Items You Need To Remove From Your In Ground Pool For Winter
Before winter arrives, you should winterize your in ground pool to keep it in great shape for next spring. Not only do you need to drain all the water from your pool's plumbing and pipes, there are several extra things you need to take out of your pool for winter. Here are several important items you need to remove from your pool for winter so you don't cause extra damage to your pool.
Get Dirt and Debris One Last Time
Before you add any winterizing chemicals to your pool's water, such as algaecide and chlorine, you need to get any dirt and debris out of your pool.
If you leave any twigs, leaves, and dirt on the bottom or floating on the top of the pool water, they can cause a potential algae growth. During a winter thaw, a temperature increase can warm up your pool water enough to make the environment perfect for algae and bacteria to grow.
Once you remove this debris, your pool cover will keep your pool's water clean during winter.
Remove Chemical Tablets
Once you have cleaned out any debris and dirt from your pool, you will be ready to prepare your pool for winter by adding winterizing chemicals. But first, you should remove any chemicals that can damage your equipment if they sit in your pool over winter.
During winter you will not be running your pool filter or pump, so any full strength chemicals in your pool won't get mixed through your pool's water. These chemicals can damage your pool's filtering equipment if it is exposed to them for several months.
If you have added chemicals in a tablet form that dissolve over time and mix into the pool water, you will need to wash them out before winter. Chlorine or bromine tablets left in your pool's chemical feeder can damage your equipment. Make sure you remove the tablets or let the pool pump dissolve them throughout your pool's water before closing your pool for winter.
Although you remove some chemicals from your pool, you still need to add winterizing chemicals. Add the appropriate amount of winterizing chemicals depending on the size of your pool. Once you add them, let the pump mix them in thoroughly. The chemicals will last over the winter months, protecting the water from a winter algae bloom.
Pool Toys
Make sure to remove any pool toys like flotation buoys, ladders, slides, and diving boards. Any wall fittings that attach these extras onto your pool should be removed as well.
These items can damage your pool's cover if they are left in place during winter.
Several Inches of Water
Remove enough water through your pool's pump so that the water line is three to five inches below the lowest plumbing line. This gets the water low enough so that you can remove all the water from your filter and pump lines to prevent them from freezing and breaking your pipes during the winter.
Pool Cleaning Parts
Be sure to remove any skimmer baskets, return jet fittings, and pump filters from your pool to make your pool ready for winter. It is important to remove these from your pool in case any water collects around them. If this collection of water freezes, it can damage the parts and you will need to replace them in the spring.
It is better to store these items in a shed or your home during winter's freezing temperatures.
After you have removed all the appropriate items from your pool, you will be well on your way for preparing your pool for winter's snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. For more information, contact a local pool company, like Pool Service Co.