On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 11:57:47 GMT, Paul R
wrote:

Depends on where you live...I live in SW Fla and pools here are a
positive for those from "up North" who migrate down here on what seems
to be an hourly basis. It is also a plus for me since I enjoy swimming
and use it daily. I guess if I lived in place like Pennsylvania,
Missouri, or even South Carolina or Northern Georgia, a pool might not
be the attraction it is in year-round hot weather climates.

As for the monthly maintenance, once the pool is properly balanced, all
you do is maintain the proper free chlorine-acid balance with either a
constant load of 3-inch chlorine tabs (cost ranges from $40 to $60 for a
bucket that can last several months) in your chlorinator or by shocking
the pool with a few gallons of liquid chlorine (about $2.50 per gallon)
every few weeks. The total cost shouldn't exceed $30-$50 per month, if
even that much.

Problem comes in when the pool owner neglects the maintenance and the
water starts to turn green and show algae growth along the sides. That's
when maintenance becomes expensive since the owner usually freaks out
and calls a pool maintenance business for help. However, it's actually
quite simple to turn a dirty pool around in basically 36 to 48 hrs,
going from a leaf-laden, can't-see-the-bottom green/brown pool to a
clear blue one by simple cleaning and shocking.

I couldn't agree more with your statements. This is exactly my
experience here in Arizona.
If you keep up with the maintenance it is VERY easy and cheap to
maintain the pool. Just making sure the chlorine and PH is good and
empty the filters on a regular basis is the only things you need to
do.
If you ignore the pool you need expensive shock treatments (for some
algea kind).
I buy the 40 pound buckets of 3 inch tablets and I buy the 40 pound
buckets of granular chlorine. They last a LONG time. I probably only
need one bucket of 3" tablets a year, and the granular chlorine lasts
much longer than that.
Once in a while I buy acid to keep the ph good. Overall I probably
spend less than 20 bucks a month on chemicals.
In winter it needs almost NO chemicals (non heated pool)

If I hear people complain about maintenance it is almost always
because they constantly neglect the chemicals and need a pro to come
out or buy expensive algea chemicals.
I've had a pool for 6 years and have not had algea ONCE.

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