Don't let yourself be discouraged by the thought of swimming pool construction. You can significantly decrease the expense of owning and using a swimming pool by avoiding mistakes that unnecessarily drive up costs.

The following are six mistakes you can avoid that drive up the costs of having a swimming pool. 

Not learning to close your pool yourself

Paying someone to close down your pool at the end of the season can be costly. The process of closing down your pool might not be that difficult or time-consuming once you've gotten the hang of it. 

Only buying a small number of pool chemicals at a time

As a pool owner, you're going to have to regularly buy pool chemicals to keep your pool clean and in good shape over time. You can save money on your pool chemicals if you buy them in bulk. 

Buy in bulk rather than just getting enough pool chemicals for the immediate future for the best prices on the pool supplies you need. 

Running your pump during the day if you don't need to

Some electric utility companies won't charge as much for power consumed during the night as they will for power consumed during the day. That's because there is more demand for power during the day. If you run your pool pump only at night, you therefore might be able to minimize power supply costs. 

Going too long without shocking your pool

Set a schedule for shocking your pool and stick to it. If you shock your pool once a week, you might find that water gets dirty very fast if you skip even just one week. When this happens, you may have to invest a lot of time and money into shocking your pool multiple times before you can get it back to normal. 

Failing to take advantage of robotic pool cleaners

Robotic pool cleaners can be expensive to buy initially, but they can save you a lot of money over time. These robotic cleaners are often less expensive to run than a pool filter and pump at once.

Robotic pool cleaners aren't just convenient, but they can also be cost-effective if you decrease reliance on your pump and filter once you start using them. 

Purchasing a single or dual speed pump rather than a variable speed pump

A variable speed pump is typically more cost-effective than a single or dual speed pump. That's because a variable speed pump optimizes pump speed and thereby energy consumption depending on the needs of your pool at a given moment.

You can bring down the utility costs associated with running a pool by investing in a variable speed pump.