Winter is coming and proper pool maintenance is essential. Learning to winterize your pool against the coming season is the best way to prevent costly repairs when you reopen in the Spring. Once you nail down the process of winterizing your pool, you’ll be able to do it every year to keep your pool in good condition. It often takes about a week to complete all of the steps needed to prepare your pool for winter.
Clear Items Out
With the right pool maintenance in Newtown, PA, you can protect your pool against major damage that can happen because of the cold temperatures. The first step is to take all of the accessories out of the pool. That includes things like vacuums, ladders, any pool covers, and steps if possible. Once everything is out, it’s important to clean off those accessories with a hose and make sure they dry before they’re stored. Then, they can stay in good condition over the winter and won’t grow algae on them.
Give Your Pool a Deep Clean
The pool needs to be as clean as possible. Use skimmers to get rid of all of the debris such as silt, insects, and leaves. Once all of the debris is out of the pool, it will be a lot easier to get the water chemistry balanced and keep algae and mold from growing in the pool. It’s usually a good idea to use your skim nets to clean the surface of the water and a vacuum to get everything off the bottom of the pool. You will also need to brush the sides and flood to get rid of anything growing there. Once you get it sparkling clean, put a cover on it so that you don’t have to clean it again while winterizing it.
Balance the Pool
One week before you close your pool for the winter, do a test of the water chemistry to check the alkalinity. It should be anywhere from 80 to 150 parts per million. The pH level of the water should be anywhere from 7.2 to 7.6. Then, check the calcium hardness. This should be from 175 ppm to 225 ppm. The level of chlorine should be anywhere from 1 to 3 ppm. You may need to adjust the chemistry to get the right readings. Take care of the pool’s alkalinity before you start to balance the pH level. Being on the higher side of the measurements is ideal because as time goes on, those levels will go down.
Let Out Some Water
In the winter in Pennsylvania, you can expect your pool water to freeze. For this reason, you will need to lower the level of water to below the tile line. If you have a skimmer cover, let out enough water so that the water level is about a foot beneath the skimmer. If you use a solid cover, you will need to lower the water level by about 6 in. It may not seem like much water to let out, but it can take one or two days to get this much water out of the pool.
Drain the Equipment and Cover the Pool
You will need to drain every piece of equipment so that the parts won’t burst when the temperature is freezing. After that, you can put your cover over the pool. It should be all ready for the winter temperatures.
Whether you need pool maintenance, winterizing help, or pool renovations in Newtown, PA, rely on our team at Mt. Lake Pool & Patios!