5 Tips for Winterizing Your Pool

Unfortunately swimming season is quickly drawing to a close and it is time to start thinking about winterizing your pool, here are a few helpful tips to help things go smoothly and make sure everything is in order when you go to open your pool again next spring!

Start Early

As soon as it starts getting too cold to swim it is a good idea to being winterizing your pool, you don’t want to put it off too long and be surprised by an early freeze.  Starting early can also help you avoid the mess of autumn leaves accumulating in the pool and clogging things up.

Clean it Out

Give your pool a good cleaning prior to winterizing it. Get all the leaves, dirt and debris out. Clean your skimmer, filter, and your pump baskets. Use your pool vacuum to get any settled dirt and debris out. Use a scrubber brush to clean the tile or walls. It will be much easier to clean out all the dirt and grime now while winterizing your pool than after it has sat all winter long.

Balance your Water Chemistry and Make Sure Chemicals Will Not Damage your Pool

Making sure your water chemistry is balanced prior to winterizing your pool will help you avoid scale buildup, corrosion, and algae. Use a water test kit to ensure that your pH, alkalinity, calcium, and sanitizer levels are all within the recommended ranges.

When winterizing your pool do not add chemical tablets or a floater containing chlorine or bromine as they could damage your equipment.  If you normally use a floater make sure it is empty prior to closing the pool.

If you are using chemicals for winterizing your pool we recommend dissolving them in a bucket of water prior to adding them to the pool that will help you avoid any granules that are not dissolved from settling on your pool surfaces as they could cause stains or corrosion. Make sure to follow the instructions on the chemicals and if they say to run your pool pump while adding them make sure you do!

Prevent Freeze Damage

Doing everything possible to avoid freeze damage before winter is much better than cleaning up the damage after it has occurred, this holds true no matter what part of the country you are in, surprise freezes in the South can cause significant damage because people are not prepared.

Do not empty the water from your pool thinking this will prevent freeze damage. As water in the soil freezes this can cause expansion of the soil, if there is no weight in the pool the expansion of the frozen soil can actually lift the pool right out of the ground!  Simply drain your water to below the skimmer mouth.

Next disconnect your pool pump and filter and remove any plugs they have, make sure all the water is drained from both!  Store the plugs in a location where they will be readily available next year.  Remove all jet fittings, skimmer and pump baskets.  Disconnect any other fittings in your pump/ filter system then blow out the pipes, don’t forget the return lines too!

Install a Winter Cover

A winter cover will keep leaves, dirt, and debris out of your pool during the off season. A winter safety cover is the best option as it adds piece of mind for the safety of those around the pool.

If you are reusing your Winter Cover from prior years inspect it and make sure it is still in good condition, if not replace it.

These are just a few tips to help you as you prepare your swimming pool for winter this year. If you need a new winter cover or any replacement parts along the way, make sure to visit us at Sunplay.com!