WINTER TIPS
Winter Care Guidelines
Helpful winter tips to assure that your pool opens up as smooth as possible next season! #1 RULE to remember is that just because your pool is closed that DOES NOT mean that your responsibility to the pool is over for the year but rather your responsibility to the pool just changes from summer responsibilities to winter responsibilities.
Below are some helpful tips to help you manage your pool throughout the winter to assure that it opens up as smoothly as possible next season. These are general guidelines geared towards making your winter pool care as simple and easy as it could be. As always, feel free to give us a call or text to (585)204-POOL or email to touchedbythesunpools@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Inground Pool Winter Tips and Guidelines
Mesh Safety Cover – If you have a mesh safety cover and a chlorine pool, you’ll want to add 2 gallons of liquid chlorine to your pool water every 2 weeks starting 3-4 weeks after we close your pool and until outside temperatures get consistently colder. Simply pop one corner of your cover up and pour a gallon of chlorine directly into your pool water and then, pop the opposite side corner up and pour another gallon of chlorine directly in your pool water just so that you’re able to disperse the chlorine as evenly as possible. Once the cold weather arrives and decides to stick around, you won’t need to add any more liquid chlorine to your pool until temperatures start to warm up in the end of winter and early spring. Once temperatures start to warm up, you’ll start adding chlorine again the same way you did in the winter every 2 weeks until we come to open the pool. Doing this will drastically help slow the growth of green algae in your pool and help assure a smooth opening come spring time. There are many other factors that go into your pool being free of algae at opening time such as date of closing, weather over the winter, and balance at time of closing but following these guidelines of adding chlorine throughout the winter months will certainly improve the chances of your pool opening as clear as possible. This is a guideline to give you an idea as to what you should be doing. Please spend the time to learn your pool and the needs of it and remember, like we always say, just because your pool was a certain way last year, doesn’t mean it will be the same this year. Every single pool season, both in winter and summer, is and will be different.
Drain your pool down and monitor your water level. We like our clients to be as educated as possible about their pools and so, we will review a process that you may need to perform over the winter in order to properly care for your pool to prevent damage come opening time. Every client with an inground pool and mesh safety cover needs to be following this general guideline while their pool is closed. This is a normal part of your responsibility to your pool while it’s closed. Remember, just because the pool is closed doesn’t mean that you’re done taking care of it.
If your pool has the water under your cover coming up through the cover then your pool is most likely too high and you need to drain it back down a bit. This is a normal responsibility that every inground owner should be monitoring and performing over the winter as needed. We can only safely drain the pool down so far at closing time and so keeping the water level where it needs to be after closing becomes the responsibility of the pool owner. You should have some sort of small electric submersible drain pump and if you don't, you can find one at the local pool store or big box retailer or online. Have one on hand at all times in working order ready to use.
Steps by Step Process
(1)FIRST AND FOREMOST - Be safe around your pool during the winter months. DO NOT walk on your cover. Keep pets and kids away from the pool. ALWAYS be attentive as to where your stairs are and where your concrete meets the pool. Be cognitive and be aware of your surroundings any time you're near your pool when it's closed.
(1B) NOTE: If your pool is frozen on top then you will have to wait for the ice to thaw before you’ll be able to get your drain pump into the pool. DO NOT break the ice to try to get your pump into the pool. Ideally you will have wanted to get the pool drained down far enough before it freezes but that’s often times not possible and/or it just fills back up again before it freezes. Sometimes the only thing you can do is wait unfortunately.
(2)Remove a section of your cover in the shallow end of your pool using the cover removal tool and the method that we show everyone. As a reminder, your cover removal tool is about 2 feet long and made of steel usually with a black rubber handle on one end and a notch on the other. Remove only enough of your cover so that you can fit your cover drain pump safely into the pool water. If you don’t have your tool or can’t find it, you can buy one at almost any local pool store. You should always be able to remove your own cover and put it back on for any number of known and unknown reasons and you will need this tool to do so. This is why we take the time to show all of our clients how operate the tool with your cover. See our YoutTube Channel @ Touched By The Sun Pools for a HOW-TO video specifically on cover removal.
(3)Set up your submersible drain pump per the manufacturer’s directions. Slowly and carefully lower it into your pool. Avoid dragging the pump against your liner. Ideally, you’ll get the pump onto the bottom of the shallow end of your pool or on one of your steps.
