Since the weather gets a little rough during the winter season in Ohio, it can definitely take a toll on your pool. This makes winter pool care so important. In order to protect your investment, save you money on repairs and replacement costs, and make it easier to open your pool come spring, taking care of your pool during the off-season helps. Today, we at Metropolitan Pools would like to discuss the winter pool care tips you should know.
How Do You Maintain a Pool in the Winter?
1) Ensure your pool cover is properly attached to your pool. Throughout the winter season, you will want to check this multiple times. Be certain your cover clips or cables are tight and tighten them if needed. If you are using one, which we definitely recommend, you may also need to move or inflate your winter air pillow.
2) Clear rainwater, snow and debris from pool cover. Damage to your pool cover and your pool liner itself can be caused by the excess weight from snow and debris. Shortly after it snows to avoid freezing or getting the snow packed down, it is best to use a broom and/or roof rake to clear off your pool cover shortly as it makes it more difficult to clear off your cover.
3) Check pool chemical levels regularly. Even when you’re not using your pool, you will want to keep an eye on your water chemistry throughout the winter months. It will not be fun to deal with come springtime from an improperly balanced pool chemicals can lead to algae and bacteria growth. Throughout the winter, we recommend checking your pool chemistry once or twice a month.
4) Inspect pool equipment, chemicals and toys periodically. As you close your pool for the season, take some time to really give your pool a good once over. Is anything broken or in need of repair? Are any of your chemicals expired? Have all the pool toys been cleaned and sanitized? If you notice anything, be sure to write it down or purchase the replacement parts/equipment right away. Otherwise, it’s easy to forget during the winter months and your pool opening might be delayed the following summer.
5) Organize all your pool manuals, guides, etc. The off-season is a great time to review all directions, manuals, and other materials that you’ve gotten with your pool and accessories, even if you’ve closed your pool a million times before. Through the winter, you can be sure you’re cleaning, maintaining, and storing all equipment properly. When you’re ready to open your pool in spring again, organize them into a handy file system that’s easy to access once you’ve reviewed.
6) Watch the weather. Weather can be unpredictable. Downloading a weather app and setting up alerts can help you monitor the weather. You can stay ahead of big snowstorms and freezing temperatures that may take their toll on your pool this way.
7) Water level needs to be monitored. To keep your pump and other pool parts in working order, you will want to keep an eye on your water level throughout the season. Your pool water should be about 4-6 inches below the skimmer during the winter months in colder climates like ours, generally.
Vinyl Pool Installation, Repair, Maintenance & More in Sandusky, Lorain, Elyria, Medina, Parma, Mentor, Akron & Greater Cleveland, Ohio
To help take care of your vinyl pool in Ohio, call in the professionals of Metropolitan Pools.