The average pool in Arizona houses about 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of water—and your pool will lose nearly all of it in the course of a year thanks to pool water evaporation. While some pool owners may have accepted losing pool water as part of the cost of having a pool, there are actually a number of ways you can cut down on this number.
Why Does Your Pool Lose Water?
Arizona’s climate creates the perfect storm of circumstances for pool water evaporation. High heat — especially in the summer — combined with typically low humidity, are responsible for much of the evaporation. The average pool will lose anywhere from 1/4″ to 1″ per week, and you could lose up to 2,000 gallons a month in the summer.
To give you an idea of how much water you’re losing to pool water evaporation, it’s time to take out your handy pool volume calculator and figure out just how large your pool is, and then perform a bucket or tape test to see how much water you’re losing a day.
The first of the pool solutions is a classic that far too few pool owners take advantage of: their pool cover. When pool owners cover their pool with a swimming pool cover, they can reduce the amount of evaporation by up to 95%! Pool covers come with a host of other benefits, including:
In Arizona desert regions, pool covers tend to retain heat. Consider a reflective pool cover to curb any heat retention, keeping the pool water comfortable for swimming. In recent years, a new type of cover called a liquid pool cover has become more popular. These are either silicon or isopropyl-alcohol-based and they work by forming an incredibly thin layer of molecules on the surface of the water. Many manufacturers of these products claim that they’ll reduce your water evaporation anywhere from 30% to 50%.
Pro Tip: When using a pool cover, make sure to watch kids and pets closely.
A 7mph wind has the potential to increase evaporation losses by a whopping 300%. Image what you can lose during our windy monsoons! You can break the wind by installing fences, trees and shrubs around your backyard pool protecting it from the worst of the wind and reducing evaporation losses.
Pro Tip: Install drought-friendly plants in your backyard to save even more water.
Timers can be installed to standardize how often your pool pump runs and how often pool features run as well. Aeration increases evaporation, so use timers to keep your pool pumping consistently and while turning water fountains, waterfalls and water slides off when they aren’t being actively used
A good solution for preventing pool evaporation is reducing the amount of splashing water. This can be done without sacrificing summer pool fun. When filling your pool, be sure to not overfill to minimize potential loss. Check pool fill valves regularly. A fill valve can get stuck and overfill your pool, especially when you’re out of town for summer vacation.
Pool owners that maintain chemicals properly reduce the frequency of draining a pool. Pools seldom require draining, so ask or hire a professional pool service company in Phoenix before doing so. Sometimes, pool service companies can even perform maintenance or repairs without having to drain your pool.
