Now that spring has sprung, the best time of year to enjoy your swimming pool has arrived. Is your pool ready for the increased action of the warmer months? If not, it may be time to consider hiring a pool cleaning service.

If you find yourself in such a position, chances are, you have no idea who to call, and no idea where to start. Before you break out the phone book, start browsing the web, or ask your friends to refer you to a pool service, spend a little bit of time to think about your budget and goals for outsourcing your pool care.

If you can afford it, a full pool cleaning and maintenance plan is definitely the best way to go, and there are two reasons. First, it will save you massive amounts of time. If you are paying someone to do some sort of chemical only service to your pool, someone is also going to have to clean the pool, remove the leaves, and what not. Do you really want to spend that time when a pool service could easily take care of it for you? If we are going to improve this economy, giving a little back to a local company will help create jobs, if you are hiring someone, might as well let them completely own what happens in your pool.

Another thing you should of course consider is the condition of your pool and equipment. Let’s say, your pool is a bit older, maybe the tiles are fading or the sides are cracking. Does the expert you are thinking of hiring have any plan for revitalizing your swimming pool, or prolonging the life of your equipment? If not, you might want to find another company.

The next thing you will want to consider before hiring a company is the length of time they have been in business, and whether or not you have heard of them, or know of anyone that has used their pool service. There are a lot of fly by night pool services, and you will want to avoid anyone that falls into this category. You should find someone that is reputable and growing, rather than new or dominant in your locale. Why? Because the growing pool companies will usually provide the best service, and you should always try to reward good companies with your patronage.

You should also consider the pool service experts ability to help you bring your electricity bills down with energy efficient, pool products. There are an entire selection of green energy pool products, including pumps, sweeps, lights, pool covers & more, and if you buy wisely, you can actually save money.

Thinking about all of these different questions before you talk to a pool service company will help you know how to steer the discussion and cut through what is sales pitch. Chances are, if a company is trying to sell you everything under the sun before they have ever cleaned your pool, you should probably find somebody else. Always support local, established and reputable pool services to get the best value for your pool maintenance dollar.