{"id":1717,"date":"2012-09-12T08:30:38","date_gmt":"2012-09-12T13:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.BackyardCityPools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/?p=1717"},"modified":"2013-10-02T23:14:56","modified_gmt":"2013-10-03T04:14:56","slug":"how-to-close-winterize-your-above-ground-swimming-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/how-to-close-winterize-your-above-ground-swimming-pool\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Close or Winterize Your Above Ground Swimming Pool"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Above Ground Pool Cover with Air Pillow in Middle\" alt=\"Above Ground Pool Cover with Air Pillow in Middle\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Images\/BWP\/W300-4-Above-Ground-Winter-Pool-Cover.jpg?resize=400%2C147&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"400\" height=\"147\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Above Ground Pool Cover with Air Pillow in Middle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>A Step-by-Step Guide to Close your Above Ground Pool for the Winter<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Step 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Before closing your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pools-Above-Ground-Pools.htm\">above ground pool<\/a>, make sure the water is clean, clear and chemically balanced. \u00a0Adjust the chemical levels if necessary. \u00a0Chemically balanced water protects the pool from corrosion or scale buildup that can occur while the pool is not in use. Your chemical levels should be as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>pH:<\/strong> 7.2 &#8211; 7.6<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alkalinity:<\/strong> 80 &#8211; 120 parts per million<\/li>\n<li><strong>Calcium Hardness:<\/strong> 175 &#8211; 250 parts per million<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chlorine:<\/strong> 1 &#8211; 3 parts per million<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Step 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Remove all deck equipment, including ladders, stairs, etc.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Brush down the sides and floor of your pool and then vacuum. This step prevents staining, which can occur if any dirt or debris is left to sit in the pool.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 4<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Add <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Winter-Cover-Accessories-AG.htm\">winterizing chemicals<\/a> by broadcasting them into the deep end of the pool. These chemicals help protect water quality during the off season months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 5<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Clean the filter, skimmer, and pump basket. Remove all unused chlorine product from the chlorinator. Cartridge filter elements and D.E. grids should be cleaned and stored. \u00a0If you have a sand filter, backwash it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 6<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Some people insert a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/pool-maintenance\/BWP-Pool-Skimmer-Guard-NW305.htm\">skimmer guard<\/a> into the skimmer and plug the return line. Others lower the water in the pool below the returns (where the water jets into the pool) and the skimmer. Either method is fine &#8212; the choice made is based on personal preference.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Important:<\/strong> Never completely drain an above ground pool. This can cause your pool to collapse.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If your pool is plumbed with detachable, flexible hoses, remove them and store for the winter. Remove all drain plugs from the pump, filter tank, and any other pool equipment. Follow the manufacturer&#8217;s instructions for your specific pump, filter and other equipment. \u00a0 Basically you&#8217;ll need to drain them so there is no water in them that could freeze and damage the pump or filter. \u00a0 \u00a0 Place all drain plugs in the pump&#8217;s basket for storage and so you won&#8217;t loose them.<\/p>\n<p>If your pool is hard plumbed, use an air compressor or shop vac (attached to the blower side of the vac) to blow water out of the system by forcing air down the skimmer and through the plumbing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 8<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you are using an air pillow,\u00a0 inflate it by using a shop vac.\u00a0 Tie the air pillow at two places and position it in the center of the pool.\u00a0 Tie strings to the pool wall so the pillow will not move during installation of the pool cover.\u00a0 Air pillows are commonly used, but not absolutely necessary.\u00a0 They are a good idea in colder climates in case the water freezes and expands.\u00a0 The water will freeze inwards on the pillow instead of outwards which can potentially damage the pool wall. \u00a0 Pillows are <strong>NOT<\/strong> used to create a dome-like effect to keep rain off of the cover.\u00a0 Rain water will always settle around the pillow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 9<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Place an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Winter-Pool-Covers-AG.htm\">winter cover<\/a> over the pool surface, black side down.\u00a0 Some homeowners who have children or pets and have a deck with at least 3 ft of deck space all the way around their pool may prefer to cover the pool with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Pool-Covers-Safety.htm\">safety cover<\/a> over the winter.<\/p>\n<p>If covering your pool with a winter cover,\u00a0 place the cover over the pool,\u00a0 then thread the cable through the loops or grommets.\u00a0 Use the winch provided with the cover to tighten the cable.\u00a0\u00a0 The cover should rest directly on the water and go up and over wall and back down on the outside of pool.<\/p>\n<p>If your above ground pool has a deck, place<a href=\"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/pool-covers-accessories\/Heavy-Duty-Water-Tubes.htm\"> water tubes<\/a> end to end around the edge of the pool. Fill the bags 3\/4 full with water. \u00a0Do not over-fill because the bags could burst when the water inside freezes. \u00a0Never use bricks, \u00a0concrete blocks, etc. to secure the cover because they can damage your pool cover or your pool.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 10<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Place a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Pool-Cover-Pumps.htm\">cover pump<\/a> in the center of your pool cover to drain excess water accumulation. \u00a0Too much water on top of the cover can cause the cover to rip, or it can pull the cover and wall bags into the pool. \u00a0Either way, you&#8217;re in for a messy cleanup effort.<\/p>\n<p>Now you are ready for the winter!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Step-by-Step Guide to Close your Above Ground Pool for the Winter Step 1 Before closing your above ground pool, make sure the water is clean, clear and chemically balanced. \u00a0Adjust the chemical levels if necessary. \u00a0Chemically balanced water protects the pool from corrosion or scale buildup that can occur while the pool is not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pool-closing-and-winterizing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2No25-rH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1717"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2068,"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1717\/revisions\/2068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.backyardcitypools.com\/Swimming-Pool-Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}