Don’t ignore your pool over winter.
Either get a heater and keep enjoying those swimming nights or shut it down properly.
Ignoring it and waiting till spring will bring a world of hurt… you’ll be buying a heap of pool chemicals and worse still you may even need an expert to do a green pool recovery!
A small amount of care and regular attention over those months will save you a bigger job (potential green pool recovery) and ensure you have the pool ready when you do want to swim.
If you do not have us servicing your pool then you need to follow these tips to keep your pool healthy all year round:
1. Clean your pool – Regularly skim all leaves and debris from the surface, empty your skimmer and pump baskets and clean your filter. If you let it sit on the bottom of the pool it can stain the pool surface and be difficult to clean and cost a lot in pool chemicals.
2. Balance your pool water – don’t just test your water, you need water management. Getting professional advice will see you needing less frequent advice (and less costs) at any time of year as everything becomes more efficient with properly balanced water (and your pool equipment lasts longer), come in store for a free check..
3. Reduce filter running times – You are using your pool less (unless you have pool heating) and therefore reducing what we call a bather load on the pool. Your pool equipment therefore needs to run less and produce less chlorine (if you have an automatic chlorinator), saving you money.
4. pH and Chlorine are important but if you miss testing for phosphates, and they increase, they can become a food source for algae and in winter phosphates can build up as a result of less pool servicing and maintenance. No phosphates, equals no algae.
5. Keep debris out of your pool – Having a pool blanket and roller is the best way to stop leaves and other debris entering the pool, which also in turn stops phosphates entering your pool as well – Saving you from skimming and vacuuming the pool when it’s freezing outside!
6. Filter clean – This is more than just hosing out the cartridge or backwashing the media filter. A deep filter clean will help make your filter more efficient by allowing a better water flow through the pool filter, keep your pool cleaner, healthier and reduce the load and therefore lifespan of your pool pump.
7. Keep an eye on your pool – Nothing beats regularly checking your pool. This could be as simple as looking to see that the pool is looking clear, the pool equipment is working as it should, the pool water level is correct and using a dipstick to check on the basics (pH and Chlorine). Set a reminder in your calendar to get a water test done by a professional every 4 weeks.
8. Turn down your Chlorinator – the reduced bather load on your pool as well as a lower UV index, means you will need to input less chlorine in your pool, so turn your chlorinator down. This is important, especially if you have a pool blanket as chlorine will build up under the blanket.
