Winterizing Your Inground Swimming Pool

15 Oct Winterizing Your Inground Swimming Pool

CLOSING YOUR POOL

From Swimmingpool.com

Protect Your Pool Over the Cold Winter Season

One of the things that is unique to northern and eastern climates is the need to close swimming pools down for the winter months.  Severe weather, as well as the freeze thaw cycles can wreak havok on pool structures, equipment, and circulation systems.  This post from swimmingpool.com outlines the procedures that need to be performed properly to ensure that pools in the colder climates are protected from these harsh conditions.

Here is an excerpt from the post:

As cold weather approaches, you will want to start thinking about winterizing the swimming pool. The main purpose in winterizing your swimming pool is to protect it from damage due to freezing water. Another reason to close the pool correctly is to keep it as clean as possible for the next season. Closing your swimming pool properly can save you a lot of work when it comes time to open the swimming pool for the summer. Here are a few steps to follow that will make your pool as safe as possible for the winter and low maintenance to open when warm weather returns in the spring.

Balance The Water
About 4-7 days prior to closing your pool for winter, bring your pool pH (7.6-7.8), pool alkalinity (80-100), and calcium hardness (150-250) in line. Shock the pool with a chlorine shock to bring the chlorine level up to 10-12ppm. Allow the pool chlorine to come down to its normal level, about 1.5-3.5ppm before adding any pool algaecides, pool winterizing chemicals, or your pool cover. If you are unsure of how to correctly balance the water, take a sample to your local pool retailer and they can test it and make recommendations.

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