If your Richmond rental includes a supplied pool, spa, or hot tub, troubleshooting is intentionally limited. Water chemistry, pumps, filters, heaters, valves, timers, seasonal opening and closing, and equipment repair are handled through the property's professional service arrangement.
Your job is to keep the area secure, stop using water that appears questionable, and report useful observations without changing equipment or chemicals.
Key Takeaways
- Do not add chemicals or change pool/spa equipment settings unless a documented property-specific instruction directs you to do so.
- Stop using the pool, spa, or hot tub if water quality appears questionable.
- A gate, barrier, or cover that no longer secures the area is a safety issue, not a cosmetic problem.
- Keep away from wet electrical equipment and report gas odor at a heater without troubleshooting it.
Cloudy, Green, Dirty or Unusual Water
If the water becomes cloudy, green, unusually dirty, strongly odorous, or otherwise appears different enough to question safe use, stop using the pool, spa, or hot tub and send photos.
Do not add shock, chlorine, bromine, pH products, algaecide, or another treatment unless the approved service provider or PMI James River gives you a documented property-specific instruction.
The CDC explains that proper disinfectant and pH control are fundamental to healthy pool and hot-tub water. At PMI James River properties, that treatment work belongs with the approved service arrangement.
Pump, Filter, Heater or Other Equipment Problem
Photograph the affected equipment and any visible error code or display. Tell us whether the pump or filter appears to be operating and whether the water condition has also changed.
Do not open equipment panels, adjust valves, change timers, repeatedly reset breakers, or alter heater settings.
If you smell gas around a pool or spa heater, leave the immediate area and use our Gas Smell guidance.
Leaks or Falling Water Level
Photograph where water is collecting and whether it is moving toward the home, foundation, electrical equipment, or another structure.
Do not adjust valves or dismantle equipment to find the leak. Keep away from wet electrical equipment.
Gate, Fence, Cover or Access Problem
If the pool area cannot be secured normally because a gate, latch, fence, lock, or safety cover has failed, keep people and pets away from the area and report the condition promptly.
If there is a simple safe way to keep the existing gate closed without creating another hazard, do so temporarily while service is arranged. Do not attempt structural gate or fence repair.
For physical gate, fence, or exterior-structure problems, the repair may also route through our Deck, Fence & Gate Problems guide.
Missed Pool Service
If the regular service provider did not arrive, could not access the equipment, left a gate unsecured, or the water or equipment changed following service, include the expected or most recent service date in your maintenance request.
Do not compensate for a missed service visit by changing chemicals or equipment settings yourself.
When to Submit a Maintenance Request
For questionable water, an equipment problem, a leak, an unsecured barrier, a service problem, or any condition you cannot safely resolve through normal use, submit a maintenance request through the resident portal.
Include photos or short video, the equipment affected, any error code, the water condition, whether the area is secured, and the last service date if known.
Return to Special Systems in Richmond Rentals for other property-specific equipment.
Published: September 2, 2026
