Pool Service Chemicals and Pricing
Looking to decrease the chemical requirements for your pool? Investing time and/or money in the following (where possible) will help keep your pool not only cleaner and more enjoyable, but also help lower your chemical demand and ultimately, cost.
The larger the volume and surface area of your pool, the more chemicals it will require to remain properly balanced. Larger pools generally contain more contaminants. Greater surface areas typically translates to higher levels of evaporation.
The more often your pool is used and the greater the number of swimmers in your pool, the more chemicals it will require. Swimmers bring contaminants into your pool including body oils, waste, sweat, dirt/debris, and sunscreen.
The greater the amount of debris (yard debris, dirt, bugs or similar, etc.) in your pool and the longer it remains in your pool, the more chemicals it will require (sanitizer in particular). Cleaning/clearing debris from your pool regularly is one of the most economical and simplest things you can do to help lower your chemical demand. Looking for an option that doesn't involve as much of your time? Consider investing in a high quality pool sweep/robot instead.
Chlorine pools require sanitizer to be added regularly, salt pools don't. This increases the chemical costs weekly for chlorine pools (see below for estimates on how much). Salt pools generate sanitizer (chlorine) by converting the salt in your water (NaCl) into chlorine as water passes through the cell. Salt pools do require salt to be added infrequently to keep the salt content at the proper levels.
Warmer weather and warmer water results in a higher chlorine demand. Living and non-living contaminants are more prevalent in warmer water, in part due to higher pool usage by humans in warmer temperatures. Contaminants thrive in warmer temperatures. Longer, warmer days also means more sunlight, which degrades chlorine faster. Similarly, higher levels and amounts of rainfall can significantly impact your chemical demand.
You might think the greatest benefit of a pool cover is keeping debris out of the pool. While that is true, a cover will also help keep chemicals in your pool. Water evaporating out of your pool will take some chemicals (and heat) with it, namely chlorine. The less debris in your pool, the lower the chlorine demand. The more often your pool is covered, the lower your chemical demand generally.
The better balanced your pool water is, the lower the demand for other pool chemicals will generally be. For example, as pH goes up, the ability of chlorine to kill germs goes down. Another common misused chemical in water is cyanuric acid (often called stabilizer or conditioner) - elevated levels of this chemical require more chlorine to do the same amount of sanitization. Our ongoing pool cleaning services all ensure your water chemistry remains in ideal ranges regularly.
Many other factors can and will impact your pool's chemical demand including type and efficiency of your pool equipment, filtration methods, frequency and quality of cleaning and balancing, and more. Contact us anytime to discuss further or to schedule a free pool consultation, or to sign up for one of our ongoing pool cleaning service packages.
Liquid Chlorine
$9.65/gallon
Muriatic Acid
$15.00/gallon
Polyquat 60 Algaecide
$0.62/ounce
Cyanuric Acid (CYA)
$4.25/pound
Pool Salt
$0.67/pound
Boric Acid
$3.50/pound
Borax
$1.81/pound
Aluminum Sulfate
$5.95/pound
