Buying a Home With a Pool: Your First 30 Days

A pool can be the best part of a house. It can also be the part you know least about on closing day. This guide gives you a plain plan for your first 30 days as owner of a home with a pool in North Texas.

Start with the sale itself. Then work through safety, equipment, water and a care routine. You do not need to learn everything at once. You need to fix what is unsafe, learn what you own, and set up care before the water changes.

Does a Texas home inspection cover the pool?

Not by default. Texas Real Estate Commission rules list swimming pools, spas and hot tubs as optional systems. Under 22 TAC 535.233, an inspector is not required to inspect those systems. If the inspector agrees to inspect them, the rule says what to report.

When an inspector does look, the rule calls for reporting on items such as:

• a single blockable main drain, which is a potential entrapment hazard
• a pump motor, blower or other electrical equipment that lacks bonding
• absent or deficient safety barriers
• absent or failed ground-fault circuit interrupter protection
• water leaks in above-ground pipes and equipment
• problems with filters, gauges, pumps, motors, controls and sweeps
• lighting fixtures, drains, skimmers and valves
• surfaces, tile, coping and decks

So check your inspection contract. Ask whether the pool is in scope, and read the report for the word “pool.” If it is out of scope, ask for a separate pool and equipment check. Our equipment inspection service looks at pumps, filters, heaters, valves, plumbing connections, timers and controls, and gives repair and replacement recommendations. It is not a legal or structural inspection of the shell.

A shell, deck or leak concern needs a specialist. I will not guess at those here. Our bucket test guide covers a basic check for water loss.

What should I ask the seller?

Ask for paper first. Records tell you what you are buying. Use this list.

Ask for answers in writing when you can. If the seller does not know, write that down too. You can then use an inspection to fill the gaps.

What are the first 30 days?

Work in this order: safety, equipment, water, routine. The table gives the plan, and the sections after it explain each step.

If you closed in the middle of summer or just before a freeze, move the water and freeze steps up. Our North Texas pool calendar shows what each month asks of you.

How do I do a safety check in the first days?

Check the barrier, the gates, the drains and the electrical protection before anyone swims. CPSC advises layers of protection, including barriers that keep an unsupervised child from reaching the water. It names door alarms, pool covers and self-closing, self-latching devices on fence gates and doors that open onto the pool.

Walk the property and note each point.

1. Barrier and gates. Do the gates close and latch on their own? Are there gaps a child could use?
2. Doors to the pool. If a door from the house opens to the pool, is there an alarm or another layer?
3. Drain covers. CPSC says to confirm that drain covers meet federal safety standards, and to ask your pool service provider about safer covers if you are unsure. Keep children away from drains and openings. A broken or missing cover is a reason to stay out of the pool.
4. Electrical protection. Do the outlets near the pool have working GFCI protection? Is the equipment bonded? Test the GFCI button as the maker directs. If something looks wrong, call a qualified pro. Do not attempt wiring.
5. Water watcher. CPSC advises naming an adult water watcher who is not reading, texting or otherwise distracted.

Your city may have its own barrier or permit rules. I did not find a verified local rule to quote for each town, so ask your city and read the seller’s permit papers.

What do I check on the equipment pad?

Find every piece of equipment and write down what you see. The equipment pad is the cluster of pump, filter, heater and controls, often beside the house. Take photos of every label and gauge. Then look for these.

• Pump. Note the brand and type. A variable speed pump can be set to different speeds. Listen for grinding and look for drips or air in the pump lid. Check that the pump basket is clean.
• Filter. Is it cartridge, sand or DE? Read the pressure gauge and write down the number when the filter is clean. That clean number is your baseline.
• Heater. Find it, note the type, and ask the seller when it last ran.
• Salt system. If the pool uses salt, find the cell and the control box. Salt does not make a pool maintenance free.
• Controls and timers. Learn what runs on a schedule. Find the main breaker and the pool breakers.
• Valves and plumbing. Look for leaks at unions, valves and fittings. Learn which handle does what before you need it in a hurry.

ENERGY STAR notes that a timer matters for cost. It says running the filter 6 hours instead of 24 cuts energy use by 75 percent. That does not mean you should cut your run time. A pool needs enough circulation to stay clear. Ask a pro to set a plan for your pool and your pump.

To judge age, use ranges, not guesses. Our pool equipment lifespan guide gives the ranges I found and where each one comes from.

How do I get the water right?

Test the water on day one, then test on a steady schedule. CDC recommends pH 7.0 to 7.8 and at least 1 ppm chlorine in a pool, with at least 2 ppm if you use chlorine products that contain stabilizer. CDC advises testing chlorine and pH at least twice a day for home pools, and more often when the pool gets heavy use.

A test strip works for a quick look, but a drop kit or a lab test gives a better read. Learn these terms on day one:

• Free chlorine is the chlorine that is ready to sanitize.
• pH shows how acidic or basic the water is.
• Cyanuric acid is a stabilizer that protects chlorine from sun.
• Total alkalinity helps hold pH steady.
• Calcium hardness affects scale and etching.

Our water chemistry chart gives target ranges.

If the pool arrives green or cloudy, do not start with a pile of products. Our guide to clearing a green pool explains the order of steps. Follow each product label.

Handle chemicals with care. CDC says to store each pool chemical separately in its own place, keep chemicals in their original labeled containers, keep them dry and below 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and never mix chlorine products with acid. Lock chemicals away from children and pets. Pick a cool, dry spot.

Who should care for the pool?

Pick a routine before the first hot week. You can do it yourself, or you can hire weekly service. The right answer depends on your time and your comfort with chemicals.

If you hire, use a short checklist. Our hiring checklist covers insurance, how to look up a TDLR license for electrical work, and what to ask before you sign. Marina Pool Services is insured through IPSSA.

Marina’s weekly service covers water balance, emptying baskets, backwashing filters as needed, and vacuuming and brushing as needed. See weekly pool service in Grapevine for details. We quote each job.

What about freezes and storms?

Learn your freeze plan in the first month. DFW Airport’s average first freeze is November 22 and its average last freeze is March 12, per the National Weather Service. Freezes outside that window do happen. The earliest first freeze on record was October 22, 1898.

Ask the seller whether the pool has freeze protection, such as a sensor and a controller setting, and test it before cold weather. Hayward says its controller’s freeze protection is normally adequate for areas with infrequent freezing that does not dip far below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. For other conditions, it says to shut the pool down per normal winter procedures. Marina’s Freeze Guard service covers freeze protection and winterization for vulnerable equipment. Our freeze protection guide explains the options.

What mistakes do new pool owners make?

These are the common ones. All of them are avoidable.

• They assume the home inspection covered the pool.
• They skip the safety walk and swim first.
• They mix chemicals or store them in a hot garage.
• They add products without testing the water.
• They turn off the pump to save money, then see the pool go green.
• They ignore a small drip or a new noise.
• They wait for a freeze to learn where the shutoffs are.
• They hire on price alone without checking scope or insurance.

Avoid those and your first month goes much easier.

What should I bring to the first inspection?

Bring your photos, your questions and your goals. Tell the inspector what you want to know: how old the parts seem, what needs work now, what can wait, and what to plan for next year. A good report is in plain words. It tells you what each part is, what shape it is in and what the options are.

Marina Pool Services is a family-owned, locally operated company based in Grapevine, with more than 20 years of combined pool experience, and it works on residential pools. It services and installs Hayward, Pentair, Jandy and Raypak equipment. See our equipment repair page if the inspection finds something to fix.

Next step

Book a pool equipment inspection before or just after closing. Call (817) 896-1120 or send the quote form at /contact.