Splash Mob Pools will drain, filter clean, and refill your pool for $250. For Weekly Service Members, we perform this service for $125 (a 50% discount). We will visit your home 3 times over the course of 3 days:
It’s important to note that if you have algae present in your pool, your pool will require a more intensive process to fully eliminate algae from all surfaces so that the problem does not re-appear in your new pool water, which may take longer. If we identify algae, we will notify you and inform you of our recommendation before proceeding. See What If I Have Algae? below
Pools are kept clean by two systems working together: Filtration, and Sanitization. To state the obvious, filtration is the job of your filter, which catches particles that are big enough to become caught in the filter media (if you have a cartridge filter, that media is spun polyester; if you have a DE filter, that media are the DE particles themselves; and if you have sand, then its the granules of sand). Sanitization is the job of the chlorine in your pool, which kills live organisms like algae and bacteria (which are then caught and removed by your filter).
So, what happens to ‘stuff’ that is too small to become caught in your pool’s filter, or deactivated by your pool’s chemistry? In some cases, it dissipates. For example, chlorine is reactive with sunlight, and over time it will degrade into chlorine gas and evaporate. But other chemicals will not. Minerals like calcium will build up over time, as will cyanuric acid. As water from your pool evaporates, this material becomes even more concentrated in your pool. And evaporation (especially in dry Arizona) is no joke. Pools can lose their entire volume of water each year due to evaporation. That means that, each year, your pool can double its concentration of non-filterable material.
We often hear from potential customers that they are calling us because they have tried everything but they still can’t keep their pool balanced. It will become cloudy very quickly, or chlorine levels will barely increase no matter how much chlorine they add. In those cases, our first question is always: When did you last drain and refill your pool? Often times, troublesome pools haven’t been drained for years.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend draining and refilling pools once every 3 years. However, there are circumstances where you may want to drain and refill more often. For example:
Pool surfaces (especially plaster) should not be exposed to temperatures above 90 degrees for prolonged periods when dry. In the Valley, that typically means Fall through Spring are good times to drain your pool, and you should generally avoid the Summer.
For our customers, we typically drain and refill in the Spring, throughout March and April, when the average daily temperatures are still below 90 degrees (and nighttime lows well below that). Plus, this means that you have fresh new pool water to start off pool season!
What should you do if it’s the summer and you have persistent cloudiness and high CYA levels? In that case, we’d recommend a partial drain and fill, where you empty 25%-50% of the pool water, starting the drain in the evening after the sun has set, and refilling the water the next morning before peak temperatures. This will likely address most of the issue (although you should still plan on a full drain and fill come Fall)
Lastly, while this varies depending on exactly where you live in the Valley, water rates tend to be lowest from December through March, and highest June through September, so March can also be the most cost effective time of year to drain your pool.
There are some solutions that may or may not be appropriate depending on the specific circumstances of your pool. For example:
If you don’t have the time or don’t want to do a full drain, you can partially drain and refill your pool. If you have a sand or DE filter and backwash regularly, a partial drain may be fine because the backwash process turns over your water a bit with each flush. But again, if you have high CYA levels or struggle with cloudiness in your pool, we would strongly recommend a full drain.
Clarifiers are chemical substances that help clear cloudy pool water by clumping together tiny particles into larger ones, so that they can be more easily captured by the pool’s filter. If your pool water is cloudy but chemical balance is within normal range, you can try a clarifier. It’s important to note that clarifiers are most effective for DE and cartridge filters; they can sometimes make pools with sand filters even more cloudy. This is because DE and cartridge filters can capture much smaller particles than sand filters. So, with a sand filter, sometimes a clarifier can bind very small particles together into a bigger particle, which the sand filter cannot capture. But now that larger particle can be more easily seen, resulting in an even cloudier look to the pool.
Phosphates are chemicals that also serve as food for algae, which can encourage algae growth. Similar to clarifiers, phosphate removers bind with phosphates, creating particles large enough to be filtered out. by removing phosphates, you are starving algae of nutrients, which can limit algae blooms. So, if you have recurring algae problems, you can try phosphate removers first.
Flocculants are like clarifiers on steroids. like clarifiers, they bind smaller particles together. But unlike clarifiers, they do this in a super-charged way, creating very large clumps that are heavy enough to settle to the bottom of the pool. These clumps can then be vacuumed out of the pool. Flocculants are ideal for severe cloudiness issues (especially if you have an upcoming pool party)
It varies, but most residential pools in the Valley are somewhere in the 10,000 to 20,000 gallon range. Water rates (which are quoted in hundred cubic feet, or 748 gallons) range from just over $4 per 748 gallons for homes inside Phoenix in the Winter, to nearly $8 per 748 gallons for homes outside Phoenix in the Summer. For a typical 15,000 gallon swimming pool in Phoenix, draining and refilling in March, the water costs for the refill will be approximately $85. If this pool is drained and refilled every 3 years, the monthly cost of that is about $2.40 per month. High CYA levels can easily require an extra tab of chlorine in your pool each month or even week, so we think the cost-benefit of draining your pool regularly is well worth your money.
Certainly! You’ll need a sump pump and hose, and you may want a pressure washer and auto-fill attachment, although those aren’t strictly necessary
If you have an algae bloom, it’s very important to treat that problem before draining and refilling your pool. Algae is extremely persistent and can exist in your pool system even when not visible to the naked eye. For example, algae can live in your filter, in your pop-ups, and in your skimmer, to name a few places, and a simple drain and refill will not necessarily eliminate your algae problem. If you have any kind of algae (green, yellow, or black), it’s crucial to eliminate it entirely before draining and refilling your pool.
If we identify algae during our visit and quote, we will notify you before proceeding. The procedure to eliminate algae will depend on the specifics of your pool and may require a more intensive process, which we will discuss with you.
