Freeze Prevention: How to Prepare Your Pool for Winter
After a successful summer season, when the temperature starts dropping, that means it’s time to shut your swimming pool down for the winter.
Rather than forgetting about it, properly closing your swimming pool properly for the winter will protect it from harsh winter conditions, help prevent algae and bacteria growth, and will even avoid accidents that can occur near an unsupervised pool.
Below, we’ll go over some steps you can take to prepare your pool for the winter.
Freeze Prevention When the Power Goes Out
To prepare your pool for winter, you’ll want to drain your water pipes, filter, pump, heater, and other above-ground equipment to keep the water inside from freezing and causing equipment damage.
When you have Freeze Guard, your system will take care of your pool during freezing temperatures. But what about when you lose power? That’s when you have to take initiative, head out into your backyard (bundle up first), and begin the process of winterizing your system.
- Turn off Your Breakers. You do this because if the power comes back on and your pumps aren’t on, you run the chance of burning them up.
- Avoid Covering Your Equipment with Any Kind of Blanket or Tarp. Covering your equipment can cause a fire. It’s important to rely on Freeze Guard first, then winterizing second if the power goes out.
- Drain Water from All Equipment. You’ll pull out your drain plugs on your pumps to let all excess water drain out.
- Remove All Pump Lids and Drain Caps & Set Aside. Take your pump lids off and set your drain plugs in there so you don’t lose them. Put the lids upside down on the pumps so the next tech who comes out knows your system is winterized.
- Open Your Valves. Opening up all your valves will allow water to escape through your system and down into the ground. This will keep water from freezing up in your pipes and busting them and the valve handles.
For further information watch this helpful, informative video:
Covering Your Pool for Winter
Installing a pool cover is the finishing touch to closing your swimming pool for the winter. Make sure you watch your pool cover closely during the winter to ensure it is secure. Sweep any debris that falls on top of your pool cover. That way, when it comes time to open it, the detritus won’t fall into your swimming pool.
Keep Your Pool Pump Running
If you live in a more mild climate, where freezing isn’t a regular occurrence, then you probably don’t need to worry about freeze prevention too much. But freezing can still happen, so it’s crucial to pay attention to your local weather for freeze warnings.
To keep water from freezing and damaging equipment, you’ll want to turn off the timer on your pump and run it 24/7 until the weather gets warmer. As long as the water in your pipes is moving, it won’t freeze over.
We recommend setting up text alerts to ensure you don’t forget to turn your pump on during freeze warnings. You can also put alarms in your pool that will set off lights and noises so you can be sure you won’t forget.
Install Freeze Protection Equipment
Install freeze protection equipment to further protect your pool. A sensor in the equipment measures the temperature and turns the pump on when it drops below the threshold.
If you get a more advanced pool controller, you can also open any closed valves and turn on booster or waterfall pumps to ensure they are protected from freeze damage as well.
Year-Round Maintenance
Just because no one will be using your pool during the winter, that doesn’t mean you can forget about pool maintenance until spring. While you don’t have to give your pool as much TLC when it’s not in constant use, there are still a couple of things you should keep up on during cold weather months.
Preparing your swimming pool for winter can take up to a week and involve installing a winter or safety cover. It also includes balancing your water chemistry, adding chemicals to prevent algae and bacteria build-up, and adjusting your pool equipment to run at shorter and less frequent intervals.
This sounds like a lot of work, but it can be a simple, pain-free process with the proper training. Or you can reach out to us, and we’ll take care of it for you.
Contact Your Local Premier Pool Service to Close Your Pool For You
Closing your pool for the winter might take a little time and effort, but it doesn’t have to be a headache. At Premier Pool Service, we are here to help make closing your pool for the winter a breeze! Our friendly and knowledgeable technicians are always available to come out to your house and help you close your pool in top shape for the winter season.
Every pool has specific needs, so count on Premier Pool Service to give your pool the individualized care to help it stay clean and algae-free all winter long. Contact us today for a free quote on freeze prevention for your pool to have one of our trained service technicians come out and help you.
