A common mistake many new pool owners make is to ease up on their pool maintenance during the winter months.
Now the caveat with that statement is that, true, your pool doesn’t need as much maintenance during the winter. However, that does not mean that your pool needs maintenance any less.
Have I completely lost you? Don’t worry, we’ll tease it out a little.
If you closed the pool correctly, the water level was dropped below the skimmers and a cover was secured over the pool. However, through rain and melting snow, the total water level in your pool tends to rise again during the winter months. Regular pump downs are essential to preventing water from entering your system lines through the skimmer.
With the natural rise and fall of water levels over the course of the winter, the pool chemicals initially used to winterize and close the pool in the fall will have become diluted. Regular chemistry checks will ensure that your pool is balanced. Left unchecked and unbalanced, a lack of calcium can lead to weakened pool finish, and too much calcium can lead to calcification and scaling buildup. Off-balanced pH can lead to additional corrosion, and even if it is not a mild winter, algae can grow voraciously under a winter cover. Keeping chemicals balanced will limit green growth.
Algae growth can lead to staining the pool’s surface and will make spring opening an unnecessary nightmare.
Regular checks of the winter cover are as essential as water level and balance. A loose cover can be a safety hazard for anyone maneuvering around the pool. Loose straps can be tripping hazards, and a poorly fitting cover can lead to people or animals falling into the pool and potentially becoming trapped or tangled. Debris build up on the cover can wear the cover out unduly, causing holes, tears, and other damage which impacts the integrity of the cover. Debris and plant material that falls into the pool through a ripped or ill-fitting cover can lead to staining of the pool’s surface and a misappropriation of the pool’s chemicals, affecting the overall balance of the water and health of the pool.
You should be checking the system pad every week or two as well. The system should not be running while the pool is winterized and closed. However, a brief visual check to look for any cracks in the system or damage from mice can be another layer of care to help make opening in the spring a little smoother.
A service that we provide as part of our regular winter maintenance is to circulate the water in the pool. By using a sump pump or trash pump, we can circulate the pool water while completely bypassing the pool’s plumbed system. This preserves your equipment and enhances the life of the pool finish by preventing nodules and other unsightly blemishes from developing from otherwise stagnant water over the winter months.
While perhaps not as in depth as a summer maintenance routine, winter maintenance is not less imperative to the overall health and function of your pool. I cannot stress enough either the importance of regular pool and cover checks as a safety measure. In the summer a pool is the forefront of many people’s minds. But in the winter, especially if there is snow build up, we can forget the very real hazard an open pool poses. If you do not have a pool service company performing regular maintenance and safety checks, that’s alright. But if that is the case, you most certainly should be performing these routines yourself. Responsible pool care is as essential as the fun aspects when it comes to creating an enjoyable lifestyle!