Pool service in Gilbert, AZ has a few things working in its favor: newer homes, a town that publishes clear water and drain rules, and softer water than some Valley cities. It also has a long, dusty summer and a lot of pools reaching middle age at once. Here is what that means for your backyard, and what happens when you ring the free line.
Phoenix Pool Cleaning Pro is a phone line, not a pool company. When you call (623) 240-0428, an automated assistant takes a short description of the pool trouble and transfers you to an independent, locally owned pool service company that works in Gilbert. That company comes out, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. The line itself never charges you anything.
Gilbert: a railroad siding that grew into a town of more than 260,000
Gilbert started in 1902, when William "Bobby" Gilbert gave land for a rail siding on the Arizona Eastern Railway's line between Phoenix and Florence. The town incorporated on July 6, 1920, and until the late 1920s it was known as the "Hay Capital of the World." Fifty years later it was still tiny, with 1,971 residents in 1970. During the 1970s the Town Council approved a strip annexation of 53 square miles of county land, which set the shape of the Gilbert you see today.
The houses came later and came fast. The census counted 208,453 people in 2010 and 267,918 in 2020, and housing units rose from 74,907 to 93,230 over that decade. The town describes itself as the largest town in the United States and expects to reach build out within about a decade. Many of the pools built during those boom years are now old enough to need a new pump or a first resurfacing.
Gilbert pool service and maintenance calls
A large share of Gilbert calls are about steady upkeep: weekly pool cleaning and maintenance to hold chlorine through 110 degree afternoons and clear dust off the floor. The next biggest group is mechanical. Homes from the 2000s building boom may still have their original filter, heater and plumbing, so pool pump repair and pool heater repair come up often, along with pool resurfacing when the plaster turns rough or stained.
Pool Cleaning and Weekly Maintenance
Skimming, brushing, baskets, vacuuming and water testing week after week, and why heat, dust and hard water make the routine matter here.
Pool Pump Repair
A pump that hums, leaks, screams or will not prime. What fails, what a repair or replacement involves, and the federal efficiency rule for new pumps.
Pool Heater Repair
Gas heaters and heat pumps that will not fire or heat slowly. Gas safety first, then what scale does to a heat exchanger.
Pool Resurfacing
Rough, stained or etched plaster and pebble finishes: surface types, how long they last, what the job involves and what a quote should list.
Where a Gilbert pool's water comes from
The town publishes the mix behind its supply. Each part shows up in the pool in a different way.
Colorado River through the CAP, about 41 percent
Central Arizona Project water is treated at the Santan Vista treatment plant, which Gilbert shares with Chandler.
Salt and Verde rivers through SRP, about 40 percent
Salt River Project water is treated at the town's North Water Treatment Plant. The town is rebuilding that plant in a project scheduled to finish by winter 2028, after which it is expected to supply about 70 percent of Gilbert's water.
Reclaimed water, about 15 percent
Treated wastewater is used for landscape irrigation and other non-drinking uses, not sent to your tap.
Groundwater, about 4 percent
A small share comes from wells. Because the blend changes through the year, the town's yearly water quality reports are the best place to see what your tap delivered.
What Gilbert's water does to a pool
Gilbert's water department says the town's water averages 8 to 10 grains per gallon of hardness and suggests setting a softener at 10 to 12 grains to cover seasonal swings. Hardness is the dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water. That is moderate by Valley standards, but a pool does not stay at tap level for long. In summer the sun pulls water out of the pool every day, the minerals stay put, and each top off adds more. After a few seasons the calcium in a Gilbert pool can be far above what came out of the hose.
High calcium plus warm water and a pH that drifts high is the recipe for scale: a white or gray crust along the tile line, rough spots on plaster, and mineral buildup inside a heater or on a salt cell's plates. A careful pool technician tests calcium hardness and total alkalinity, not just chlorine and pH, and uses a saturation index (LSI, a single number that says whether water is likely to scale or to etch plaster) to decide what to adjust. Ask the company you are put through to how often it checks calcium and what it suggests when the reading keeps rising.
Summer storms hit the backyard hardest. The National Weather Service sets the monsoon at June 15 through September 30 and says one to three dust storms move into the Phoenix area in an average year, mostly from the southeast, the side of the Valley Gilbert sits on. A haboob can coat the water with fine silt in minutes, overload the filter and use up chlorine, which is why so many Gilbert calls come in the day after a storm. The monsoon pool care guide covers what to do and what to leave alone.
A quick look before you call
| What to check | What it tells the company |
|---|---|
| Skimmer and pump baskets (pump off first) | Whether weak flow is just debris after wind or something deeper |
| Filter pressure gauge reading | How loaded the filter is compared with its clean reading |
| Water level at the skimmer | Whether the pump may be pulling air, or the pool is losing water |
| Timer or automation clock | Whether a power blip reset the schedule |
| Drips or wet spots at the equipment pad | Where a leak may be starting |
| Breaker or GFCI (reset once only) | A breaker that trips again means stop and leave it to a professional |
Safety in a Gilbert backyard. Never mix pool chemicals with one another, and store them apart in a dry, shaded place children cannot reach. For old or unwanted pool chemicals, check the town's household hazardous waste options rather than the trash. Southwest Gas supplies natural gas in Gilbert: if you smell gas near a pool heater, leave the area without touching switches or the heater, and from a safe place call Southwest Gas at 877-860-6020 or 911.
