Winterizing Your Swimming Pool

Courtesy OneOffCleaning.com

With winter approaching fast, it is a good idea to winterize your swimming pool. You will likely not be using it for a while and it pays to have it prepared for the coming cold months. Normally, there is a lot to consider, if you want to be thorough in your efforts, which involve cleaning service, proper storing of pool equipment and setting things straight with pool chemistry.

Don't think that you can just ignore your duties for winterizing the swimming pool. If you are expecting harsh cold temperatures, you have to ensure that damage from water freeze doesn't occur. Protecting your pool equipment, such as pumps and filters, is very important. Furthermore, you need to take adequate care for the water, which means staying on top of your cleaning and preserving it so that you can easily start using the pool again when weather warms up. Following these tips will ensure that you can enjoy your favorite pool parties as soon as winter's over.

Know when to winterize the pool

If you want to be effective in closing your pool for winter, you need to do it at the right time. Never close the pool too early, or base that on a date of the calendar. Weather should be your main indicator on when to close the installation and when to winterize it. If you are experiencing an extended season of warmer temperatures, closing too early will lead to ineffective winterizing and also increased expenses on various solutions. One general rule of thumb is to winterize the pool once water temperatures reach consistent 15°C. Above that most pool winterizing and cleaning products won't be as effective.

Consider cleaning service before winterizing

The cleaner your pool is at winterizing, the easier time you will have when opening time comes. If you haven't taken proper care to cover the pool at some point, you will find a lot of debris floating in the water. Collect all of those and use a vacuum cleaner to get the walls and bottom clean as well. Dealing with spoils now is far easier than doing so next spring, when all of the scum will have had a whole season to set.

Balancing water chemistry

One of the most important tasks you need to invest your efforts in is balancing the water chemistry. This will greatly preserve your pool from scale buildup and corrosion as well. What you need to look out for is setting the right levels of pH, hardiness, chlorination and alkalinity. In order to determine the current levels, you can use a water test kit. Normally, you can find winterization chemical kits, which contain all of the chlorine and algaecide your pool is going to need for winter. One thing to keep in mind is that you can actually damage some of your pool equipment by adding floater or tables of bromine and chlorine. Winterizing chemicals are best introduced directly from a bucket and into the pool.

Prevent freeze damage

It is a well known fact that when water freezes, it expands greatly. There is a very real potential risk for your filters, pipes, skimmer baskets and pump. Be very careful and take precautions, if you don't want freezing water to damage your pool equipment. This is not an unlikely scenario, even if you live in the south. Consider draining the water down below the skimmer mouth, but do not empty the pool entirely. The reason behind leaving water inside is that you want it to add some weight so that the expanding soil underneath doesn't jack it out of the ground. - Disconnect and dry the equipment - by leaving no water inside your pool equipment, you ensure that no damage will occur there over the course of winter. Blowing water out the pipes is easy with wet-dry shop air compressor or vacuum cleaner. To be most effective at this, you need to force air down and through the skimmer. If your pool has a man drain line, you will do well to blow the water out and create an air lock by plugging the pipe on your end or closing the gate valve.

Special care for your pump

Be very thorough in your efforts to protect this pool component, as it is the most important. All water must be completely drained by turning it upside down a few times and removing drain plugs. To finish, turn on the pump for a few seconds to expel all remaining water from impeller. Don't let it run for more than few seconds, as the seal is very vulnerable. Performing such cleaning service is best suited before storing for the winter months.

Install a flotation device

Installing one such in the center of the pool serves to distribute rainwater and ice forming on the cover of the area during the course of winter months. It also draws the pressure from winter ice away from the pool walls. The device in question can be something as simple as truck inner tube or a pillow.

Cover the pool

Covering the pool for winter is very important. It protects it from coming into direct contact with snow and ice, and serves to protect pets and people from accidentally stepping inside. Make sure that your pool cover is strong enough to withstand heavy winds and blizzards. For this reason it has to be stretched tightly and secured with a strong wire around the perimeter.

Following all of these tips will ensure that your pool is protected from everything winter has to throw against it. That way your pool and its equipment will be preserved and you will be able to enjoy it once again in the summer. Read more about house cleaning at: https://oneoffcleaning.com/