How Much Does Pool Maintenance Cost in Centurion?
Most people who ask what pool maintenance costs want to know two things: what a weekly service will cost every month, and what they are likely to pay when something goes wrong. This guide sets out Crystal Reef's current prices for both, taken from the same price list our written quotes are built from, and explains how to work out which size band your pool falls into.
The prices apply to pools in Centurion and the areas where we run weekly routes: Pretoria, Pretoria East and Midrand. Fourways and Johannesburg are serviced on request.
Weekly maintenance plans, priced by pool size
A weekly plan is a fixed monthly price set by the volume of your pool. Volume matters because a bigger pool takes longer to brush and vacuum, holds more water to balance and puts more work through the filter.
- Small pool, up to 30,000 litres: R950 a month
- Medium pool, 30,000 to 50,000 litres: R1,199 a month
- Large pool, over 50,000 litres: R1,499 a month
Each visit follows the same routine. The water is tested first, then the balance is corrected based on the readings. The surface is skimmed, the weir and pump baskets are emptied, the walls, steps and waterline are brushed, and the floor is vacuumed or the automatic cleaner is checked. The filter is backwashed when the gauge says so, and the equipment is checked for wear. Exactly what is included for your pool is set out in your written quote before you agree to anything. You can read more about the routine on our weekly pool maintenance service page.
The establishment fee
When a plan starts there is a once-off establishment fee of R1,499. It appears on your written quote alongside the monthly price, so the full cost of starting is clear up front.
The call-out, and why weekly clients do not pay it
A call-out to inspect or diagnose is R650. Deducted from your quote when you accept it. If you are on a weekly plan, you do not pay the call-out. We are at your pool every week anyway, so looking at a noisy pump or a filter that will not hold pressure is part of the visit rather than a separate trip.
Once-off services and what they cost
Not everyone wants a weekly plan. These are the once-off services and their current prices.
Once-off deep cleans
A once-off clean suits a pool that has been neglected for a few weeks, a house that is about to be sold or let, or a pool you want looking right before a family event.
- Up to 30,000 litres: R1,200
- 30,000 to 50,000 litres: R1,500
- Over 50,000 litres: R1,800
The details of what a deep clean covers are on our pool cleaning service page.
Green pool recovery
A green pool needs more than a clean. The algae has to be killed, the dead algae removed, the filter cleared and the water rebalanced, usually over more than one visit. Recovery is priced by pool size, from R1,200: R1,200 up to 30,000 litres, R1,500 for 30,000 to 50,000 litres and R1,800 above that. See our green pool recovery service for how the process works.
Sand changes, priced by filter bag count
Filter sand wears out. The grains lose their sharp edges, clump together and let dirt straight through. A sand change is priced by how many bags of media your filter takes, which is usually printed on the filter's label or in its manual.
- 3-bag filter: R1,450
- 4-bag filter: R1,550
- 5-bag filter: R1,650
- 6-bag filter: R1,750
If you cannot find the bag count, a photo of the filter and its label on WhatsApp is usually enough for us to tell you. Sand changes start from R1,450.
Equipment and specialist work
- Pump repair or service: R850 for diagnosis and repair. Parts are extra and are quoted before they are fitted.
- Chlorinator service: R1,299, which covers cleaning and inspecting the salt cell.
- Acid wash: R3,500 for a full acid wash of the pool surface.
- Tile and coping cleaning: R800 for descaling the waterline tiles.
- Leak detection: R1,200 to find where the water is going.
How to work out your pool's volume in litres
Plans, cleans and green pool recovery are all priced by volume, so it helps to know roughly how many litres your pool holds. For a rectangular pool the sum is simple:
length × width × average depth × 1,000 = litres
Measure in metres. Length times width times depth gives you the volume in cubic metres, and one cubic metre holds 1,000 litres, which is why you multiply by 1,000 at the end.
The average depth is the shallow end plus the deep end, divided by two. If your pool is 1 metre deep at the shallow end and 2 metres at the deep end, the average depth is 1.5 metres.
Here is a worked example. A pool 8 metres long and 4 metres wide, with an average depth of 1.5 metres, holds 8 × 4 × 1.5 = 48 cubic metres. Multiply by 1,000 and you get 48,000 litres, which puts it in the medium band.
For a round pool, multiply the diameter by itself, then by the average depth, then by 785. For an oval pool, multiply the longest length by the widest width, then by the average depth, then by 785. Kidney-shaped and irregular pools are harder to measure, so treat the answer as an estimate. If it lands close to the edge of a band, we confirm the size when we see the pool.
What drives the cost of looking after a pool
The plan price is fixed, but the overall cost of owning a pool depends on a few things.
- Size. More water means more chemicals to hold the balance, more pump hours and more surface to clean.
- Trees and wind. Leaves and pollen add to the load on the filter and use up chlorine as they break down.
- Sun and storms. Highveld sun burns off chlorine quickly in summer, and afternoon storms dilute the water and wash dust and debris in.
- How the pool is used. A pool used by a busy household every afternoon needs more attention than one used a few times a month.
- Equipment condition. An old pump or a filter with tired sand makes everything else harder and more expensive.
- Consistency. A pool kept in balance costs less to look after than one allowed to drift and then rescued. Recovery work is always more expensive than routine care.
For a fuller explanation of the chemistry behind that last point, our guide to pool water balance on the Highveld goes through pH, alkalinity and calcium in detail.
Doing it yourself versus a weekly service
Plenty of people look after their own pools well. If you enjoy it, are home most weeks and test consistently, doing it yourself makes sense. You buy your own test kit and chemicals, and spend time each week brushing, vacuuming and backwashing.
A weekly service suits people who travel, work long hours, let out a property or simply would rather swim than scrub. It also suits pools with a history of turning green, because the most expensive outcomes, such as a green pool recovery, a sand change forced early by neglect or a pump damaged by running dry, usually come from gaps in routine rather than from any single mistake.
Whichever way you go, the basics are the same, and our complete guide to pool maintenance in Centurion covers the weekly checklist.
What is quoted separately
Some costs cannot be priced until we have seen the pool, so they are quoted separately and in writing:
- Parts for pump repairs.
- Leak repairs, once leak detection has found where the water is going.
- Fitting a new pool light. The transformer and LED light are R1,799, and the fitting is quoted separately.
- Pool covers. Installation labour is R500, and the cover itself is priced per metre after we measure the pool.
- New equipment such as pumps, filters, chlorinators and heat pumps, which we sell in our online shop and install at fixed fitting prices listed in the shop's Installations department.
Paying for your plan
Weekly plans are billed monthly. You pay the first month, and then a PayFast debit order runs each month from a link we email you, so there is nothing to remember. Online payments go through PayFast by card, Instant EFT or SnapScan. We do not handle cash.
Getting a price for your pool
If you would like a written quote, send us a WhatsApp on 081 577 5051 with your suburb, a photo of the pool and, if you have them, its rough measurements and a photo of the filter label. We will confirm which plan or service fits and send the price in writing before any work is done. If you are nearby, our Centurion pool services page covers the suburbs and estates we look after.