What Causes Most Pool Problems?

Your swimming pool keeps you cool during the summer and relaxed during the off seasons.  Keeping you pool equipment ready for action can be an overwhelming task for any homeowner.  Calling Alison Pools for routine inspections or when something breaks is the right thing to do.

The “Big Three” Pool Problem Areas

There are three main components to keeping your swimming pool healthy and cost efficient.

1. Cleaning Brushing and vacuuming your swimming on a routine schedule is like any other type of routine maintenance – a new car.  To keep that “new car smell”, you have to clean your pool regularly – for 95% of pools, weekly is highly recommended.  Avoiding this necessary task can cause pump to not prime or filters to clog.  For non-experience homeowners, a repair technician will need to assess the problem and correct.  Lesson learned is to clean regularly to avoid a service call and uncessary repair.

2. Chemistry Maintaining a properly balanced pool is paramount to avoid costly repairs.  “Clear water is not always balanced water”.  You will hear our pool operators drive this message home when maintain your pool.  Balancing your pool in accordance with the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) will prevent your pool from corroding or scaling.  Both scenarios will affect your pool equipment and pool structure – leading to unnecessary costly repairs.

3. Equipment Operating and maintaining your pool equipment to manufacture specifications is critical to reducing your repair cost.  Most problems arise with pool equipment because of poor routine maintenance, avoiding repairs, or simply installing the wrong equipment.  Inspecting your equipment pad on a regular basis and addressing issues while they are minor will help eliminate the HUGE REPAIR cost.  Pools are considered a luxury item and as we all know, anything luxurious is expensive to repair or replace.

Other Important Criteria to Consider

Along with dealing with unexpected repair costs, you also need to consider hiring a company with personnel that can provide the following:

Experience & Knowledge Service technicians should be experienced and knowledgeable about your pool equipment.  Not all “service technicians” are “trained properly” and most do not even read the product manuals.  Today’s pool equipment is more sophisticated and complex with expensive computer boards and other costly components.  Installing or repairing today’s equipment requires complex programming, wiring schematics, IP protocols and more.  Trusting the service technician can identify and repair the problem professionally is key.

Equipment Sizing & Compatibility Not all pumps are sized properly with the filter and not all equipment manufacturers are compatible with each other.  Service technicians need to understand the full spectrum of each system to provide you with the best solution.  For example, install a pump that is oversized for your pool plumbing and/or filter can cause a pump or filter to fail early – a very costly mistake for not understanding pump/filter sizing.  This situation is also true for mix-matched systems that can cost your more in the long run because of compatibility issues.

Quality Products & Warranties Pool owners should consider purchasing quality products with warranties for several reasons: Financial Protection, Peach of Mind, and Value Enhancement.

Purchasing high-quality products, even if they cost more upfront, are generally more durable and less prone to breaking down.  A high-quality product usually comes with a solid warranty where repairs or replacement are covered under a specific period – Protecting your Financial Investment.  Knowing the product is covered under a warranty provides the homeowner Peach of Mind and relieves the burden and simplifies the repair process.  Lastly, installing high-quality products Enhances the Value of the property and likely attract potential buyers.

In short, investing in quality products with robust warranties is a smart decision that leads short-term convenience and long-term financial value.