Category Archives: Pool Closing and Winterizing

Pool and Spa Chemicals, Pool and Spa Maintenance, Pool Closing and Winterizing

Check and Balance Your Pool Chemicals

Comment

Pool Chemicals

Making sure that your pool chemicals are balanced during the winter is very important. Chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer levels should all be checked and regulated so that spring opening is easier. The following levels should be maintained throughout the winter.

Chlorine: 2.0 ppm

  • To raise the chlorine level, you should shock the pool.
  • To lower the chlorine level, you should turn down your chlorinator.

pH: 7.8 ppm (or 7.4 ppm in summer)

  • To raise the pH level, add soda ash.
  • To lower the pH level, add muriatic acid.

Total Alkalinity: 80-100 ppm

  • To raise total alkalinity, add baking soda or sodium bicarbonate
  • To lower total alkalinity, add muriatic acid

Calcium Hardness: 250-500 ppm

  • To raise calcium hardness, add calcium chloride.
  • To lower calcium hardness, drain your pool and refill.

Stabilizer:

  • To raise stabilizer level, add cyanuric acid.
  • To lower stabilizer level, drain your pool and refill.Aquacheck Digital Reader

To test your chemical levels, you can either take a sample of pool water to your local pool retailer or save time and money by testing it yourself. With an Aquachek Digital Reader, you can test your pool water quickly and accurately on your own. It takes only 15 seconds to get a clear and precise reading.

Pool and Spa Safety, Pool Closing and Winterizing

When Safety Covers Are Not Safe

Comment

Pool Safety Cover Repair/Replacement for Solid and Mesh Safety Covers

Many homeowners prefer to use a safety cover rather than a winter cover when preparing the pool for the winter months.  Safety covers protect the pool, but they also help prevent submersion and drowning accidents should a child or pet wander out onto the cover.  A proper safety cover can support a minimum of 485 pounds per 5 square feet, according to the American Society for Testing and Materials’ (ASTM) standard F1346-91.  If that safety cover is torn or in any other way damaged, though, it is no longer a reliable barrier.

Purchasing a new safety cover to replace a damaged one is not always necessary.  Safety covers can be repaired for much less than a new cover would cost, so investigating this as a viable option is recommended.  Make sure that the company who will perform the repairs is well-recognized for quality workmanship.  And, use a company that will pay for the shipping of your safety cover in both directions — from you to the company, and then back to you again once the repairs have been made.

If damage to a pool safety cover is beyond repair, then purchasing a new one is necessary.  A safety cover cannot be trusted as a reliable safety barrier if it is damaged in any way.

Pool and Spa Chemicals, Pool Closing and Winterizing

Winterizing: Don’t Miss This Important Step!

Comment

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!

Innovative Solutions, Pool Accessories, Pool Closing and Winterizing

Winterizing Your Pool? Don’t Neglect the Diving Board

Comment

Diving Board Covers

Winterizing your backyard swimming pool includes taking proper care to protect the diving board.  Some pool owners prefer not to do anything to protect the diving board through the off-season.  Without a proper cover, though, a diving board can become stained by debris that falls on the board and stays there for an extended period of time.  Additionally, an uncovered diving board can become damaged over time by harsh winter weather.

Covering a diving board with a tarp and ropes or bungee cords is another way some pool owners choose to protect the diving board.  Doing an effective job of covering the diving board in this manner, though, is physically challenging, and the tarp material itself offers inadequate protection from cold weather conditions and destructive ultraviolet rays.

A proper Diving Board Cover is the most effective way to protect a diving board through many years of cold winter seasons.  Constructed of high-tech and rugged material, the superior quality diving board cover is resistant to mildew, below zero temperatures, and harsh UV rays.  A proper diving board cover should be fast to put on and remove, making it an easy task to add to the yearly winterizing process.

Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Maintenance, Pool Closing and Winterizing

Winterizing? Don’t Forget to Clean That Pool!

Comment

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.