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Original poster

Cost of maintaining a swimming pool

35 replies

WorriedDad23 · 01/05/2022 19:33

We are seriously considering buying a property which comes with a swimming pool, we know it's going to be tough when to comes for the resale but pros outweighs the cons for us atm so we are going to go ahead if the numbers work out.

Just wondering if anyone can share actual costs and involved with maintaining a swimming pool? We are perfectly capable of doing the cleaning it ourselves as the current owners does it themselves.

What chemicals do we have to buy? from where? how often and how much are they?

Which pool maintenance tools do we have to buy?

In what instances do we have to call in the professionals for regular maintenance ? how much do they cost roughly?

Thanks

OP posts:
TeddyTonks · 01/05/2022 19:37

Depends on the pool. We usually get someone in to do winter closedown which costs c.£100.

Bought an electric pool hoover, c. £230.

Chemicals and dipsticks from Amazon or local pool/hot tub place, maybe £50 a year?

The rest of it we do ourselves. The big cost is heating it, especially at the moment, it is a bit of a worry and perhaps may need to be turned off. We are also thinking of installing solar panels. It's currently heated using an air source heat pump which we were told when we bought the property was super efficient
...not true!!

That being said, we bloody love it. The kids have a ball in it every summer and I am planning to float the last few months of my pregnancy away later in the year 😂

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 01/05/2022 19:52

You should pose the question to Rishi Sunak he is in the process of have a swimming pool installed and he will have got all his sums right - like he has for the country.

Bear in mind he is a multi-millionaire, as is his wife (I believe that she occasionally visits the UK). So I guess it's not that cheap - unless, of course, it's one of those blow-up unicorn ones...

AreSomeGoldfishJustDicks · 01/05/2022 20:20

Currently building one in my back garden. Why will it be tough when it comes to selling? 😬

Original poster
WorriedDad23 · 01/05/2022 20:22

TeddyTonks · 01/05/2022 19:37

Depends on the pool. We usually get someone in to do winter closedown which costs c.£100.

Bought an electric pool hoover, c. £230.

Chemicals and dipsticks from Amazon or local pool/hot tub place, maybe £50 a year?

The rest of it we do ourselves. The big cost is heating it, especially at the moment, it is a bit of a worry and perhaps may need to be turned off. We are also thinking of installing solar panels. It's currently heated using an air source heat pump which we were told when we bought the property was super efficient
...not true!!

That being said, we bloody love it. The kids have a ball in it every summer and I am planning to float the last few months of my pregnancy away later in the year 😂

Cheers Teddy, that is super helpful

The pool we are interested is 11m x 6m

Regarding the air source heat pump , how much does it cost with electricity from the grid if you were to run it? Do you know how many solar panels will be needed if you go down solar path to runt he pump? cos it's something I've thought about as well.

OP posts:
Lynnthesearesexnotgenderpeople · 01/05/2022 20:24

AreSomeGoldfishJustDicks · 01/05/2022 20:20

Currently building one in my back garden. Why will it be tough when it comes to selling? 😬

Because a lot of people will be put off by a swimming pool - heating it (especially in the coming months/years!), maintaining it, getting rid of it if you dont want it etc.

Surely you have considered this?Confused

Original poster
WorriedDad23 · 01/05/2022 20:25

AreSomeGoldfishJustDicks · 01/05/2022 20:20

Currently building one in my back garden. Why will it be tough when it comes to selling? 😬

I'm not sure but that's what I read in other threads, you can search it up here.

I was surprised as well. But I guess it must be due to maintenance costs.

OP posts:
AreSomeGoldfishJustDicks · 01/05/2022 20:28

That makes sense. I'm only building a small plunge pool though.
Thanks for the info 😊

TeddyTonks · 01/05/2022 20:32

To be honest, we don't really know how much it costs to run, as the pool was here when we moved it. We just never get a break from the energy bills as we either have heating on, or pool on. The house itself is v expensive to hear as it's a terribly insulated old Georgian beast. We accepted when we moved in it would cost a bomb to run the house but the price rises are definitely biting! Obviously massively first world problem, before someone jumps on me!

Whooshaagh · 01/05/2022 20:36

We live in France so don’t heat our pool, it’s used May to September.
Opening and closing the pool and maintenance is a process you need to learn thoroughly. If you end up with algae you’ll spend £100’s on chemicals. Dip sticks are not enough. We take a sample of pool water to our local pool shop regularly for testing.
Get a professional in to teach you the first time.
We buy liquid chlorine, algaecide and chlorine tablets.
I guess we spend about €300 on chemicals and €40 a month on running the pool filter.
Of course you will also use more water if it’s an outdoor pool.
We also have a pool alarm.
Only dc are allowed to go in the pool with sun cream on. Everyone else must shower because too much sun cream affects the chemicals.

csam · 01/05/2022 20:42

We bought a house with an indoor pool. Cost a fortune to heat it and never got chemical balance quite right!

