Pool service in Houston

HomeGuide's national figures, dated September 2025, put weekly or every-other-week pool cleaning at $80 to $150 a month, about $960 to $1,800 a year. A first-time cleaning visit costs $150 to $350, repairing a pump motor $50 to $300 and replacing one $150 to $800. Ask a Houston company what its monthly price includes, such as chemicals and filter cleaning.

Texas taxes pool maintenance at homes and businesses, and the household-services exemption doesn't cover a self-employed pool cleaner. Expect tax on the bill. The full Texas cost guide is on the Texas pool service guide.

For routine cleaning, ask for proof of insurance and references. Equipment work is where state licensing comes in: TDLR says a Residential Appliance Installer License holder may install or replace pool pumps, motors, heaters, underwater lights, GFCIs and automation on the load side of the control center.

If the job needs a new or upgraded line circuit, only a licensed electrical contractor with a designated master electrician may offer it, and in Houston that contractor registers with the city before pulling the permit. See electricians in Houston for that check.

Apartment and HOA pools carry state rules that backyard pools don't: an enclosure at least 48 inches high, gaps that won't pass a 4-inch sphere, and no chain link on new enclosures built after January 1, 1994.

A shared pool may also fall under DSHS's public pool rules, in effect since January 1, 2021, which require Class A, B and C pools to run under a certified operator, such as a PHTA Certified Pool Operator. Since December 19, 2008, federal law has required anti-entrapment drain covers on public pools and spas, and a single blockable drain needs a backup safety system. If you sit on an HOA board in Houston, ask the pool contractor for the operator certificate and drain cover records.

Houston Public Works runs the city's drought plan. Houston rescinded Stage One effective May 29, 2024, and as of October 2026 its Current Watering Restrictions page listed no stage in effect. If restrictions return, single-family homes water on two set days by address, so check that page before draining and refilling.

Building a new pool means a permit from the Houston Permitting Center, and if the lot is in the 100-year or 500-year floodplain or floodway, a floodplain development permit too. DSHS's mosquito advice is to empty standing water wherever it collects, and a neglected pool is standing water.

Texas DFPS counted 88 child drownings in Texas in 2025, and says a child should never be left unsupervised near water. For pests around a neglected pool, see pest control in Houston. In Fort Bend County, pool service in Sugar Land follows that city's water rules, and the Houston local guide covers utilities and storms.