Filters, salt cells, pumps, covers, heaters, automation, and the hard-water problems behind most of them. Here is each job, what the warning signs look like, and what we actually do.
Nobody plans for a repair. When your pump quits or your water turns, you are relying on whoever shows up to tell you the truth about what is wrong and what it will cost to fix. That is exactly where a pool company can take advantage of you, and exactly where we refuse to.
So here is our deal. We diagnose the real problem, not the most expensive one. We tell you honestly when a part is better replaced than patched, and just as honestly when it can be patched. Repairs are billed hourly or by quote, and you will know which it is, and what to expect, before we start.
And we do not wing it. Our techs work from written procedures, the same way our maintenance method is written down and published for anyone to read. Most companies will not tell you what they actually do. We would rather hand you the method and let you hold us to it.
Your filter is what actually keeps the water clear, and it slowly plugs up with everything it catches. A full cleaning means opening the tank, pulling the cartridges or grids, washing them out properly, servicing the O-rings and gaskets, and putting it back together so it seals and holds pressure the way it should.
Weak return jets, a pressure gauge creeping higher than normal, water that will not quite polish up, or a cleaner that has lost its pull. On D.E. filters, needing to backwash more and more often is the filter telling you a real teardown is due.
We work from a written filter procedure that covers both cartridge and D.E. systems. We check the filter pressure against what it runs at when clean, so we are cleaning because the filter needs it, not because it is on a calendar. Then it is a full teardown: elements out and washed, tank cleared, O-rings and gaskets inspected and serviced, everything reassembled and pressure-checked.
One honest thing most companies skip: cartridges wear out. There is a point where a cartridge is done, not dirty, and cleaning it again just wastes your money. When yours reaches that point we will say so and tell you what replacement actually costs before we do anything.
A salt cell makes your chlorine, and in St. George it takes a beating. Our fill water is hard, and constant summer top-offs concentrate calcium until it scales up the cell plates. A scaled cell makes less chlorine and dies younger. Service means inspecting the cell and acid-cleaning it correctly when it needs it.
White flakes drifting in the water, crusty white buildup you can see on the cell plates, chlorine readings that keep coming up short even though the system says it is running, or a salt system throwing cell warnings.
We pull the cell, inspect it, and acid-clean it by written procedure, then rebalance the water so calcium stays in solution instead of crusting right back onto the plates. Cleaning the cell without fixing the chemistry just schedules the next cleaning.
We will also be upfront with you: there is no one-time magic fix for scale, because the root cause is our water. If your pool is throwing white flakes, read our straight-talk breakdown of what those flakes are and how we manage them. And when a cell is at the end of its life, we will tell you it is a replacement, not sell you another cleaning.
One more thing worth knowing: the output % on your automation panel is not your chlorine level, it is just how hard the cell is working. See what that number actually means and why it needs adjusting, not just setting once.
The pump is the heart of the system. Nothing filters, nothing sanitizes, and nothing heats without it moving water. Pump work runs from preventive service on the strainer pot and lid O-ring, to hunting down air leaks, to replacing a worn seal or impeller, to a full motor swap.
A pump that will not prime or keeps losing prime, air bubbles blowing out of the return jets, a strainer pot that will not stay full, water dripping under the pump, grinding or screaming noise, or a pump that runs hot and shuts itself off.
We triage before we tear anything apart. Our written pump procedure starts with a quick check of the whole system so we chase the actual fault, not the loudest symptom. Air problems, water leaks, and noise each point to different parts, and the diagnosis decides the fix.
Then we tell you the honest version: a worn pump seal or impeller is a repair, and we will patch what is worth patching. A motor that is cooked is a replacement, and we will say that plainly with a quote instead of billing you for repairs that will not hold.
Automatic cover pools collect leaves and debris in the cover and the trough it rolls into. Left alone, that muck sits against your cover, grimes it up, and gets dragged across the pool every time it opens. A cleanout means opening it up, clearing the trough, and cleaning the cover itself so it seals and runs the way it should.
Leaves packed along the cover edges, a trough full of sludge, a cover that looks dirty the moment it closes, or a cover that drags, sticks, or does not seal like it used to.
