Pool Maintenance: Winterizing your pool

You need to be well-prepared for the winter and so does your swimming pool. You need to protect your pool from the freezing water and the process of preparing it for cold temperatures is called winterization. This is an important part of swimming pool maintenance because it not only protects your pool, but it also makes the opening process a much easier one in the spring and summer. So here are some of the ways to start:

Balance the pH levels

This is indeed an important step in prepping your pool for the winter. You need to ascertain that the alkalinity levels and total calcium hardness are well balanced before you close it down. In fact, do this about five days before you actually close down the pool and confirm the pH levels when actually closing it down.

Balancing the water chemistry prevents scale build-up and corrosion of the pool surfaces. If the pool has a higher pH, you can lower it by adding muriatic acids or sodium bisulfates. The pH levels need to be within 7.0-7.6, which is almost close to the pH level in your eyes. This will also reduce reddening of the eyes once you dive in the waters after the winter. Higher pH levels are raised using alkalines such as sodium bicarbonate.

Add chemicals the water

The chemicals normally added are solely to kill bacteria and prevent algae from inhabiting the pool during the time it's unused. The process of adding chemicals meant to kill bacteria is usually called "shocking" and chlorine is frequently used. Don't use the product that you normally use during normal swimming times because this won't be strong enough to kill all the bacteria.

Algaecides are used to prevent algae from forming a breeding ground out of your pool. Though the winter isn't exactly a climate to encourage algae, they may attack at during the transition to spring. Remember to add the algaecides only after the chlorine levels have dropped to around 1 to 3 ppm. High chlorine levels usually breakdown the algaecide chemicals and make them ineffective and useless.

Protect your skimmer and lines

You can do this by lowering the water levels of your pool below the mouth of the skimmer. Once water isn't present in the skimmer, no freezing can occur.

Also remember to blow water out of each of your lines on the filter system. Again the main purpose of doing this is to prevent the water from freezing and damaging your equipment. Such damages can be really expensive once they occur. To learn more, contact a company such as Cygnet Pool Supplies & Service Pty Ltd.