The pool season has officially ended, even here in balmy Texas. Now, it is time to learn how to prepare and care for our pools throughout the winter ahead. You might think that simply because you’re no longer using your pool that it won’t require any maintenance during the offseason, but this is incorrect.
Caring for your pool through winter will do a number of things, including keeping your pool water safe, avoiding health-related issues, and maintaining the expensive pool equipment. Additionally, you won’t need to spend extra time and money preparing to use it again before summer by continuing maintenance throughout the offseason.
Keeping reading for our top winter pool tips:
Store the Accessories
Unless you want to have to repurchase all of the pool noodles, floaties, and water sprayers next year, we recommend putting them all in a dry place. The elements are not kind to pool toys, so if you have a storage bin or closet at your disposal, make room for the toys in there.
Watch the Thermostat
It’s crucial that you keep your system from freezing in the depths of winter. Just like your plumbing pipes, freezing temperatures run the risk of causing your pipes to spring a leak, or worse, burst entirely.
One way to prevent this is by draining the systems like the water pump, heater, and pool filters. By getting these pieces completely dry will prevent them from cracking in the cold weather.
Cover the Pool
To prevent debris from entering your pool and contaminating the system, make sure to install a pool cover. The pool cover needs to fit the shape of your pool perfectly so that no stray leaves, animals, or debris can slip inside of the cracks.
It’s also essential to keep the pool cover dry and clean throughout winter. This will keep debris from following into the pool when you remove it come summertime.
Treat the Water
Even though you won’t be swimming in the water, you’ll still want to take steps to prevent algae growth; this will make your summer pool prep that much easier. We recommend adding an algaecide to your pool in the middle of winter. Allow your pump to circulate the water for 24 hours to make sure that all of the water is treated.
Remove Some Water
Contrary to your summer pool routine of adding water every once in a while to combat evaporation, you’ll need to move some water during winter. If temperatures dip low enough to cause the pool to freeze, you could be risking damage to your pool tiles as the frozen water expands.
Open the Cover in Advance
Begin preparing your pool for summer a few weeks, even months in advance. Getting your pool acclimated to the warming weather and ready to swimmers again takes some time. The earlier you get started on the preparation, the sooner you’ll be able to dive in.
The most important part of keeping your pool in great condition throughout the winter months is making sure you have a team of professionals you can trust to assist you. Our experts at Patriot Pool and Spa can help prepare your pool before winter, perform routine checkups during winter, and prepare it for use again in the spring. Contact our team for our expertise by calling us or visiting us online.
