Pool Closing
Mario’s Pool and SPA Inc.
Lincoln NB, 506 454-4386
Closing you pool:
The main purpose in winterizing your swimming pool is to protect it from damage due to freezing water. Another reason is to keep it as clean as possible for the next season. Closing your swim pool properly can save you a lot of work when it comes time to open the swimming pool next spring.
It is now time to think about when you will be closing down your pool and at Mario’s Pool and SPA, we want to help you make this job easy and hassle free.
In the week prior to closing your pool you need to:
• Balance Water (bring to pH 7.2-7.6, make any necessary adjustments to the calcium hardness, Alk., etc). Remember the water will be soaking your liner all winter.
• Brush and Vacuum
• Reduce filtering times gradually over a week.
• Remove skimmer baskets and flapper, solar blankets, ladders from the pool etc…
Try and close your pool BEFORE the leaves start blowing around! Plan to close your pool when the night time temps start to reach 4 deg C and the daytime temperature at around 16 Deg C. If you close the pool too soon, than you stand the risk of an algae growth. If you do it too late you could be fishing out a ton of leaves (and then dealing with algae growth in the spring).
Closing instruction for pools with mesh winter cover or no winter cover:
• Partially drain the pool (leave approximately 2 feet of water in the pool).
• Add Lubrigel (water line antifreeze) to skimmer lines, and return lines, if the lines are left outside, and plug both ends.
• Drain water in the filter using the drain plug. Leave the drain plug out for the winter.
• Inspect filter unit for wear and tear, position multiport valve at the winter position, and remove the multiport valve from the sand filter for the winter.
• Inspect the filtering media (sand), replace with new media every three to four years, or if the sand is dirty.
• (If applicable) Remove your LED Aurora light and temporary install a return in its place.
• Disconnect pump, multiport valve, and salt system control box and Turbo Cell unit, Aurora Light (if applicable) and store inside where it will not freeze.
• Disconnect any hoses to your heater and blow the water out of your heat pump, using a shop-vac. For Heat Pumps, tilt and position backward (insert a piece of 2 x 4 under the from ledge of the heat pump to tilt back), for the duration of the winter (towards the pipe connection) to prevent any water accumulation at the connections, then cover the heater with a tarp.
• Add your professional chemical winterizing kit.
• Clean Turbo cell with cell cleaner.
• Install your meshed winter cover (we strictly recommend using a mesh cover to prevent excess weight from the rain water on the ledge of the pool).
• We recommend removing the winter cover when the leaves are gone from the trees (approx Dec 1st), and then re-installing the cover in mid April before the buds of the trees are coming out. This will minimize the risk of extra weight from the snow on the ledges of your pool from the mesh cover.