Draining a pool or backwashing a filter in Gilbert
Gilbert does not require a permit to drain a pool, but it does rank where the water may go. If your neighborhood has an HOA, its own draining policy applies on top of the town's.
- Your own yard comes first. Spread the water over landscaping or other ground that can soak it up. None of it may run off into a ditch, the street, a storm drain or a retention area, or flood a neighbor.
- The sewer cleanout is next. If the lot has no room, use the sanitary sewer cleanout. This is also the route for heavily treated water and for saltwater pools. If there are two cleanouts, use the one closest to the house, and watch the shower and tub drains for backup once the pump starts.
- The street is the last choice, with limits. A saltwater pool may never go to the street, and the town's guidance flags lake communities and streets with flooding problems. Water full of sediment belongs in the yard or the cleanout instead, and a permanent pipe from the pump to the cleanout or the curb violates town code.
Filter backwash has a stricter rule: it may never go into the gutter or the street. Rinse it onto grass or gravel on your own property, or catch it in a tub, let the solids settle, pour the water into the sewer and put the dried solids in the trash. To report pool water running into a public street, the town lists Gilbert Code Compliance at (480) 503-6879. How often a drain is even worth it is covered in how often to drain a pool in Arizona.
Pool fences, power and rebates in Gilbert
Pool enclosures
A Gilbert code compliance FAQ quotes the Land Development Code: every pool must be enclosed by the walls of the house or by a solid wall, chain link fence or wrought iron fence at least 5 feet and no more than 6 feet tall. Gates should be about the same height, self-closing and self-latching, and no opening may let a 4 inch sphere through. The town notes a fence may need a permit, and its code pages have been renumbered over time, so confirm the current rule with Development Services before you replace a gate. Gilbert Fire and Rescue adds practical advice: keep chairs and tables away from the fence so a child cannot push them over and climb in.
A fence is a backup, not a babysitter. Never leave a child alone near water, and treat a green or cloudy pool as dangerous because no one can see the bottom. If yours has turned, read about green pool cleanup.
Electricity and gas
Electric service in Gilbert comes from SRP or APS depending on the address. Southwest Gas supplies natural gas. Neither utility touches pool equipment: if the lights work but the pump is silent, the problem is in the pool's equipment or its circuit.
Water conservation rebates
Gilbert's residential grass removal rebate pays up to $2,000, with up to $1,000 more through an extra incentive, but you need pre-approval before you start, and pools and fountains may not be built in the converted area. The town also lists a rebate of up to $250 for a smart irrigation controller. Funding is limited, so check the current terms with Gilbert Water Conservation.
Why Gilbert homeowners call the line
Boom-era pools at middle age
Gilbert's population grew 90 percent between 2000 and 2010 alone. One call reaches a local company that can look at an aging pump, heater or plaster finish and quote the fix.
Dust storms from the southeast
Monsoon haboobs mostly roll in from Gilbert's side of the Valley. When the water turns brown and the filter chokes, the line is answered any hour.
A drain that follows the town's order
Yard first, cleanout next, street last and never for backwash. Ask the company you are put through to how it will handle a drain under those rules and your HOA's.
Free to call, you deal with the company
The line costs nothing and never bills you. The Gilbert company quotes and invoices you directly, and this site shows how to check its ROC license first.
How a Gilbert call works
- Call the numberAn automated assistant answers (623) 240-0428 day or night, weekends included.
- Describe the poolSay what is going on: cloudy or green water, a pump that hums, a heater that will not fire, scale on the tile, and which part of the Valley you are in.
- Get put throughThe call is transferred to an independent, locally owned pool service company, which hears a short summary of the problem before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the pool, quotes, does the work and bills you. If it cannot answer, your name, number, area and problem are passed along so it can call you back.
About this line: Phoenix Pool Cleaning Pro is a free phone line, not a pool company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local pool service company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. You never pay the line. See how the line works.
Check the license first. Arizona's Registrar of Contractors (ROC) licenses contractors, and its residential classifications include R-6, Swimming Pool Service and Repair. Repairs, equipment replacement and resurfacing generally call for a licensed contractor; whether a cleaning-only service needs a license is not spelled out, so ask the ROC if it matters to you. Ask the company for its ROC license number and look it up on the ROC contractor search (opens in a new tab) before work begins. The line does not check this for you.
Comparing companies? Read how to choose a pool company before you sign up for weekly service, and see the full list of pool services the line can connect you with.
Areas near Gilbert
Every Phoenix-area town the line serves: