What weekly pool service really costs in Palm Beach County

With us, $140 a month for a small pool, up to $300 or more for a large one, with every chemical included. That is how we quote it, and the table above shows how the size moves it.

That is a monthly figure for four or five visits, not a per visit price. If a company quotes you per visit, multiply it out, and then ask whether chemicals are on top. That second question is where most of the difference between quotes actually lives. It is the same rate in Royal Palm Beach, Greenacres and Lake Worth as it is in Wellington, and the full visit checklist is on the weekly pool service page. Monthly pool service in West Palm Beach is priced the same way.

The same as anywhere else we work: $140 a month at the small end, up to $300 or more for a large pool, chemicals included. Wellington is home base, so there is no travel built into the number.

Wellington has everything from small neighborhood pools to estate pools on the equestrian side, which is why the range is wide. You get the real figure for your pool before anything starts. See pool service in Wellington for how the weekly visit works.

Size and depth, mostly, because both drive how much chemical the water takes and how long we are standing there. After that it is the yard around the pool.

• Pool size and depth. More water takes more chemical and more time.
• Trees and screen. Out in Loxahatchee and The Acreage the leaf load can matter more than the pool itself, and an open pool with no cage collects far more.
• Well water. Metals in the fill water need extra treatment every time the level is topped up.

Distance barely factors in if the route is planned properly, which is why we group towns by day instead of crossing the county twice.

Usually not. A low weekly rate with chemicals billed on top tends to cost more over a year than a flat rate that covers them, the number just arrives in pieces so it feels smaller.

July is where you find out. Three straight weeks of afternoon storms dilute the water and knock the chemistry around, and a pool needs a lot more chlorine to stay clear. On an itemized plan that shows up on the bill. On ours it does not, because the price is the price. When you are comparing quotes, ask what the bill looks like after a stormy month.

A proper weekly visit nets the surface, vacuums the floor, brushes the walls and steps, empties the skimmer and pump baskets, cleans the filter, and tests and balances the water. Ours also sprays the tile line and includes every chemical in the price.

If a quote does not spell out what happens on each visit, ask. The full checklist, and what is normally left out, is in what weekly pool service includes.

For most people here, yes, because a Florida pool punishes a missed week. Heat and sun burn chlorine off fast and an afternoon storm can undo a good balance in an hour, so a pool that was fine on Saturday can be green by Wednesday.

Doing it yourself is perfectly possible if you enjoy it. You need a proper test kit (the CDC recommends a DPD kit over strips for chlorine), somewhere safe to store chemicals, and an hour or so every week without fail. What people underestimate is the cost of getting it wrong: a single green out can eat a month of the money you saved, and water kept out of balance for a season is hard on plaster and equipment.

It tells you what happens on each visit, it says in writing that chemicals are included, it gives you an actual day of the week.

If a quote is fuzzy on any of that, ask about it before you sign, not after. A real number for your actual pool is better than a starting from figure that changes once somebody sees the yard.

Some do, through chemical surcharges, and we do not. Summer is when a Florida pool uses the most chlorine and gets the most debris, so an itemized plan quietly costs more from June to September. A flat monthly rate with chemicals included is the same in July as it is in January.