Tag Archives: Winterize

Winterizing: Don’t Miss This Important Step!

Pool Anti-Freeze Concentrate
There are many important steps in shutting your pool down for the winter. If you live in climate with harsh conditions, making sure that you pool plumbing is protected with anti-freeze might be the most important! After lowering your water level and capping off your return lines, you should always add an anti-freeze agent through your skimmer to protect your pool from frigid temperatures. As a standard rule of thumb, you should use one gallon of anti-freeze per every ten feet of distance from the pump to the pool. Pool Anti-Freeze Concentrate is the perfect freeze prevention product because it is both effective and safe. It is non-toxic and is designed for all types of swimming pools. Because it is super concentrated, one quart mixes with three quarts of water to make one whole gallon of anti-freeze. It will protect your pool down to negative forty degrees farenheit! You will never have to worry about frozen pool plumbing again!

Winterizing? Don’t Forget to Clean That Pool!

Dirty Pool

Did you know that cleaning your swimming pool is one of the first and most important steps in winterizing it, but it’s often the step that gets overlooked or skipped?  Once swimming season is over, it’s natural to want to spend as little time as possible getting the pool ready for the winter months.  But, shirking the responsibility of cleaning your pool can invite problems.  When leaves, dirt, and other debris are left in a pool for an extended period of time, they can leave unsightly and permanent stains.  Additionally, the effectiveness of your winterizing chemicals is diminished when a pool contains debris.  Automatic Pool Cleaner

Preventing these problems means brushing down the sides and bottom of the pool with a wall brush, letting all that debris settle to the bottom, and then vacuuming it.  Automatic Pool Cleaners make the job of cleaning a bit easier, and there are a wide variety of automatic pool cleaners available for above ground pools and in ground pools.

Taking that little bit of extra time for cleaning your swimming pool when you winterize is well worth the effort.  You’ll enjoy the fruits of your labor when you reveal a clean, stain-free pool after the winter pool cover comes off next season.

Winter Cover Accessories Explained!

 Cover Pump

If you own an above ground pool, you probably use a winter cover. With the abundance of options available with your cover, you might find yourself slightly confused about what to buy. I am here to help! Below is your guide to winter pool cover accessories for above ground pools!

Pool cover pumps are used to remove water that builds up on your pool cover. They are available in manual models, where you will have to monitor the pumps progress and unplug it when the water is drained, or in automatic models, which sense and automatically start when water is on the cover and cut off automatically! While cover pumps are not absolutely necessary, they will drastically reduce the amount of time it takes and the burden of removing your cover.

Air pillows are placed under the cover on top of the water. They absorb freezing water’s pressure to protect your pool walls and liner. They also reduce excess rain, snow, and leaves on your winter cover. Using an air pillow under your winter cover will make draining the water off the top of your cover much easier.

There are also several option available when deciding how to keep your cover in place. Pool cover wall bags are fillted with water and used to hold your cover in place during times of high wind. They are designed to lie on top of the cover around the inside perimeter of your pool.  Winter cover seal is very much like a large roll of plastic wrap. It is wrapped around the covered pool to keep wind from getting under your winter cover and causing damage and premature wear and tear. It is easy to apply and can be done by one person. Cover clips are handy fasteners that hold your pool cover in place. They grip your top rail like a clothes pin and hold throughout the winter season. The cover lock system is similar to cover clips, but more secure. It involves a two-part system that snaps together to ensure maximum hold, even in the highest winds.

With you understanding of these accessories, you will be thoroughly prepared to close your pool this season!

Winterizing Chemical Kits Make Pool Closing a Cinch!

Winterizing Chemical Kit

 

Sometimes, owning a pool can be confusing! Like many pool owners, you are probably looking for easy solutions to answer your pool related questions. One question that many pool owners have been asking lately is “what chemicals do I need to add to my pool to close it for winter?”, and I have the perfect solution to share with you. You can now buy winterizing chemical kits that come premeasured for your pool size! They are the ultimate in hassle free pool closing. Available in chlorine and chlorine-free varieties, you can get them for any pool size. They even come with pool closing instructions. These are so handy that you will wonder why you ever worried with buying individual products.

Think Ahead to Spring: Now Is the Time for Leaf Nets

Leaf Nets

Now that it’s time to close the backyard swimming pool for the season, it’s also time to think ahead to next season.  Doing a quick job of winterizing and cutting corners will save you time now, but when spring rolls around and you see the damp and decaying layer of dead leaves that has accumulated on your winter pool cover for months, you’ll wish you had spent a little more time preparing the pool for an easy spring clean up.

One fast and simple way to prevent that disgusting layer of slimy, decomposing leaves and debris from building up on your winter cover is to use a leaf net.  A leaf net is a mesh cover that goes over your winter cover or safety cover.  Set it up before the leaves begin to fall this autumn, and remove it before your first snow.  The time and effort saved by collecting autumn leaves in a leaf net will go a long way in the spring when you are ready to prepare the pool for a new season of swimming.