Maintaining your winter pool chemicals is important, whether you use your pool during the colder times of the year or not, because leaves and other debris which fall into your pool affect your pH levels.
Close the pool for winter – but don't drain it.
In winter, the water in your pool is still your friend. Especially when properly winterized, it helps to protect the pool liner, keep it clean and prevent unnecessary damage from debris, harsh weather and other factors.
Even with proper and regular pool maintenance, it's often necessary to drain your pool — completely or partially — every 3-5 years. Draining your pool often isn't necessary, especially if you're following a proper and regular maintenance program.
Drain the water down to no more than 6 inches from the bottom of the skimmer if you plan to use a standard floating winter cover. Use your pool filter, switched to the "Drain" setting, to empty the pool water.
Use salt test strips for an accurate reading and when the season starts cooling down, do not add anymore salt to the pool. It is better not to have a lot of salt in your pool toward the end of the season. Balancing your water's chemistry is important for all pools during closing time.
Whether you decide to use pool shock or not, it's still important to test and monitor the water chemistry of a covered, winterized pool during the off-season. Do this at least twice a month when the water in your pool is not frozen.
Depending on the size of your pool, we still recommend the pump run 8-10 hours per day during the hottest summer months and at least 6 hours per day during the winter months.
Unless you are considering the investment in a safety cover do not close the pool for winter.
Shocking kills any bacteria that might linger in your pool during the winter. We recommend shocking a few days before you close the pool. If that is not possible, make sure to shock the pool the night before you close it for winter.
Pros of Saltwater Pools
There's less chlorine and less of the heavy chemical scent and content. They're gentler on the skin, with less irritation to the eyes, hair and swimsuits. The water has a softer, silkier feel to it compared to chlorine water. They have lower maintenance costs than chlorine pools.
You will want to use NaCl, sodium chloride, of at least 99% purity. To add salt, turn on your filter pump and add the salt directly to your pool water. Use a brush to help the salt dissolve and to prevent the salt from piling up on the bottom of your pool.
You definitely need to drain some water from the pool when salinity reaches a 6,000 ppm level. Most salt water pools should be maintained with a salinity level of 2,500-4,000 ppm. The amount you drain depends on how elevated salinity levels are.
A common question asked is, “Can above ground pools stay up year round?” And although the easy answer is that “Yes, they can,” whether you want to leave them up year-round really depends on the type of pool you have. Dismantling some above ground pools for the winter may be more hassle than it's worth.
Generally, pool water needs to be replaced once every five to seven years. This should be done during mild weather so that your pool surface is not at risk from strong sunlight and heat. Your pool maintenance company can recommend when it is time to drain your pool.
You should replace pool water every five to seven years. As much as possible, you should drain and refill your pool during mild weather. It's to avoid pool damage caused by direct sunlight and heat.
The pool must be maintained and taken care of regularly; if not, it may lead to various accidents, diseases, and infections. Maintaining the cleanliness of your pool is just one of the many ways of swimming pool care. It is recommended to have your pool cleaned at least once a week to keep it clean and uncontaminated.
Green discoloration in a swimming pool is caused by the growth of algae, a type of green aquatic plant that floats on the surface of water. Algae usually flourishes in warm water but can still take over your pool in winter if given half a chance.
If your pool has been green all season you're probably super excited to close it. While it seems like the easiest option – it's not! It's much smarter to close your pool as clean as possible. Algae can grow in water as cold as 50 degrees.
Closing a pool with leaves or acorns in the bottom will likely lead to a stained pool bottom. Winterizing the Equipment and Piping-It is imperative that the equipment be properly winterized. Failing to winterize the pump and filter will likely lead to freeze damage resulting in costly repairs.
The point of running your pool pump in the winter is to keep your water moving, which prevents it from freezing should temperatures get too low. So ideally, run your pump (and keep it running) whenever temperatures start getting close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezing point of water.
Running the pump at night should only be when you are doing a major chemical treatment such as algae clean-up. Your pool is more vulnerable during the day, plants don't grow at night the way they do during the day–that's true of ALL plants including Algae.