Caring for a swimming pool is a year-round process that demands a meticulous eye, but it is during the most dramatic changes of seasons that demand a special sort of attention to maintain your pool's excellent status and ensure its condition is unaltered once the weather finally permits its use. Here's a common-sense approach to preparing your pool for the winter and reawakening it once spring has arrived, which is certain to avoid most of the evils that can befall a pool in hibernation—like valuable water pumped where it doesn't belong, or an overgrowth of nuisance algae that's painful to deal with once the effects take hold.
Preparing Your Pool for Winter
Preparing your pool for the winter months is necessary for its long-term survival. The freezing temperatures that can accompany winter can be extremely hard on both the physical and chemical aspects of a pool if it has not been winterized—something that can result in some mighty expensive repairs come springtime when the pool is supposed to reopen.
Mesh-covered pools should have their water levels reduced to a point that lies just beneath the skimmer. Meanwhile, solid-covered pools should have their water levels left at the normal point. This particular step is crucial since it helps ensure that the freezing water that does expand can go down and not push up against the structure and mechanism of the skimmer and return lines to the point that they're compromised. If water keeps them filled up enough to push some of what's in them into areas that are still accessible with a crack in the skim coating, that's where you'll run into problems.
A pool cover that fits securely keeps debris out of your pool and cuts down on algae. You need to keep an eye on it. If you're covering your pool, check to make sure the cover isn't sagging or that wind hasn't blown dirt into the water. Periodically through the winter months, take a look at your cover from a distance. From your vantage point, you should still be able to see some of the cover's pattern—whether it's relatively flat or inside out. The occasional walk around the pool with the cover on and a long pool net in your hands can also help you keep an eye on the water. When spring comes, it's time to remove the cover and get the pool ready for swimming.
Put any of your equipment away that you've taken out for the winter. Then install all your equipment and make sure it's working like it should. Next, you have to make sure the balance of the water is right. Test to see if the pH, alkalinity, and water hardness levels are just right. These levels help keep the water both safe and enjoyable to be in. Start by using a pH test kit to see if the pool water has a pH level close to 7. Chlorine test strips can help you see if the pool has enough chlorine in it. You just need one part per million (ppm) of chlorine to keep it nice.
Make sure that you've cleaned the deck area, performed all necessary repairs, and set up your pool furniture. Proper pool care remains year-round and ensures that your pool stays a pleasure without bringing you any concerns. If you take just a little bit of extra time to have swimming pool maintenance done right in the spring and fall, you'll be able to save yourself a lot of time, effort, and even money during the rest of the swimming season. Use the pool cleaner to make one last sweep of the pool and the surrounding deck and make sure every little bit of debris has been removed. Make a mental note of anything you need to do to your pool area (maintaining your deck and pool-related structures is just as important as ma