How to take Care of pool?

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But when you’re paying a minimum of $10, 000 to install a pool, or in the case of an in-ground pool, $70, 000 (probably more than you spent on your car) — you need more than a guy with a net and a funny punchline — or nice abs.

“Most pool guys are like housecleaners. They should be part housecleaner, part mechanic, ” said Willan Johnson, a former VP of Yahoo’s publisher network who is now the CEO of pool-management company Vivo Pools .

Willan and a couple of his buddies saw an opportunity in the pool industry, which he says is still operating like it’s the 1970s.

“The pool industry is 99 percent ‘one-polers’ — just a guy in a truck, ” Johnson said. And that guy (or lady) is probably thinking how fast he can get in and out, not really about the long-term care and maintenance of the pool. In fact, to make money, he's actually got to get your pool cleaned in 20 minutes or less.

The initial idea for the company was to launch a marketing platform to help pool guys (and ladies) get business — using Google maps to identify pools in the area, Johnson said.

To his surprise, many replied: “We barely use email. We’re not that interested in leveraging your platform.”

That's right, the first thing your pool guy probably didn't tell you — he doesn't even have an email account!

So, they switched gears and launched a high-tech pool-management company.

What makes a high-tech pool company? Well, for starters, they use Salesforce software to determine if the homeowner has a dog, a gate code and when their birthday is (so they can leave a beach ball or something celebratory), as well to automate the schedule and allow homeowners to look up online the name of their pool guy (or lady), what day the person is coming and when their next bill is due.

After having taken the flying leap from the Internet to your backyard pool, here are 10 things Johnson says your pool guy probably didn’t tell you.

10. If you don’t maintain your pool properly, you could cut the lifespan in half.Or, if you don’t maintain it at all, you could cut it down to a quarter.

9. A pool pump can consume up to half of a home’s entire energy output.They now make more energy-efficient models.

8. You may be paying for weekly service but the guy is coming every other week, or even every three weeks.Since pool guys usually come when you’re at work, you have very little way of verifying if and when they’re there.

7. Saltwater pools don’t take care of themselves.You still have to add acid to keep the pH balanced. Just because it seems natural like the ocean — it’s not. In fact, saltwater pools have 1/10 the salt of the ocean, so they’re more like a tear drop than a good salt soak! And, while you may think that since salt is natural it’s environmentally friendly — it’s not. The salt breaks down into various components including hyrdrochloric acid or chlorine gas. Regular pools don’t have that much chlorine. So, if you drain it into your yard, that’s OK. With saltwater, you have to get a truck to suck the water out. Dumping it in your yard would seriously affect the ecosystem. Saltwater can also cause rust on stainless steel parts or cause corrosion in others that can cause you thousands to replace. Johnson isn't saying saltwater pools are bad — just that you should know the facts and how to properly maintain one.