Unless you have an indoor swimming pool, you’ll probably have to think about winterizing your pool. Depending on your climate, your swimming pool season might be shorter than you wish it were. But you don’t want to live in denial of reality: if you fail to winterize your pool or wait too long to do so, you can risk damage to sensitive mechanisms and contamination of water. If you have a new swimming pool and have not yet gone through the winterizing process, don’t worry: we’re here to help you with the when and how.
When To Winterize Your Swimming Pool
The timing of winterizing will be different depending on your local climate, but it is typically associated by the first frost of the season. (You can plan ahead by checking average dates of first frosts in your area, as listed in the Farmer’s Almanac. You’ll also want to keep track of unseasonably cold temperatures, which may mean an earlier first frost this year.) By being proactive and shutting down your pool possibly sooner than necessary, you can help ensure that your investment is protected. This simple step can go a long way toward alleviating unnecessary expense as well as stress – which likely won’t hit until you’re preparing for the next pool season.
In addition to tracking the first frost, another factor regarding timing is tied to temperatures that drop and remain below 65 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 degrees Celsius. If your local climate offers respite from the cold, and the temperatures even during winter venture above that 65-degree point for a few days, you can take advantage of that to test and balance your pool water’s chemistry, helping keep it clean and clear throughout the colder off-season.
How To Winterize Your Swimming Pool: Cleaning Steps
As with regular swimming pool maintenance, the effort you put into this annual winterizing process will definitely pay off; on the flip side, failing to do it will come with consequences. You should actually begin the winterizing process a week before you completely close your pool by adding a phosphate remover. The purpose of this step is to keep algae out and slow the growth of any algae that might be attempting to start growing. On this note, it’s important to not close your pool too soon: the water temperature should be consistently below that 65-degree point before you close the pool, in order to ensure that algae growth is inhibited.
After the pre-winterizing step described above, you’ll want to brush and vacuum your pool in order to remove any debris, further preventing algae growth. You’ll want to thoroughly brush all your pool’s surfaces – the floor as well as the sides – and then vacuum it. After that, be sure to skim the surface of the water and clean out the skimmer and pump baskets one last time, before you close the pool.
But that’s not all! Be sure to check out our next post in this important series.
Continue Reading about Pools
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