While some people like to take a hands on approach with their salt water pool, other people are just as likely to leave the work to the pros. Namely a local pool company with a good reputation.
Here are 7 salt water pool problems the pros should fix to ensure the work is done right:
- Salt chlorinator problems
- Gas heater problems
- Vinyl liner has come out of the track away from the wall
- Electrical work that needs to be done
- Pool opening
- Pool closing
- Water leaks
Salt chlorinator problems
While modern salt chlorination systems are very intuitive with computers, timers and flow controllers that usually work well, sometimes things wear out or otherwise go wrong. While you might be able to troubleshoot basic things like air leaks and things of that nature, chlorinators have complex circuit boards that can sometimes cause trouble over time.
In that case, you’re better off getting help rather than trying to figure things out yourself.
Gas heater problems
Gas pool heaters are also complex just like chlorinators. They have the added aspect of gas which is both flammable and a carbon monoxide risk. Granted gas pool heaters are vented outdoors but they have an active gas supply which carries a danger.
Typical gas pool heater problems include:
- Gas leak
- Water leak
- Cobwebs blocking burners
- Heater won’t ignite
- Heater won’t reach desired temperature
- Heater turns on and off quickly
Some issues like cobwebs blocking the flames might be fixable. My pool heater guy showed me how to use compressed air just like he once did to save me having to pay him to do it next time.
But for more serious issues that you can’t figure out yourself, a visit from a qualified pool heater repair service might be in order. Common replacements parts include the thermostat, ignitor, flame sensor, and o-rings among others.
A good quality pool heater that is well-maintained can last around 10 years on average.
Vinyl liner has come out of the track away from the wall
Over time, parts of your vinyl liner will start to pull away from the wall of your pool. Eventually of course a liner will need to be completely replaced due to wear, tear (literally), fading or leaks. That’s definitely a job for the pros.
But you might be able to put the vinyl liner back in the track around your pool walls when part of it pops up using boiling water and your strong hands. And if you’re able to do this, then you’re a better person than me and probably have stronger and bigger hands than I do because I’ve never been able to do it consistently.
Essentially you boil water in a kettle and carefully pour some around the top of the liner that has come away from the wall to soften it enough that you can then quickly stretch it up and shove it back into the track around the pool wall.
Again, if you’re able to do it yourself, congrats! I’ve tried and only had limited success! Over time though, an aging vinyl pool liner will become harder to stretch even with boiling water and you might need the pros to do the work for you especially if the liner has come away from the wall significantly.
A good quality pool liner may last 10 years give or take – maybe longer if you take care of it and given local weather conditions – but it will need to be replaced eventually.
Electrical work that needs to be done
Pool pumps are typically hardwired and the chlorinator might do too. I wouldn’t suggest doing any work that a licensed electrician should do.
I met a woman years ago with a salt water pool whose pump caught fire and effectively burned out all her pool equipment. The firefighters and insurer determined that it was incorrect wiring for the pool pump most likely done by the previous home owner that was responsible.
Fortunately for her, insurance covered the loss but it was a significant cost borne by the insurance company.
Plus it resulted in a fire! Someone could have been seriously hurt or killed.
Don’t do electrical work that a licensed electrician should be doing for you.
Pool opening
Not a problem per se, but it can lead to one if you don’t do it correctly. I didn’t open my pool until about the fourth year of ownership. At that point I’d watched the pool company do the work each year and realized my wife and I could do that work ourselves. So we saved the money and began opening our pool ourselves.
We figured that if anything went wrong, it would be minor since it effectively involved taking the pool cover off, putting the pump together, starting the system up and getting the water clear. At worst, I’d have to contact the pool company for help and some chemicals to clear things up.
What we never did was close the pool ourselves.
Speaking of which…
Pool closing
We continue paying our pool company to do the work to close our pool in autumn given that we live in a cold weather zone with freezing weather during the winter. Since pipes can freeze and could crack during frigid temperatures, we figure that it’s best to pay the pros to do it.
We also don’t own a powerful pump or compressor that we could use to pump out water and since the pool company has the required equipment, we pay them to do the work.
Having said that, we did switch pool companies after several years because I didn’t feel the first one was doing the best job to close the pool. I’d done research and noticed that they weren’t putting chlorine or winterizing chemicals such as algaecide which resulted in part by us having pea green water full of algae come spring opening several months later.
Water leaks
The water level in your salt water pool will drop during the summer season mostly through evaporation, splashing, back washing (if you have a sand or D.E. filter), if you have to drain water manually and of course if you have a leak.
Leaks can come from a number of places:
- Your pool heater can leak water and might need to be fixed or replaced.
- Your pump and surrounding piping and equipment (pump basket) can leak.
- There might be a leak in the piping either above or below ground in a return line.
- The vinyl liner can have a leak particularly in the corners, seams or areas around stairs or other areas with seals.
Of course, as mentioned above you might also be suffering from water evaporation. Direct sun evaporates water and it’s not uncommon to have to add water during the pool season as the water level drops.
Losing around 0.25″ of water per day or 1.75″ per week (4.5 cm) is normal from evaporation, splashing, etc. But if you find water is consistently dropping more than 2″ (5 cm) per week without back washing or any other significant event, it could be a leak.
Unless you can see a leak that can easily be fixed yourself (loose pipe connection, loose pump basket, etc) it might be a job for your pool company to bring their leak detection equipment in and do the work professionally and quickly to fix it ASAP.
Summary
The more you learn about your salt water pool, the more you’ll be in tune with it to troubleshoot basic and even more complex problems. This will help you make better use of the pool while also saving money and having more time to use the pool rather than waiting for a pool pro to come by and do the work yourself.
But there are some tasks that are best left to the pros such as the ones mentioned on this page. Not only will you get the work done right, you pay for their expertise and have someone to hold responsible should something go wrong.
