If you live anywhere that gets cold, snow, or ice, you know you have to close your pool at the end of each season. The ideal time to close your pool is before it gets cold and especially before the first snow- in extreme temperatures your plumbing pipes and valves can become brittle and easily break. We recommend you entrust your pool closing to a professional to ensure it’s done properly and thoroughly.
The most important part of this process is clearing your pipes of water by blowing out the lines and adding antifreeze through the skimmer. If all the water is not removed the pipes can freeze and expand leading to costly damage.
Water Chemistry
A week before you plan to close your pool, do a final water chemistry check and balance ALL of your chemicals.
Final Maintenance
Keep your pool as clean as possible before your pool closing. Excessive leaves and debris can make your closing more costly, take longer, and alter the water chemistry. Always do a final brushing and vacuuming as part of this process.
Drain the Pool
Do not completely drain your pool; the water just needs to be drained below the returns for proper winterization. For fiberglass, the water level is usually lowered below the skimmer.
While the Pool is Draining
Turn off the power source to the heater if you have one. Close the gas lines. Remove ladder, hand rails, and deck equipment. Prepare your cover for use.
Once Your Pool is Drained
Open your skimmer line slightly to make sure all the water is removed. Turn off your equipment to stop draining the pool. Remove the “eyeballs” from the jets. Lastly, add winterizing chemicals and algaecide to the pool. After these steps are completed you can blow all the water out of the plumbing lines.
Again, we HIGHLY recommend allowing a pool professional to complete the winterization process. If this is not something you do on a regular basis it is very easy to overlook an important step that could lead to future damage and headaches. Call us at Ask the Pool Guy for help with any pool closing.