The guide to closing your pool below is primarily intended for pool owners that live in areas where multiple freezes and/or snow are common. If you live in more temperate areas with very mild winters, you typically can get by with simply maintaining your pool as normal but with less filtration time each day and fewer chemicals. Always keep in mind, too, that properly closing your pool can greatly reduce the time and effort it takes to open your pool the next season.
1) Balance the water.
About a week before you close the pool for good, adjust your water balance to somewhere in the ranges below:
pH: 7.1-7.5
Alkalinity: 75-125 ppm
Calcium Hardness: 175-225 ppm
When that’s done, shock the pool. Wait until the chlorine level is around 1.0-3.0ppm and then add winter algaecide and your pool cover.
2) Lower the water level.
Using either the filter pump or a submersible pump, lower the water level until it’s 12-18″ below the skimmer (for mesh pool covers) or lower it 3-6″ below the tile (for solid covers).
3) Drain pumping, filtering, heating, and chlorinating equipment.
All pump, filters, heaters, and chlorinators have drain plugs, and you have to completely drain them to prevent cracking and damage during freezes. Also be sure to remove any filter grids or cartridge filters and clean them thoroughly before storage.
4) Remove anything else that is removable.
This includes pool equipment such as skimmer baskets, fittings, pool cleaner houses, solar blankets, pool ladders, etc. as well as anything esle pool-related that needs to be stored during winter.
5) Lubricate the pump and filter.
Lubricate any o-rings on the pump or filer that you can get to.
6) Thoroughly clean the pool.
Don’t think that you can get away with not cleaning the pool one last time, just because you’re closing it for the winter. Skim the pool, vacuum, and brush. If it’s really dirty, always vacuum to waste, pumping the debris out the backwash line.
7) Winterize the plumbing.
For inground pools, blow out the lines using a Shop Vac or similar device. Your goal is to blow air from the skimmer through the equipment and back to the pool, then to plug the lines at the pool. If you don’t blow the lines, at least add swimming pool antifreeze into the the lines.
For above ground pools, simply disconnect the hoses to and from the pump and filter and plug the wall outlets.
8) Add winterizing algaecide and cover the pool.
Mesh safety pool covers are best, as they’re not only the safest but don’t require you to peridoically remove pooling water during the winer as solid pool covers do. If you do have a solid cover, be sure to regularly clean off debris and collected water during the winter months, as it will make opening the pool much easier.
Wait until you’ve done everything else to add the algaecide, as the pool needs to recover from the earlier shocking before you add it.
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