Once winter rolls around each year it is very easy to lose interest in your pool. After all, it’s now just an ongoing “job” to keep clean with no benefits to anybody. You also can’t just leave it to become a “winter pool” because that looks terrible and probably won’t fly with the wife.

So, what’s to be done?

We’ve prepared a list of steps that you can take to keep your pool looking presentable during winter with less of the hassle it takes in the summer.

Preparing Your Pool for Winter

1. Give your pool a solid clean. Scoop out the floaties and give the sides a scrub down. The Kreepy can do the rest. Just make sure there is no algae left anywhere to breed quietly over the cold winter months.
2. Buy a testing kit to check the PH, Alkalinity & Calcium levels in the water. Add increasers or decreases as needed.
3. If your water is cloudy (which its probably will be after all the summer activity) it needs to be “shocked.” This milky effect is caused by chlorine binding with the bacteria in the water.
4. Give your pump and filters a good clean. Every pump is different so check the owner’s manual for the best method.
5. Put your pool cover on.

Save Time & Money in Winter

Regardless of whether your style is to allow your pool to turn into a winter pool (i.e green and gross) or you usually just keep up the normal maintenance work, by preparing your pool for winter you will save yourself a lot of time.

As an added bonus though, you can also save some money during the winter months. Because your pool isn’t being used you can get away with cutting back on certain things.

1. Halve the time you usually run your pool pump from the average 6 to around 3 hours a day.
2. With the pool cover on less water will evaporate preventing the need to top it up.
3. Check on your water every couple of weeks to test the PH, Alkalinity & Calcium levels. You won’t need to add nearly as much chlorine, but you don’t know if a critter has downed itself and upset the balance.

Taking a bit of time to prepare your pool for winter will prevent you from having to spend tons of time and money restoring a winter pool when the heat returns, and your family will be able to enjoy a crystal-clear pool on the first hot day of Spring.

Go Dad!