We open the trough, clear out everything that has settled in it, and clean the cover surface itself. It is not glamorous work, which is exactly why it gets skipped, and why we made it a standard service instead of an afterthought.
A real St. George cover cleanout: leaf-packed and grimy, to cleaned out and sealed the way it should run.
The automation panel, timers, and valves decide when your equipment runs and where the water goes. When they are set wrong, everything downstream suffers: the filter does not run long enough, the salt cell cannot keep up, and in winter your freeze protection may not be doing its job.
Equipment turning on and off at odd hours, schedules that do not match what you set, a panel throwing errors, valves that stick or leak, or a pool that keeps going green even though "the system is running."
We service and replace valves, timers, and automation panels, and we verify every schedule at the panel itself instead of trusting what a screen or an app claims. Run schedules are seasonal in our method: long daytime runs through the summer heat, nighttime runs through winter for freeze protection. The full season-by-season rundown is published on our maintenance page.
Cold-season setup matters most here. A hard freeze can crack a cell or pump, so we check freeze-protection settings and make sure the equipment is ready for St. George winters before they arrive.
Pool and spa heaters extend your season, and they are often one of the most expensive pieces of equipment on the pad. That makes heater calls the easiest place for a company to pad a bill, and the most important place to get a straight answer.
A heater that will not fire, shuts off before the water is warm, throws error codes, or heats noticeably slower than it used to.
We diagnose what is actually wrong and tell you what the fix will take before we touch it. Same rule as everything else on this page: if a part is better replaced than patched we will say so, and if the honest math says the whole heater is at the end of its life, we will tell you that too instead of feeding it parts.
Pool decks, patios, and pool covers washed up and looking new again. Simple, satisfying, and priced simply too: $100 an hour of labor.
A deck that has gone grey and grimy, dirt and mineral buildup around the waterline hardscape, or a cover surface that a normal cleaning will not bring back.
We pressure wash decks, patios, and covers. It is hourly labor, and you can add it onto a regular visit or book it on its own.
The full rescue for an algae-green or long-neglected pool. This is not a regular cleaning turned up to ten, it is its own job with its own sequence, and it is one of our core services.
Green water you cannot see the bottom through, a pool that sat unused or untreated for a season, or a swamp you just inherited with a house purchase.
We assess it first, because the water tells us how bad it really is and what it will take. Then we shock and treat it, clear the water, clean out what has settled, and get it swimmable. From there we set you up on a plan so it stays that way, because a green-to-clean without a plan behind it is just a countdown to the next one.
This is the root cause behind half the repairs on this page. St. George fill water is hard, and that calcium is what scales salt cells, stiffens filters, and leaves white flakes. Hardness control means managing it at the source: water softening systems for your pool's fill line, sequestrant programs, and a balance plan that keeps calcium in solution.
White flakes that keep coming back after every cell cleaning, scale crusting on tile and equipment, and a salt cell or filter that needs service far more often than it should.
We will be honest with you the same way we are about the flakes themselves: there is no one-time magic fix, because the root cause is our water. What works is managing it, and on repeat offenders the real long-term fix is a softening system on the fill line that stops the calcium before it ever reaches the pool. The full story is in our article on white flakes and hard water.
Every setup is different, so this one is quote-based. Tell us about your pool and we will tell you what is actually worth doing, and what is not.
Because our hard water concentrates as it evaporates and gets topped off, there comes a point on some pools and spas where the chemistry cannot be balanced back and the right call is replacing some or all of the water. We do drain and refills, including for detached spas and hot tubs, just ask us for a quote for your pool or spa.
Just as important: we will tell you when a drain is not the answer. Draining a pool is not a cure-all, and we would rather fix your water than sell you new water it does not need.
Some jobs sit outside what a pool service company should be touching. When your problem needs a different trade, or a repair we honestly are not the best crew for, we will tell you that straight instead of learning on your equipment. That is the same honesty we promise on every repair on this page, applied to ourselves.
Tell us what is going on and we will get you an honest diagnosis, and for quoted work you approve the number before we begin.
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