Having a pool in your backyard is a luxury many Americans cannot do without. Over 21 million of us had a house with a pool in 2015 and that figure continues to grow. Our love affair with the water extends beyond the home with visits to water-focused venues such as beaches, pools, hot tubs and related aquatic venues reaching 400 million a year. In total, there were upwards of 5million unground pools in America in 2015. Having a pool, though, is not all fun and games. It means also having to clean and maintain it and that can take valuable time away from fun in the sun.
A pool contractor can make all the difference in helping you keep your pool in tiptop shape with a pool cleaning service, general pool maintenance and the ability to resolve most pool issues. Most pool contractors can maintain and clean both fresh and saltwater pools. Creating a saltwater pool, for example, means seeding a 200,000 gallon pool with roughly 530 pounds of salt and maintaining a salt concentration of between 3,000 and 5,000 ppm of salt — much lower than the 35,000 ppm salt of the ocean. The demand for saltwater pools is increasing, having grown from 15% of new installations to 75% between 2002 and 2007, with more than 1.4 million such pools operating globally in 2016.
In contrast, fresh water pools require a different maintenance routine to maintain the required pH range of between 7.4 and 7.6. Such maintenance means using chemicals that usually cost about $25 to $40 a month according to experts. Maintaining a chlorinated pool means commitment and regular cleaning. The recommendation is that all pools should be cleaned at least weekly during the swimming months.
Given that blood flow to the heart increases by a third when you are immersed in water and swimming is an excellent all-round form of exercise, increasing pool ownership is unsurprising. The trend is towards inground pools, with the number of new ground pool installations having dropped 6.4% to 162,000 in 2014. A pool contractor is needed to install a new pool inground. Such pool contractors can also be useful for pool pump maintenance and pool pump repair and usually offer swimming pool resurfacing services should the need arise. Maintaining the cleanliness and health of your pool can ensure that you enjoy the relaxation and heath benefits of your backyard swimming pool for many years to come.
