Correctly maintaining your pool throughout the winter is the key to an easy opening next summer. Without the right care, your pool can freeze, leak, or become a mess of algae and bacteria. Here’s how to make sure your pool is in good condition all year long.
Winter Maintenance
In warm climates, it’s not necessary to completely close down your pool for the winter. Make sure the chemicals stay balanced throughout the season and have your pool cleaners perform periodic cleaning and maintenance. Since you probably won’t be swimming as often, your pool won’t get dirty as quickly and may not need to be cleaned as often.
Closing Your Pool
Completely closing down your pool has both advantages and disadvantages. If you don’t close it, you’ll have to spend more time cleaning and maintaining your pool throughout the winter. However, you’ll also be able to keep an eye on the condition of your pool all year long. When you cover your pool for the winter, you never know what you’ll find when you open it back up in the spring, especially if you don’t close it correctly.
If you do prefer to close your pool, follow these steps to winterize it:
- Carefully clean your pool and pool equipment one final time.
- Make sure the chemicals are balanced.
- Remove accessories like ladders and skimmer baskets and clean them thoroughly. Store them somewhere where there’s no risk of freezing, such as your basement.
- Drain enough water out of your pool so the level is below your skimmer opening.
- Drain your filter, pipes, and other hoses such as heating equipment.
- Add winterizing algaecide to prevent the growth of algae over the winter.
- Cover your pool.
If you aren’t sure about winterizing your pool yourself, ask your pool cleaners for help. They should be happy to help you get your pool ready for the winter.
Winter Care and Maintenance
Even if your pool is closed down for the season, there are still things that need to be done to keep it in good shape. Make sure your cover stays clean and free from snow, leaves, or other things that might weigh it down and cause it to crack. Inspect your pool periodically for leaks, frozen hoses, or other signs of damage.
If you live in a warm climate, you may want to shock your pool with extra algaecide halfway through the winter, especially if you don’t keep your pool covered. Algae and bacteria grow much more rapidly in warm environments, and may get out of control during the off-season if you don’t keep them in check. If all this sounds like too much work, call Sunrise Pool Services to help keep your pool healthy.
out the winter.