With the days becoming cooler, now is the time to think about preparing your pool for winter.
Just because it's cool doesn't mean you should leave your pool out of the swim and in the doldrums during the colder months.
With minimal effort you can ensure your pool is kept clean and beautiful and ready to dive into when the warm weather arrives by following these simple tips: 1.
Keep it clean Giving your pool a good scrub and vacuum to get rid of any dead leaves and debris will stop your pool turning from crystal clear to green during winter.
Algae thrives in unclean water so it is important to keep the skimmer basket clean and free from debris, as well as keeping the pool filter clean and degreased.
Use Concentrated Filter Cleaner to keep your pool's filter grime and debris-free with minimum effort, and add a winter long-life algaecide and phosphate remover such as Long Life Algaecide and Ultimate Phosphate Remover to kill algae and stop it from blooming.
Also recommended is adding a Clear Tab once a month to the skimmer box to achieve optimum water clarity and improve filtration.
2.
Check your balance Prevention is better than cure, and balanced pool water will not only keep your pool water healthy, it will also prolong your pool's finish and prevent exposed metal and equipment from potential damage due to unbalanced water.
Checking the pH and chlorine levels once a week by self testing or taking a water sample to your local pool professional will protect your pool from corrosion, scale build-up, and also from algae blooms that flourish in overheated pools.
Even in winter, you should take a sample to your pool professional once a month to test for all other factors such as total alkalinity and calcium hardness.
3.
Check chlorine levels To keep your pool clean and clear it is important to keep your pool's 'free' available chlorine levels at a constant level of two to three parts per million (PPM) at all times during winter.
If you're using a salt chlorine generator and a pool blanket, remember to reduce the output of the chlorinator to one to two PPM, as pool blankets trap chemicals and chlorine, and can cause high chlorine levels to occur resulting in significant damage to pool equipment if not monitored carefully.
4.
Reduce your times Rather than switching off pool equipment over winter, pool owners should reduce the filter's timer to operate 2/3 of the time to continue filtering the water, and keeping it clean and debris-free.
Switch the filter on during off-peak times to save some money.
A great money saving tip we're all happy to receive! 5.
Remove your pool cleaner If you don't want to use your automatic pool cleaner over winter, remove it from the pool and store it away with the hose laid flat, ready for use in the summer.
Should you decide to continue using the cleaner under a pool blanket, it is absolutely important to keep chlorine levels at a minimum; otherwise you might end up with a nasty surprise when you take your cover off when it gets warmer.
Automatic Pool Cleaners can be severely damaged if left in the water, under a pool blanket over winter.
6.
Keep up a maintenance schedule Once you have completed your preparation for winter it is imperative that you stick to a maintenance schedule even though it's cold and the pool is not being used.
Once a week do a quick visual inspection of your pool and make sure all of your equipment is working properly, check the water level, empty the skimmer basket and check your chlorine and pH levels.
Remember, a little bit of effort to keep your pool sparkling during winter could save you time and money when the warm weather arrives.