We've now built a beautiful, huge kitchen over the top of it and much prefer!

Original poster
WorriedDad23 · 01/05/2022 21:14

Do you have to some kind of pump to keep filtration working at all times? is this costly?

Sorry about all the questions.

OP posts:
TizerorFizz · 01/05/2022 21:28

We don’t have a professional do anything to ours. DH does everything. We have an air source heat pump for it. We have an ionizer to use less chlorine. The hoover does a good job as does the thermo heat cover. DH is an engineer and likes taking care of everything. I don’t know what costs are! Might have to consider them now.,

TizerorFizz · 01/05/2022 21:29

Yes. You need to filter the water.

TizerorFizz · 01/05/2022 21:35

I don’t wish to be negative but if you are worried about costs, maybe a pool isn’t a good idea? They do eat money and need constant “furtling”.

Whooshaagh · 01/05/2022 21:36

WorriedDad23 · 01/05/2022 21:14

Do you have to some kind of pump to keep filtration working at all times? is this costly?

Sorry about all the questions.

Yes, when the pool is in use you must filter the water for at least 6 hours a day depending on the size of your pool and the usage. It’s just a pump so not costly.
its heating the pool that costs, we don’t heat ours,

Whooshaagh · 01/05/2022 21:37

csam · 01/05/2022 20:42

We bought a house with an indoor pool. Cost a fortune to heat it and never got chemical balance quite right!

We've now built a beautiful, huge kitchen over the top of it and much prefer!

I sometimes dream of a sunken garden over my pool when it’s being particularly tricky!

Stodge · 01/05/2022 21:45

We have an outdoor pool

It costs a lot to heat and maintain

We have a pool servicing company that comes in every week to make sure it's clean and the chemicals are just right but we are incredibly fortunate to be able to afford this

Our heating is about £45 a week and the servicing is about £30 a week. Obviously that doesn't include any repairs

It is a money pit but our pool is only open from April til October and we use it a lot

It's really important that you're aware of what you're taking on

Gert12 · 01/05/2022 21:46

Our pool is pretty much the same size. Last summer it cost around £200 a month extra in electric to run the filter and air source heat pump. We have solar panels which help the heat a little. We start the season with oil heating to get to temp quickly, this links to our boiler.

Chemicals are around £50 per month.
Ideally at the start of the season you replace the sand in the filter and have a maintenance check, this is about £400.

The bubble cover needs replacing about every 4-5 years, approx £1000.

It takes about 2 hours cleaning and maintenance a week. A robot hoover is about £1000 which cuts the time down.

I do enjoy using it but wouldn't buy a future house with a pool. The kids enjoyed it until age 14ish but now hardly use it. Ours is in a totally separate courtyard so can be safely contained, I would definitely not want one in my main garden. The tennis court however gets used daily and is much better value for money.

LesLavandes · 01/05/2022 22:08

Massive money pit. Apart from general maintenance costs, things go wrong and cost loads of money

parietal · 01/05/2022 22:14

there is a whole 'pool room' of pumps and chemicals to keep things working. if you need to get an engineer out to have a look, it could be £500-1000 per visit (depending a bit on how remote you are & how long things take to fix).

plus chemicals and replacing things like hoovers that break and covers that break.

plus heating.

Bunce1 · 01/05/2022 22:18

Circa £400/month on heat, maintenance, cleaning, upkeep etc.

heartofgoldcoins · 01/05/2022 22:36

A lot. A lot a lot.
We rented a house with an indoor pool once and have been put off for life.

Original poster
WorriedDad23 · 01/05/2022 23:56

TizerorFizz · 01/05/2022 21:35

I don’t wish to be negative but if you are worried about costs, maybe a pool isn’t a good idea? They do eat money and need constant “furtling”.

I know what you mean, a house with a pool was never in our wildest dreams but this property popped up ticking all the other boxes within our price bracket.

I do all the maintenance work around the house so I'm confident I will be able to do all the maintenance fixing including pumps and filtration systems. If the chemicals and basic maintenance tools aren't that expensive I can give it a go.

Other option is to factor in few grand to fill it in and be done with it.

OP posts:
breakdown19 · 02/05/2022 00:13

AreSomeGoldfishJustDicks · 01/05/2022 20:20

Currently building one in my back garden. Why will it be tough when it comes to selling? 😬

Also drowning risk for young children/animals
I know three friends who found dead dogs who couldn't get out in domestic swimming pools. 😔

For me it's annoying as I have 4 kids and so look for 6 bed properties and many have pools due to size.
I don't want one - over inflates price of house and is a running cost I don't want. Not worth it in the U.K. as sodding freezing

TabithaHazel · 03/05/2022 22:13

My in-laws hire out their pool a few mornings a week to a kids swimming company, might be Sports Generation. Anyway this pays for the heating and upkeep of the pool year round.