The hot days of summer are gone, replaced by cooler autumn days and a significantly colder pool. Sadly, it’s time to prepare your pool for winter as we head into the colder months here in South Africa.
What can we do to best prepare our pools for the quiet months ahead?
Winter Pool Prep
Clean & Inspect
Autumn means falling leaves and generally more debris in your swimming pool, so the best starting point is to skim the surface of the water and give all the filters and baskets a good thorough clean.
While you’re poking around inside your pool equipment, take a few minutes to inspect each element to ensure that there are no visible signs of wear or calcification.
Backwash
You probably backwash regularly, but before putting your pool to sleep for the winter, make sure to run the backwash process for a minute to clean out any lingering contaminants.
Check the Chemicals
Preventing an algae outbreak or any other major catastrophes is far easier than rectifying them. Pull out the testing kit and check all the levels in your pool water.
Not only will a well-balanced poor fare better during the quiet winter months, but the water will be kinder to your equipment in the long run.
Adjust the Pump Timer
Your pool pump does not need to run as long in winter as it did in summer. In fact, many pool owners reduce the pump time by half, just to keep the water circulating and moving the chemicals around. However, don’t turn it off entirely; stagnant water is the perfect breeding ground for algae, mosquitoes and all sorts of nasties.
Cover the Pool
A pool cover is a great way of keeping organic matter out of the water, including bugs and small critters. It also blocks sunlight from reaching the water which prevents algae growth, while preventing water evaporation.
Once you’ve run through this simple check list, your pool will be ready to retire for the winter months and can do with just the minimum of maintenance over these cooler months.
