The Best Tips for Winter Pool Maintenance

The warm, beautiful, and fun summer days have slowly faded away, leaving you with chillier weather and a lot less pool usage. You shouldn’t overlook your pool just because you aren’t using it as much as it still needs your attention. 

While you may not need to close the pool for winter, you do need to follow a few Virginia Beach pool maintenance guidelines to ensure your pool is well taken care of during the off-season. Not only will this keep your pool operating efficiently and effectively, but it will also make for a better season opener come springtime. 

Read on for the best tips for winter pool maintenance in Chesapeake.

Lower the Water Level

It’s advisable to lower your pool’s water level before closing it down for the season. 

• Ensure you lower the water level to a few inches below the lowest intake point. Lowering the water level ensures no water circulates into your pool pumping system and freezes.
• Ensure the water in the pool is free of dirt, debris, and other foreign materials to allow for efficient water chemical balancing and prevent the growth of mold and algae.

Get the Water Chemistry Right

Water chemistry refers to your pool’s water composition in terms of PH, alkalinity, calcium, and cyanuric acid levels.

Before winterizing your pool, getting the water chemistry right is advisable. Here are a few tips on how to get your pool’s water chemistry right.

• Increase the PH level to between 7.6-7.8. The PH level naturally decreases in stagnant water over extended periods of time, such as when you leave your pool closed during winter. Increasing PH offsets natural decrease and counters the effects of low PH such as damage and staining of your pool’s service or liner.
• Raise the alkalinity to between 150-175 ppm because, like PH, it decreases over time in stagnant water. Raising alkalinity prevents staining of your pool’s liners.
• Increase the calcium levels to above 200 ppm to prevent the erosion and weakening of your pool’s coating during winterization.
• Maintain the chlorine levels between 1-3 ppm to kill germs and bacteria that thrive in freezing conditions.
• Add a sufficient amount of algaecide to prevent the growth of algae when the pool is closed. Depending on the history of algae outbreaks in your pool, you may need to put additional algaecide.

Pool Equipment

Here’s what you should do to your pool equipment as you prepare for pool winterization.

• Remove pool equipment and accessories such as ladders, handrails, steps, skimmers, ducks, etc. This is to reduce temperature and weather-related damage to your essential pool equipment and accessories.
• Wash all the equipment and allow them to air dry before storing them away for the season.
• Conduct a thorough visual inspection of the remaining equipment and ensure there are no cracks and openings that could be worsened by ice during winter. In case you notice any cracks or gaps, repair them before closing your pool.
• Ensure pool equipment is well-drained and don’t seal the drain plugs to allow for any residual drainage.
• Don’t put pool antifreeze in pool equipment as it can damage the seals and gaskets.
• Inspect to ensure that no rodents have nested on your pool’s equipment, especially the pool heaters.
• Ensure the power breaker remains off to keep it from turning on when the plumbing lines are empty. If it turns on, it can lead to the melting of the pump components.

Pool Cover

• Get a cover that perfectly fits your pool without leaving any spaces.
• Ensure you keep the pool cover’s surface clean, especially mesh pool covers, to prevent the entry of foreign material into the pool.
• Ensure the automatic cover pump remains in stable working condition and is free of debris to avoid pool cover damage.
• Don’t adjust your pool cover with a large weight load (ice) or sharp-edged ice on top because doing so can cause injuries.

Bottom Line

As the winter approaches, you need to forget the dips but don’t forget to take care of your pool. A perfect pool winterization ensures your pool remains in a sound state and lets you avoid expensive repairs. The tips highlighted above give you the best pool winterization insights to use come winter. Be sure to give the pool maintenance experts at Aqua Leisure Pools a call today to schedule a professional pool closing service. 

About the Company

Aqua Leisure Pools is a leading pool supply store and pool maintenance company serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk and the surrounding areas. Since 1985, Aqua Leisure Pools has offered a number of pool and hot tub services, including inground vinyl liner replacement, weekly pool maintenance, pool repair, and pool openings & closings, and much more. 

Aqua Leisure Pools has five conveniently located pool and hot tub stores throughout Virginia Beach and Chesapeake to help make pool ownership easy and stress-free. Our stores are stocked with reliable pool chemicals, energy-efficient equipment, pool toys and floats, pool cleaners and more. We also offer complimentary water testing to ensure your water is well-balanced and healthy. We are a Hayward Platinum Dealer and Totally Hayward Warranty Service Center. 

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