One of the best things a homeowner can do is take genuine ownership of their swimming pool. Like anything in life – you get out of it what you put into it and even when something goes wrong that is beyond their control – you can almost always tell the people who take a serious pride in ownership of their pool and who doesn’t when you’re on site.
That being said – sometimes we try to do a little too much and end up making problems worse than they need to be. Sometimes you’re better off just taking a step back and letting the pros come in and do the work. Here are a few of the common ways owners can make things worse for themselves and how you can avoid doing so yourself.
Let’s jump right in!
DIY repairs
Trust us when we tell you this. There is a laundry list of thing we more or less ignore and hope they go away on its own. The absolute last, possible thing you should apply that logic to are swimming pools. If you notice a tile or two falling off, new cracks, liner coming off track, pumps acting up or anything like that – unless it’s insanely routine – you really, really, really need to call a professional.
Most of the time the problem presenting itself is not always the actual problem – it’s something that’s happening because of another problem. You have a huge hole in the ground with lots of intricate pipes, inner workings and it’s all filled with water. There’s a lot that can be wrong. So we recommend that instead of playing hero – you just call a pro.
Exaggerating problems to get faster service
One of the most common problems we get is pool owners thinking their problems are way worse than they are and/or embellishing what the actual problem is in order to get us over to the house sooner. Here’s why this is a problem. For one, if you’re describing over the top symptoms, our service pros may start looking for the wrong things. Which means the problem isn’t going to get fixed. If we have to run certain tests or get certain parts and components in quickly – that’ll be on your dime! So whenever you do have a problem – try to be as clear and accurate as possible when communicating the problems with your pool.
Teaching themselves chemistry
We’re not saying pool owners can’t improve their chemistry and maintain it on their own. You can. But you need to learn how to do it the right way, first. Take a class. Ask your maintenance pros how to do things the right way. This is important to understand because you’re dealing with chemicals. Not just a ‘whatever’ kinda thing here. And not only are we exposing these chemicals to ourselves loved ones, but how those chemicals interact can also have an impact on how various components of your pool function and operate. So if you want to manage your pools chemistry – learn exactly what it is you need to do or you could create some significant problems for yourself.
Pool owners are capable of making problems worse. Know what you know. Know what you don’t know and when it’s the later- call a pro! If you need advice on how to better manage your pool give our team a call today and we’ll be happy to help. Until then – good luck!
