Pool Maintenance in Arabian Ranches: What a Proper Service Visit Should Include
Most villas in Arabian Ranches have a pool in the 25 to 40 cubic metre range, and almost every one of them is maintained on a weekly visit that takes twenty minutes. That is enough to keep the water blue in winter. It is not enough in September, when the water is still warm enough for algae to double overnight and the chlorine you added on Saturday is gone by Tuesday. Here is what a service visit should actually cover, so you can tell the difference between a contractor who maintains your pool and one who skims it.
Water testing, done properly and on site
A technician should test free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity and cyanuric acid every visit, with a test kit or photometer, not a strip held up to the sun. The numbers that matter in Dubai are specific. Free chlorine between 1 and 3 ppm. pH between 7.2 and 7.6, and in this climate it drifts up, not down, because the tap water and the dust are both alkaline. Total alkalinity between 80 and 120 ppm, because low alkalinity makes the pH swing wildly each time you dose. Cyanuric acid, the stabiliser that stops sunlight destroying your chlorine, should sit between 30 and 50 ppm. Above 100 ppm the stabiliser starts locking up the chlorine so it cannot work, which is why a pool that has run on trichlor tablets for years can test correct and still go green. The fix is a partial drain and refill, not more chlorine.
The filter, which does most of the real work
Sand filters in Ranches villas should be backwashed when the pressure gauge reads 8 to 10 psi above the clean starting pressure, typically every one to two weeks in dusty months. The gauge itself fails regularly, usually by sticking at a constant reading, so a technician should note the clean pressure after each backwash rather than trusting the needle. Sand needs replacing every four to five years. If your pool clouds after a party but clears overnight when the pump runs longer, tired sand is the usual suspect. Cartridge filters, common on smaller plunge pools, should be hosed down weekly and soaked in a degreaser monthly, because body oils and sunscreen clog them in a way that rinsing alone does not fix.
The pump and the chlorinator
Run times matter more than most owners realise. From May to October the pump should run 8 to 12 hours a day in summer, ideally split across the hottest hours. Cutting it to 4 hours saves maybe AED 200 a month on DEWA and costs you a AED 900 algae clean-up plus chemicals, usually within the same month. Salt chlorinator cells need inspecting monthly and cleaning in a dilute acid solution when the calcium builds up. Dubai water is hard, so a cell left alone for a season furs up like a kettle element and stops producing chlorine while still showing a healthy display. The technician should also clear the pump basket, because a blocked basket cavitation-damages the impeller over time, and that is a pump replacement, not a cleaning job.
The autumn jobs
Right now, at the end of September, three things should be on the list. First, a chlorine shock to burn off the organic load that built up over a summer of heavy swimming, done in the evening so sunlight does not degrade it before it works. Second, an algaecide dose as a preventive while the water is still warm enough for blooms, which in Dubai means through October. Third, a check of the water level and the autofill valve, because evaporation drops sharply as humidity falls and a sticking valve that was masked by summer evaporation suddenly starts overfilling the pool and flooding the plant room.
What weekly maintenance should cost
For a standard Ranches villa pool, a fair weekly contract including labour, testing and routine chemicals runs roughly AED 800 to 1,200 per month, with filter sand, cell cleaning and any repairs billed separately. Quotes far below that usually mean the chemicals are not included, or the visit is fifteen minutes and a chlorine tablet. Ask what is included in writing. If you are coordinating pool care with the rest of the villa, our villa maintenance calendar sets out when each system needs attention across the year, and the same hard-water logic behind water tank cleaning applies to your pool plant room.
Signs your current service is not enough
- The water tests are never shown to you, or are done with a strip waved at the pool edge.
- Backwash happens on a fixed schedule regardless of the pressure gauge.
- The pool goes green or cloudy more than once a season.
- Nobody has mentioned cyanuric acid in the last year.
- The pump run time never changes between January and August.
Any one of these is a reason to ask questions. Two or more mean the pool is being kept blue by luck and chlorine, and luck runs out in the week you travel. If you want a service that tests properly, keeps records, and treats the plant room as equipment rather than a shed, get in touch.