Maintenance and Repair Costs
A major cost of pool ownership is repairing and maintaining your pool and its filter system. The costs for this service vary widely, and some maintenance items may be included in monthly pool company fees. However, repairs are not covered, and DIY pool owners also have to buy a large number of components, including the following:
- Pool filter unit ($800 - about 7 year life, or $115/year)
- DE filter internal membranes ($150 - 3 yr life, or $50/year – sand and cartridge filter costs vary)
- Pool cleaner robots ($700 - avg 2 yr life, $350/year)
- Pole leaf skimmer nets ($35 - 2 yr life, $17/year)
- Jandy valves ($60 - about 8 year life, $8/year)
- System electrical timer ($150 - 10 yr life, $15/year)
- Flex backwash discharge tubes ($35 - 2 yr life, $17/year)
- Acid washes ($250 – once every 6 years, $42/year)
The average annual cost of these items is over $500/year. In addition, various small but expensive parts need replacing on an ongoing basis (mostly plastic parts, e.g., filter baskets, filter lids, in-pipe backflow preventers, O-rings, vacuum heads and tubes, silicone grease, etc.), 1-3 year lives, for an additional average annual cost of $100-$200 or more. Note that these costs do not reflect recent inflation.
In addition to the $600 - $700 annual cost of these items, some major components (e.g., the pool pump) may cost hundreds of dollars if they need replacing.