Pool closing tips for homeowners in Rochester, IL
Pools are great during the summer, but they’re little more than an inconvenience when it’s too cold to use them. When the winter rolls around, you have to close your pool to protect it from the perils of the cold weather. Here’s why closing your pool is so important and some tips on how to do it properly.
What It Does
You can’t use your pool during the winter, so closing it would be wise in any case. However, closing your pool for the winter does more than simply block it off; it protects it from damage it could suffer from the harsh winter weather.
If you don’t close your pool, it could freeze. Extremely cold temperatures could even cause problems with the structure of your pool, so it’s worth taking the time to close it each winter.
Preparation
Before you close your pool, it’s important to make sure the chemical balance is just right. If it’s not right, you could end up leaving water in your pool that will cause corrosion and other chemical reactions.
When you close your pool for winter, it should have a pH of between 7.2 and 7.6, 80-125 ppm alkalinity, 175-225 ppm water hardness, at least 30 ppm of chlorine stabilizer, and 1.0 to 4.0 ppm of free chlorine.
If these levels are off, you’ll have to take the time to balance them out. You can use a pH increaser or pH decreaser to balance out your pH, as well as other chemicals to balance out your other levels.
Final Steps
Once you’ve got the chemicals in your pool balanced, you can take the final steps in closing it. You start by draining your pool to below the skimmer opening. The level beneath the skimmer opening to which you drain the pool depends on the type of cover you have.
You should also make sure to clean your pool’s filter system and all of the tools and accessories that go with your pool. Clean any ladders and diving boards and put away all pool cleaning equipment.
For more information on why closing your pool is so important to its structural integrity and tips on closing your pool, contact one of Rochester, IL landscaping experts at Monarch Landscaping and Garden Center.
