With the crisper air and dead leaves littering your pool, fall is clearly in full swing. And though it feels like you just opened your pool for the summer, soon you’ll have to prepare it for winter. This is especially true if temperatures are consistently below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
But winterizing a pool isn’t easy. This is why many people put it off, do not do it as thoroughly as they should, or do not winterize their pools at all. Improperly winterizing your pool or not doing it at all results in costly damage.
Below, we go over the steps to properly winterizing your swimming pool.
Start in the Fall
One of the first things you have to remember is to winterize your pool in the fall. Don’t wait until the start or middle of winter when snowstorms are about to hit or the temperatures are well below what we mentioned above.
Winterizing your pool in the fall gives you enough time to properly close it before pipes start freezing from too low temperatures.
Step 1: Prep the Pool
Start by removing pool accessories and furniture around your pool. This includes skimmer baskets, ladders, and handrails. Store them until the pool is ready for use in the spring again.
Next, you’ll need to clean the pool to prevent bacteria buildup over the winter. Remove floating debris, brush down pool walls, and vacuum out any debris that has sunk to the bottom of the pool.
Step 2: Adjust the water chemistry
After that, you need to balance your pool water’s chemistry. Make sure the chemical levels are where they need to be, which means:
- Alkalinity between 80 and 150 ppm
- Calcium hardness between 200 and 400 ppm
- Chlorine between 1 and 3 ppm
- pH level between 7.4 and 7.6
Step 3: Lower the water level
If you live in an area where the water will freeze during winter, you need to lower your pool’s water level. It should go to about 6 to 12 inches below the skimmer, depending on the type of pool cover you use.
Lowering the water level allows the water to expand when it freezes without damaging your liners or the pool walls.
Step 4: Blow out pool lines
Speaking of damaged liners, one of the most important steps in winterizing your pool is blowing out the pool lines. This is important to make sure your pipes are free of water that will expand when it freezes and create cracks.
Make sure to drain every filter, pump, and heater or plug the lines with expansion plugs to prevent burst pipes.
Step 5: Add shock
Before covering up your pool, add shock to kill bacteria. You should also add algaecide to kill algae and prevent them from forming
Step 6: Cover the pool
Finally, attach your pool cover. Make sure the pool is as clean as possible and that your pool cover is free from tears or rips. Use a pool cover that can bear heavy loads, such as snow buildup.
Keep Your Pool Well-Maintained
Keeping your pool in excellent condition, not just in the winter but throughout the year, doesn’t have to be complicated. Clark County Pool & Lawn provides pool and pool equipment maintenance in Las Vegas all year round.
Arrange a pool cleaning before winterizing your pool. Contact us for a free estimate today.
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