bought, though. It heated the pool up a LOT. At least 10-15 degrees. It also kept evaporation way down. The bubble cover cost about $100, then about $150 for the reel to roll it up. And a cover lasts 2 seasons before it disintegrates and you have to replace it. The pool did keep the kids very active in the summer.

[Think4Yourself]

We had a pool growing up and normally we just heated it with the solar heating system and kept the cover on it. A pool guy would be ~$75 per month but honestly it was pretty easy to keep it in balance on your own if you used the slow release pellets and let the automatic pool cleaner/sucker thing do its work.

[larsca]

Just a quick note on covers and maintaining the pool yourself. Covers are great because they do save you money on heating costs, and about 50% of your normal evaporation will decrease = less money spent refilling the pool. The drawback with the cover is that it stops the chlorine from oxidizing = your pool is more likely to attract algae. Also the covers are a pain in the you-know-what to pull on and off, and they tend to collect dirt and debris which goes straight in your pool water when you pull them off. There's a balance, you just have to find it.

A lot of home owners can easily take care of their own pools. It's not rocket science, but it will require some manual labor. The most important thing is to make sure the filter works as it should, pick up debris when it falls into your pool (don't rely on the auto vac, it's just an aid - not a replacement for manually vacuuming every week), and BRUSH YOUR WALLS! That's where the algae will attach, so if you just brush it off before it has a chance to grow you're good (as long as you have chlorine in your water).

So taking care of your own pool will save you about $100/month since you don't need your pool guy, but you will have to pay for your own chemicals which in the summer months will run you about $30-35/month. And you will need a real chem test kit (don't use strips, they are just not accurate enough), brush, hose, vacuum head, and some other minor things. All in all, firing that $100/month pool guy will only end up saving about half of that per month which comes out to a little less than $2/day.

The cover will save roughly 15% of your heating and water costs, but a solar system could save you significantly more. However, the biggest money saver out there if you don't have one yet, is a variable speed pump. Real life money, if you're going from a single speed pump to variable speed you're saving 50%.

The bottom line is, if you have a pool it's going to cost you money so make sure to use it!

[jameskerry41]

At first when I bought the place I kept the prev owner's pool guy who charged about $100 per month. I had a job overseas and didn't want to worry about maintenance so I kept him. I paid him 4-5 months in advance so I wouldn't have to worry about an extra bill each month. When I'd return home the pool was incredibly clean and well kept. Well after a while I started getting phone messages stating a certain part on a unit needed replaced, whole units needed replaced, pool cleaner stopped running etc.,. wasn't 'that often' but enough to where I started looking for a replacement. My 2nd pool guy was cheaper but never came around the agreed upon once a week (my security cameras verify this). Long story short, after I returned home 4 years and 3 pool companies later I decided to do it all myself. The last pool service company I asked when Winter time rolled around if I could 'suspend' my service until Spring since we never swam in the Winter (in San Diego the water is quite cold around 65F); their response was rather rude stating to the effect: people want us to do this all the time, we can't stay in business that way, if you do it on your own, don't bother calling us when it gets out of control!' Hell with em' I said and a year later I do it on my own. I now go to Leslie's pool suppy where they test the water free (I go once a month) and recommend the chemicals needed. Keep in mind the chemicals alone can run you $100-$200 every 2-3 months.
My pool is around 17k gallons, non-heated and I run the pump/cleaner 2 hrs once in the A.M. and 2 hrs in the late evening. Summer time I'll add an extra hour to each cycle. Hope this helps anyone in the San Diego area ; )

[LuvSouthOC]

I had a pool cleaner doing my pool here in OC and also my house in SD. I finally learned to do it myself. Leslie's is a great resource for newbies, but they charge an arm and a leg for everything. The internet is your friend. My recommendation is to get a baracuda or similar and a good pool cover. If and when you need a pool guy, it is for your filter/s to be cleaned.

This is an old thread but I wanted to mention that as a reminder to all pool owners, please get a pool cover to prevent evaporation during this horrible drought. I conserve water very heavily. The cover also keeps it a bit warmer although the coastal area gets cold all the time and is never warm enough to swim in unless the water is heated, at least for me.

[roeslers]

LuvSouthOC---how much is heating the pool costing you on average?