(4)Turn the pump on and drain your pool back down to just below the bottom of the opening of your skimmer on the side of your pool. In most cases, this is about 12”-16” from the top of your pool. This is as low as you should take the water down and DO NOT forget to turn the pump off once the pool is low enough because you could easily drain your whole pool if the pump is left on too long. The amount of time it will take to drain back down will vary drastically so it’s tough to say it will take X amount of hours so you will need to be home for the duration to monitor how far you have drained it until it’s finished. Again, DO NOT set it and forget it…every year we have a few clients that forget that they are draining their pool and they end up draining the pool to dangerously low levels resulting in COSTLY repair work and loss of pool time once summer comes around.
(5)Once you have drained the pool back down, safely secure your cover back down to the deck using your cover removal tool like we showed you and you’re done!! Then, for the remainder of the winter and spring thaw, just keep an eye on your pool and when the water level gets high again, drain it back down.
NOTES: During your closing, we drain your pool down to where it needs to be to safely be closed in accordance to industry standards for inground pool winterization and your mesh cover manufacturers suggested drain down level. This is generally about 1” below the bottom of your skimmer which, in most pools, translates to 14”-18”. We cannot drain it down any farther during your closing time. Every year will be different after your closing too meaning some years we may get 5” of rain after closing with some decent snow fall and some years we will get nothing. This means that, although maybe last winter you didn’t have to drain your pool down at all during the winter, you may have to drain it down this year indeed. Almost all of our clients have had to drain their pools back down at least once since closing at some point during the life of the pool. Using this simple guide, you should be able to get the process down and work it into your normal winter pool care routine. And, of course, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call or text us at (585)204-POOL and we will be glad to help. We do offer pool draining services if you need it starting at $175+tax during the off season while your pool is closed.
Tarp Cover – If you have a tarp cover, be sure to consistently remove leaves, debris, and any water that collects on top of the cover. You should try to maintain your cover with as little water on top of it as possible over the winter months and especially after the winter thaw. As the temperatures start warming up and we approach pool opening time, you’ll want to be sure to pump off as much water as you can off the cover before we come open your pool. Keeping leaves and water off of your cover over the winter are crucial to assuring that your pool water will be clear in the spring time as well. You’ll also want to add chlorine to your pool as instructed in the “Mesh Safety Cover” guideline above.
Power – Be sure to turn off all power to your pool pump station during the winter months. Breakers are usually located in your basement electrical panel box.
Above Ground Pool winter Tips and Guidelines
Cover – The most important aspect over the winter for any above ground pool is properly maintaining your cover. Ideally, 2 inches of water is acceptable on top of your cover simply because it aids in keeping the cover on the pool when it gets windy however, having excess water on top of the cover can cause severe damage to your pool structure as well as to the water quality underneath the cover. Essentially, any time your pool cover has more than 2 inches of water on top of it, be sure to drain the excess water off as soon as you can before it builds up. Remove as many leaves as possible after they all fall and before the water on top of your cover freezes. Using a LEAF NET is the simplest and easiest way to remove the leaves. Once everything thaws out in the spring, pump off all water and remove any leaves that have collected on the cover over the winter. There should be NO WATER AND NO LEAVES on your cover when we arrive for your opening and we should be able to remove the cover freely without needing to drain it more or remove more leaves. There is always more water and there are always more leaves than it seems. In the event that we do need to drain the cover to remove it or remove leaves to remove the cover (a cover full of leaves can weigh 500+lbs making it physically impossible to remove), there will be an additional minimum fee of $60.00+tax as soon as we have to utilize our drain pumps on your cover added to your opening invoice.
REMEMBER!! The number one cause of damage to above ground pools over the winter is too much water and too many leaves collecting on top of the cover due to failing to maintain the cover as leaf and water free as possible.
Pool Bubbles and Pillows These big bubbles or pillows that you see under above ground pool covers are not necessary especially in our service area where it’s so frequently windy. They increase the chance of damage to your pool in the event that wind is able to get up under the cover and sending your cover across the neighborhood like a parachute. The best way to keep your winter cover on your pool is simply to maintain 2 inches of water on top of it and keep it free of leaves and other debris and monitor the water level inside the pool regularly.
Skimmer Face Plates – Skimmer Face Plate type plates are another unnecessary product designed to maintain the water level in your pool while it’s closed if your pool is in an area where there’s no chance of the water freezing completely. Believe it or not, above ground pools can actually freeze 100% solid and, when they do freeze and as the water expands, it actually freezes up before out. Not using the Face Plate gives the freezing water some form of relief from the pressure because it’s able to escape out of the skimmer as it should to prevent damage to your pool caused directly by it freezing.
Power – Be sure to turn off all power to your pool pump and filter station as well.