Pool Accessories, Pool Closing and Winterizing

An Essential Pool Winterizing Accessory

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Air Pillow for Swimming Pools

If you live in a climate where winter air temperatures drop below freezing, the first accessory you’ll need before covering your swimming pool with the winter pool cover is an air pillow. Air pillows absorb the pressure created by freezing water and protect your pool’s walls and liner. As the water in the pool freezes and expands, it will freeze inward on the air pillow rather than outward on your pool walls.

Air pillows are placed under the winter pool cover on top of the water in the center of the pool. To ensure that the air pillow doesn’t move out of place over the course of the winter, you’ll want to use durable string, cord, or twine to tie it to two sides of your pool wall.

Hot Tubs and Saunas, Pool and Spa Maintenance

Spa Vacs Offer Fast, Effective Cleaning

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Looking for a quick and easy way to clean your spa just in time for fall? One great solution is a motorized spa vac. It runs on AA batteries, but offers a powerful, effective cleaning method. The spa vac quickly removes debris from your spa and deposits them in the unit’s ultra fine stainless steel screen. The aluminum telescopic pole adjusts to lengths suitable for different height spas. It comes with easy push button operation and a scrubbing brush for additional cleaning power – all for under$100. Cleaning your hot tub or spa has never been easier!

Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool Closing and Winterizing

The Importance of Cover Pumps for Winter

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Be sure to make the swimming pool cover pump a priority when you winterize your swimming pool this year. A swimming pool cover pump drains the water that collects on your winter pool cover over the off-season months. If accumulated water is not regularly removed by a cover pump, the weight of that excess water can damage your winter pool cover or pull the cover into the water below. Either way, you’ll be in for a messy clean up when spring rolls around again.

Cover pumps are available in manual models and automatic models. Manual cover pumps require that you monitor the pump’s progress and unplug it when the water is drained. Automatic cover pumps, often preferred by pool owners, sense and automatically start when water is detected on the cover.  They also turn off automatically once the water has been drained.

By simply adding a cover pump to your regular winterizing procedure, you can extend the life of your winter pool cover and save yourself money and effort at the same time.

Hot Tubs and Saunas, Pool and Spa Maintenance

Time for Spa Maintenance

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Spa Filter Cartridges
Pools across the country are closing, but spa season is in full swing! Now is the time to perform basic maintenance of your hot tub or spa to make sure that it is proper working order. Make sure that the spa cover is in good condition and doesn’t need any maintenance or repair. You will also want to typically drain and refill the tub with fresh water once every three months. If it has been longer than 5 since your water was changed, you should drain and refill. It might also be time to clean or replace your spa filter cartridge. If your filters shows any signs of damage or excessive wear, now is the time to purchase a new one. BackyardCity Pools sells hundreds of brands of pool and spa filter so we will almost certainly have what you are looking for!

Pool Closing and Winterizing

How Will You Secure Your Winter Pool Cover?

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Winter Pool Cover Accessories

Winter is coming, and pool season is at an end for a majority of the country.  Once you’ve winterized your above ground swimming pool, how do you plan to keep your winter pool cover in place for the duration of the off-season months?  If not secured well, a winter pool cover can be easily blown around on breezy days, exposing your pool to the elements and ruining the hard work you put into winterizing.  Three of the available options include pool cover wall bags, winter cover seal, and cover clips.

Pool cover wall bags are designed especially for above ground pools and are positioned around the inside perimeter of your pool, fastened to your pool cover’s cable. Wall bags should be filled only three quarters full with water to make room for the water to expand should it freeze.

Winter cover seal is another way to keep your pool cover in place, and while it looks very much like a large roll of plastic wrap, it’s really a tough poly blend film packed with UV inhibitors. Winter cover seal is wrapped around the covered pool several times to create a tight seal, which prevents wind as well as dirt from getting under the cover and causing damage and premature wear and tear.

Cover clips are a third option for securing your winter pool cover. Cover clips are exactly that — handy fasteners that hold your pool cover in place. They grip your top rail like a clothes pin and hold securely throughout the winter season.

However you choose to secure your winter pool cover, be sure to use something that will keep your cover in place through the entire winter season.  Doing so will protect your cover and your above ground pool from possible damage and exposure to the elements.

Pool Cover Wall Bags Winter Cover Seal Winter Pool Cover Clips