What If I Don't Open My Above Ground Pool

by Jan
(Troy NY)

I am considering not opening my 24' above ground pool this summer.

I live in the Northeast. Highest temps we see here are about 90.

I plan on leaving it covered as it is now.

My question is if I don't open it, will it get so much algae in it over the summer, even if covered, that it will be a huge mess next year? It is a lot of work for a single gal and I just want a break from it this summer. I would get rid of it, but will probably enjoy it more once I retire.

Hi Jan.

You might get by with leaving it covered as long as you run the filter regularly and keep plenty of chlorine in the pool.

I would pull the cover back weekly to check the condition of the pool. Ninety degrees is plenty hot enough to create a huge mess without chemicals and filtration.

So if you are just wanting to let it sit, covered, without doing anything to it all summer, I would recommend against that. I think it would turn into a real mess.

Close Pool For Winter

by Carol
(TN)

We have an above ground pool and decided not to open it this summer, it has a cover over it but the temps out side this year in TN have been hitting at least 100 - 105, I guess the water is just evaporated and we never noticed how much.

The pool probably has at least 2 feet of water in it, I guess my question is how much water do I have to put back into the pool just to get us by until the spring when we want to open the pool?

Oh, this is a new liner we had put in last year.

Thanks for any help. Carol

Hi Carol.

I would fill it completely full. I would also give it a good dose of shock treatment and run the filter for a few days. You want the pool to be as clean as possible before you close it up again.

That means you need to pull the cover off and clean the pool. If you cannot make it look like new now, you will not even want to try come the spring time.

Vinyl liners are not meant to be drained, cleaned and refilled. The liners shrink and become unusable. If you plan to keep your new liner I would keep it as nice looking as possible.