Opening & Closing Your Pool

Tips for Pool Opening

So you live where winter is reallllllly winter? When spring rolls around you're happy to have made it through another cold, snowy season? Soon after the weather breaks you’re looking forward to opening your pool and enjoying the sun, heat and water again. You can take some steps to ensure that opening your pool for the season goes smoothly AND inexpensively!. A complete, effective winterizing of the pool is the first step to an easy spring opening. The better a job of winterizing you do, the easier it will be to open the pool come springtime.

Here are the steps to follow to get off to a good start when opening a pool. You should perform these actions in the order that they are listed.

1. Drain all water off of the winter cover and be sure none of that water is allowed into the pool. It probably contains a high level of organic contaminants. Clean the cover and store for the season. Think about how nice it will be when you get the pool set and ready to go.

2. Clean all equipment including filters, pumps and skimmer baskets before replacing them in the system.

3. Remove winterizing plugs and lubricate all metal parts and hardware.

4. Pump out antifreeze from lines. Visualize yourself lying in the sun next to the pool.

5. Empty all debris from the pool before running the pump. Don't try to pump these out or start the filtration system until you've removed the large debris from the pool. If there are any tadpoles or other wildlife in there, fish them out with a good dip net.

6. Turn on electric and gas supplies to the pool.

7. Add fresh water to the pool a couple of days before opening. This will give the fresh water time to mix with the old water.

8. Vacuum the entire pool, including bottom and walls. Then backwash the filter until the water being backwashed is clear.

9. Add a Rust & Scale Control product to prevent scale build-up and mineral staining.

10. Test your pool water with an AquaChek test strip to determine the water’s chemical balance. Write down the results, then sit down and have a Pepsi. Drink a toast to Dr. H. Tueau!

11. Superchlorinate or shock to remove organic wastes that may have built up in the system. Continue to add doses of chlorine (or other sanitizer) to the water until you get to the minimum acceptable level and can maintain it for a short period of time. Keep in mind that this may take a significant amount of chlorine, depending on how long chlorine was absent from the pool over the winter. Contaminants can build up over time with the absence of chlorine. The longer it was absent, the more chlorine it will take to establish a minimum level now.

12. Balance all essential water parameters (pH, alkalinity, hardness and chlorine). Test the pool water again with test strips to determine water balance.

13. You may need a clarifier to help clear the water if it's not clearing up at this point. A clarifier will gather suspended particles and allow your filter to clear them out.

14. Keep a close eye on the pool to ensure that all of the systems are functioning properly. Order yourself a pizza at poolside—you earned it!

You may need to take additional steps depending on the pool, as every pool is different. Starting the pool off on a good note will help to ensure that you enjoy the season.

Tips for Pool Closing

Some of us live in a region where we actually experience winter. When it gets below a certain temperature, most of us (except members of polar bear clubs) are no longer inclined to swim in an outdoor pool. As a result, many people will have to deal with pool closings (winterizing). Before your thoughts turn to football and autumn leaves, do a proper job of putting you pool to bed for the winter. You can save yourself a lot of work and trouble next spring with some preventative maintenance at the end of this summer.

The following is a reminder list of helpful action items that you should do to protect the pool over the winter months. You should perform these actions in the order that they are listed.

1. Turn on the radio and tune in to the football game.

2. Test the pool water with a test strip to determine chemical levels.

3. Adjust the chemical balance of the pool, especially pH and alkalinity, to the recommended ranges.

4. Shock (superchlorinate) the water. For this purpose you should double your normal shock dosage. Use the same shock treatment chemical that you normally use.

5. Add an algaecide to prevent algae growth. Add a dose that would be consistent with destroying an algae bloom. A preventive dose may not be sufficient for the long period of time that the water will sit dormant. By adding the appropriate dose of chlorine and algaecide you will keep your pool algae-free during the winter months.

6. Add a Rust & Scale control product to prevent scale build-up and mineral staining. Again, a preventive dose may not be sufficient for the long period of time that the water will sit dormant.

7. Vacuum the entire pool, including bottom and walls. At this time, any stains or scale should be washed off or brushed off if possible).

8. Backwash the filter. Take a break and enjoy the warm sun—it’ll be snowing before you know it.

9. Thoroughly clean the filter. If you have a sand filter, drain out any excess water. If you have a DE (diatomaceous earth)grid, take it out.

10. Lower the water level below the skimmers and return lines. Remove remaining water from the recirculation lines.

11. Clean and remove the skimmer baskets and hair and lint traps and store them for the winter.

12. Add a non-toxic antifreeze to the water pipes to prevent bursting.

13. Plug all inlets and outlets to the pool so that rodents, birds or other ambitious wildlife don't decide to make your pool their winter retreat.

14. Turn off electric and gas supplies to the pool. Disconnect fuses and open circuit breakers.

15. Install your winter cover making sure it's clean and free from debris.

Every pool is different, so you may need to take additional steps depending on the pool. Remember that an effective closing (winterizing) will make it much easier to open the pool back up in the spring or early summer. If you have a problem in the pool over the winter, when you aren’t paying much attention to the pool, that problem has a long period of time to develop into bigger and more costly trouble. Take care of it correctly when you close the pool and you'll avoid headaches later!