- By balancing the chemical makeup at the beginning of the year, we save money throughout the year because the chlorine hangs around and the pH does not bounce. We got a complete chemical measuring kit that allows us to measure hardness, alkalinity, and cyanuric acid (stabilizer) as well as pH and chlorine.

- We run the pool pump on a timer instead of all the time. This cuts our electric cost in half or third.

We get many chemicals from the grocery store instead of the pool store. Same chemicals.

- Chlorine bleach. 1 gallon (standard 5%) replaces about 1 lb of "shock". If you get the "Ultra" bleach in the smaller container, you are paying more for the chlorine but it is close enough.

- Sodium carbonate is baking soda. Same stuff as the pool store.

- Calcium chloride is used to increase pool hardness in the summer and is packaged as ice melter in the winter.

- 20-mule team Borax is cheaper at the grocery store and is the same borax as in the pool store.

For more info, I use this site for reference to maintain my pool:
PoolSolutions.com

Some who use it like it.

When I sold it, a few years back, I bought (not edible quality) baking soda at the feed store - for about $10.00 for a (40 lb.?) bag, to go along with it.

As you say ... it doesn't need to cost a mint to operate a pool.

And, of course, as I live on a farm, if I choose to travel to a municipal pool, often there's a fee ...

... but there's also the problem of using more precious (and expensive ... but about to get more so) energy to get there ... plus adding to not only global warming, but pollution.

My landlord is pleased that Uncle's farm that he bought over two years ago has two ponds, as he wants to irrigate his sod.

And he's paying $90. per hour for the last couple of days to have a guy with a shovel dig one of them (which is dry now, as it's been dry this summer) a whole lot deeper.

The shovel was down so far yesterday after noon that one could scarcely see the boom from the house.

I hope that he doesn't dig it so deep that he can't get out.

Maybe I can go for a swim in one of them (the shallower one).

ole joyful

That's still 14 hours a day, and very long IME.
We run around 10 hours a day in the summer and 8 hours a day in the winter South Florida. I suppose if you have a smaller pump you might need to run it a longer time, but honestly 14 hours is a lot. It doesn't need to be running in the dark anyway, does it?

The best way we found to keep expenses down was to keep a very close eye on things to begin with so we hardly ever needed to shock, add soda, or buffer.

If you lived around here, you'd better get the water out of your pump before about October ... or you'd have water gushing out of the pump body, come spring.

It seems that ice and metal pumps don't get along very well.

Engine blocks of cars, either.

Have yourself a great summer ...

... what's left of it.

Slept in the car last night.

Needed to start the engine to use the heater, before sun-up.

Me being someting of a chicken, that is. Or, should I say, that I like my comfort ... though I do keep my house rather chilly in winter. But my short-sleeved shirted arms told me last night that it just ain't winter, yet.

They must have gotten spoiled, over summer. Too used to the good life, maybe.

ole joyful

The bicarb is used in baking to make cakes, cookies, etc rise. It's also used to relive acid indigestion. Sodium carbonate, called "washing soda," is used as a laundry adjunct. It is extremely caustic and is a deadly toxin when ingested..

People have lost their lives because they've mistakenly used toxic sodium carbonate, instead of edible sodium bicarbonate, to relieve acid indigestion.

This is a 3 year old thread and the OP is not getting follow-up replies emailed to them. You might want to start a new thread or do a search over at The Pool Forum.