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I recently inherited a 4,400 gallon Intex pool, and I'm starting to wonder if I've bitten off more than I can chew. How much does it usually cost per month to maintain a pool like this? (I expect only two people to use it a few times a week, with a few guests on rare occasions.)
Also, is an SWG worth considering? How would the costs compare vs. the simple Intex recipe?
EDIT: My husband and I are both disabled and low income. Water and electric are included in our rent.
The cost of an SWCG compared to the 'recipe' is WAY higher! SWCG units are very expensive. They are convenient but if you are on low income, it is probably not something you would want to buy.
It won't cost that much to maintain your pool since it is such a small one but the most important thing is that you MUST maintain adequate chlorine level so you don't get algae. Algae in these little Intex pools is pretty much a nightmare to clean up.
Follow the recipe by using the recommended dichlor until you get a CYA level built up to around 50ish. Then, you can switch to just using some regular unscented bleach for your chlorine. (Many of us use the generic Walmart 8.25% bleach.)
You do need to get a kit. The one we recommend is the Taylor K2006 or 2006C (better buy). You won't be able to buy it locally, but you can get it through this link:> http://pool9.net/tk/ Having that kit makes pool maintenance a whole lot easier. If you are unable to buy that kit, an alternative is the HTH 6-Way drops-based kit that you may be able to get at Walmart. It is not anywhere near as good as the K2006 but better than most other kits. (If possible, I'd suggest getting the K2006.)
Hope this helps. Let us know if you have further questions. We'll be glad to try and help.:)
There's actually an SWG at WalMart for $123. Reading has given me the impression that you don't have to buy as many chemicals for them and that the salt gets reused.
I think it's really the dichlor that scares me because I haven't seen it very cheap anywhere. I have seen trichlor much cheaper, although it's probably cheaply made and diluted.
Do you know where a good place to get a smaller quantity of good dichlor is? Or might I fare better with bleach and stabilizer?
I forgot about the Intex SWG. Some people do use those but if you do, you should disconnect the copper electrode. Contrary to what most people believe, it is not chlorine that stains things and turns light-colored hair green, it is copper!
The only places that we recommend to buy Dichlor are Amazon and Sam's Club. (The links are on the 'recipe' page.) Other brands are blended with unwanted stuff that you don't want in your pool. If you do use the recipe, you won't use dichlor permanently. Only until your CYA level builds up to around 50.
If you prefer to just use bleach and buy and add some CYA separately, that is certainly another option. For your pool, you would need about 1-1/2 lbs. or so. That would get you close to 50. Then, you could use bleach to maintain a chlorine reading between 3-6ppm. For reference, in a 4400 gallon pool, each cup of 8.25% bleach would add about 1.2ppm of chlorine. So, it wouldn't take all that much bleach to maintain your pool.
But, let me say again, you need to make sure that you do not allow the pool to get algae. Cleaning up a small Intex pool is tough!
Hope this helps.