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Winterize Your Pool

Another Season Over

Is It Time To Winterize Your Pool?

The winter months bring a lot of changes to an above ground pool.  You will probably find the best advice for getting your pool ready for the winter from pool stores in your area.  What you need to do in Wisconsin is going to be different than what we do in Arizona.

A few suggestions would be to get a good winter cover, a few air pillows and and a water removal pump.

It is also recommended in many places that you remove your filter system and store it in a garage or shed for the winter.  You will also want to close off the skimmer with a skimmer guard and a plug.

winter skimmer guard
Keeping your pool as full of water as possible is helpful in keeping your walls from pulling down and creasing.  A full pool also helps keep the cover in place.  You do not want water freezing inside the skimmer, however, so block it off and keep the water out of it.

Below are examples of why it is so important to keep the water out of the skimmer. If the water freezes inside the skimmer, and if the pool looses any water at all, the skimmer becomes one with the layer of ice on top of the pool and goes down causing wall damage.

 

winter pool damage cracked skimmer

 

winter pool damage torn wall

 

winter pool damage bent wall

 

Keeping the top of the cover as clean as possible is helpful also.  After a heavy rain you should use your pump and get the water off the cover.  Keep it free of leafs, dirt and snow and it will last longer and stay in place better.

Below is an example of how a pool cover should not look during the winter months.

 

winter pool damage ice on cover

 

In The Swim is one of my favorite online pool stores.  They also have everything you need to winterize your pool, starting with a winter pool cover.  You may not be using your pool all winter but that does not mean you can completely forget about it.  Take care of it all winter and it will be ready for swimming in the spring.

If you are looking to get an early start on the swimming season check out what's new in solar pool heaters.  These are inexpensive ways to get another couple months of pool use every year.

 

Pool Winterize Kit

In The Swim Pool Winterizing and Closing Chemical Kit - Up to 15,000 Gallons (#ad)

 

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