Don’t Make These Common Winter Pool Closing Mistakes

Winter is definitely on its way. The days are shorter, school is starting up again, and the holidays are fast approaching. With everything going on this time of year, it’s easy to get distracted and miss important details or skip important steps when winterizing your swimming pool. However, properly closing your pool for winter helps ensure a smooth and easy opening when the warm weather returns. With all that in mind, here are some common pool closing mistakes to avoid this season. 

1. Draining the pool

While you may think it makes sense to drain your above ground pool before it becomes a big ice block, that’s not the case. Actually, there are very few reasons you’ll ever want to completely drain your above ground swimming pool. Leaving water in your pool for the winter will prevent wind, snow, and other elements from damaging the walls, liner, or frame and keep your vinyl pool liner from shrinking,

2. Not cleaning the pool properly before closing.

Pull out those pool vacuums, scrubbers, and robotic pool cleaners one last time. Now is not the time to skip cleaning your pool. In fact, the cleaner your pool is before winterizing it, the better. It helps assure you’ll have a nice, clean pool come spring. Any dirt, debris, and bacteria that are left in there can cause problems and nasty surprises, such as algae and rust, when you open your pool back up. 

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3. Not testing the water chemistry and adjusting chemicals.

Again, just because you won’t be swimming in your pool for a while doesn’t mean you shouldn’t test the water chemistry. Proper pool water chemistry is going to help prevent algae, staining, scaling, and other issues throughout the winter months. We also recommend a winter pool kit, which comes along with many of our winter pool covers, to help get your pool chemicals in check. 

Here are the recommended pool chemical levels for closing and throughout the winter months:

• pH between 7.2 and 7.6
• Alkalinity between 100 and 115 ppm
• Calcium hardness between 175 and 250 ppm

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Winterizing Chemical Kit

4. Not cleaning or storing equipment properly.

Now is a good time to pull out those product guides and instructions that you got when you purchased your pool pump and filter system and other pool toys and accessories. They’ll likely have some important instructions regarding cleaning, storage, and winterization. Not following these instructions can result in damage and having to replace them when the warm weather rolls back around. Generally, you should make sure your pool equipment and accessories are cleaned and stored in a dry area away from pets and small children.

If you’re storing pool floats and toys, it’s a good idea to disinfect them before putting them away for the winter. 

5. Rushing through the winterization process.

This is probably the most common mistake we see pool owners make when it’s time to close the pool. We often find that when you’re rushing to put your pool away for the winter, that’s when costly mistakes occur. Plus, putting in the effort to close the pool properly helps guarantee you’ll have a better experience when you open your above ground pool for the summer. If you need more advice on closing your pool or simply don’t want the hassle of it, contact a pool expert to help you out! 

Want to learn more about winterizing your pool? Check out our handy pool winterization guide!

Now is a great time to stock up on all the winter essentials you need — from winter pool covers to air pillows and more