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How to close a pool

When it comes time to close your pool for the year, it’s important to consider a number of different factors. The most important thing to do before closing your pool is to make sure you clean the pool completely so there are no leaves or debris on the bottom of the pool and the water should be crystal clear with a measurable chlorine count.

Clean the pool

If you don’t take the time to clean your pool before it is closed for the season, you will find that getting your pool up and running next spring will be much more difficult. There will be a large amount of algae that has grown during the winter season as a result of organic debris that was left in the pool at the time of closing. Organic waste uses up the disinfectant or chlorine that you put into the water. Without any disinfectant in the water, the bacteria will grow unrestricted, resulting in cloudy water with plenty of food for algae to grow. The water will be very green in the spring and it will take a lot more effort and a lot more money spent on chemicals to fix the problem and restore the pool to a swimmable condition.

Preparing the skimmer for winter

Once you have the chemical balance in the water under control and you have removed any organic residue or material from the pool, it is time to prepare to close the pool. To close the pool properly, you must drain the water below the lower return fitting. With the water level so low, you can manage to remove all the water from the plumbing lines by blowing them out with an air blower or shop vacuum set to the blowout setting. The goal here is to remove the water completely to avoid any freeze expansion that could occur if water remains in the pipes. If you don’t successfully remove all of the water from the suction lines and the return lines, it is very likely that you will end up with a leaking condition in your pool during the spring. It is not necessary to put antifreeze liquid in the pipes. To remove the water from the skimmer line, he would install a shop vac or air blower in the engine room next to the pump and he would blow the air from the pump into the pool. Once you turn on the air blower, the water should fly out the top of the skimmer; however, you will need to leave the air blower running for 5-10 minutes. to successfully remove a sufficient amount of water from the skimmer that you can plug with a screw cap or a rubber expansion plug.

Preparing returns for winter

When winterizing your pool skimmer, it is of the utmost importance to place something inside the skimmer that allows the ice that forms there from precipitation and melting snow not to freeze and expand and eventually crack the interior. of the skimmer. The name of the product that is made for this purpose is called a contraption, which is essentially a small sealed bottle screwed into one of the bottom ports of the skimmer. You can also use a soda bottle, for example a 2L soda bottle partially filled with water to give the bottle neutral buoyancy. This allows the ice to squash inward into this bottle rather than outward in the skimmer.

To properly remove all water from the return lines, you must start in the engine room or pump room and blow the water into the pool once the water level has dropped below the return fittings. With the water level below the return fittings, the water will shoot out of the returns into the pool. When the water first reaches the pool, it will be difficult to keep the air blower in place, but after 10-15 seconds of running air through the system, it will be much easier to handle as the weight of the air blower will be reduced. water in the lines. . When connecting returns, you must do so while the air blower is still running, so this process may require two people to complete. Make sure to plug in the return closest to the pump room first, as this will force the remaining water within the system to the next return line and further. If you were to go in the opposite order and plug the return farthest from the pump first, this would trap a pocket of water inside the plumbing lines and most likely cause a leak due to a frozen and cracked pipe. Once the skimmer and return lines have been shut down, there are only two things left to consider: covering the pool and winterizing equipment such as the pump filter and heater.

Covering the pool

There are a few different types of pool covers that can be used for the winter season. Of the newer and more expensive variety are elastic safety covers that use spring compression to make the cover fit snugly across the pool. Stretch covers require anchors to be installed in the deck around the pool and this is one of the most expensive forms of winter cover. The other winter cover options for a pool are tarpaulin, so water bags are used to hold a large tarp in place around the circumference of the pool. The other option is what is called a cover lock which can be made of vinyl or a much lighter Polyweave material. Zippered covers plug into a separate coping track in the same way that vinyl siding connects to a coping track. Once in place, add water to the top of the cover and this helps keep it fully in place. This type of cover does not require water bags or anchors on the cover around the pool.

Preparing the pump for winter

The first thing to do when winterizing your pool equipment is to remove the winterizing plugs from the pump. Most pool pumps have two winterizing plugs, usually one on the front of the wet end and one on the side where the wet end meets the motor component. When you remove these plugs, this allows all the water inside the pump and impeller compartment to drain. No further blowing of the pump is necessary as removing the winterizing plugs is all that is needed to protect your pool pump during the winter. The pumps are made to stay outside during the winter season. It is not necessary to bring them indoors if you have removed all the water from the system. Once you have removed a winterizing plug, it is vitally important not to lose it. The most common accepted standard is to put all of your equipment’s winterizing plugs in the pump strainer basket and that’s where you’ll store it for the off-season.

Prepare a sand filter for winter

Once you have completed winterizing your pump, you can turn your attention to the filter. Most pools in North America use a sand filtration system. With this type of filter the first thing to do is remove the drain plug from the bottom of the tank. It will take a few days total before the tank drains completely. In addition to this, you should be sure to place the sand filter dial in the winterizing position to minimize any chance of breaking the filter head due to water trapped within freezing. The filter head itself also has a pressure gauge and backwash spot glass that needs to be removed and then stored in the pump strainer basket during the season to make sure you don’t lose them.

Winterizing a cartridge filter

If you have a cartridge filter for your system. You will need to open the filter and remove the four cartridges inside. Most pool filters have a four cartridge system. However, there are also some two and three cartridge systems. You want to remove these filters and clean them out of season. The way to clean the pool filter is to immerse the filter in a cleaning solution that is made from one cup of automatic dishwasher detergent in 5 gallons of water. You want to fully immerse the filters in this solution for a period of 12 to 24 hours before rinsing them thoroughly. Generally, it is sufficient to perform this maintenance task once a season. In any pool with a high swimmer turnover rate, you may want to consider doing this twice a season. As with the sand filter, there is a main drain plug at the bottom of the filter tank that you will want to remove. All gauges should also be removed from the filter tank and stored in the skimmer basket for the pump.

Preparing the heater for winter

The heater, if you have a gas heater, is the most expensive component in the plumbing system and it is very important that you winterize it properly. Failure to winterize the heater properly will almost certainly result in a cracked heat exchanger, which will be a very expensive repair in the spring. To properly winterize a gas heater, you must remove the winterizing plugs outside. These are usually four 9/16 inch or 1/2 inch bolts on the outside of the heater. It is very common for these bolts to rust over time and great care must be taken to ensure that these threads or nuts are not removed. If your heater has a pressure switch like most older style heaters, you will need to open the heater and open the pressure switch using two 7/16 inch combination wrenches. This will allow a small amount of water to escape from the heater. Once you’ve removed the winterization plugs and opened the pressure switch, you can blow air through the heater’s plumbing system using your air blower or a shop vacuum. This will cause the water to flow out of all winterization ports on the heater. It is a good idea to keep the blower running for at least 5 to 10 minutes. to make sure all the water has been removed.

Be sure to account for all winterizing plugs and o-rings before shutting down the system. Make sure anything like a salt water cell or ozone generator is removed from the system and stored indoors for the winter. Add 10L of chlorine to the pool as a final note before you finish putting the cover on and you will be fine until next spring.

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