Above Ground Pool Winterizing - A How-to Guide For Your Swimming Pool

Above ground pool winterizing may be a little trickier than winterizing an inground pool, but it's even more important. Not closing the pool or closing it incorrectly can lead to collapsed walls, cracked plumbing and a broken filtration system. There's nothing complicated about it; it's just a matter of getting it done. Here are the steps you need to take.

Balance the water chemistry

It may not seem important when no one's going to be swimming, but the right water chemistry will keep your pool free of stains and deterioration. You may first want to shock treat the pool to make sure there's nothing unpleasant in the water waiting to grow. When the chemistry is back to normal, add winter algaecide. Don't close the pool right after a shock treatment, though, because the evaporating chlorine gas can eat away at your pool cover.

Remove the equipment

Take in all your removable pool equipment like the chemical feeder, skimmer basket, and ladder. If you use a chemical feeder, before you remove it, let all the chemicals drain out so that the feeder is completely empty. Chemicals left sitting all winter are likely to cause damage.

Lower the water level

If water gets into your skimmer and freezes, damage is almost inevitable. All you need to do to prevent this is to lower the water below the mouth of the skimmer or close it off with an Aquador skimmer cover.

Clean the pool

Yes, it's a hassle, but wouldn't you rather do it now than have to waste time on it in spring when you can't wait for the season's first swim? You don't need to do anything special at this point. Just skim out any leaves and other debris and use a pool brush to clean the walls and floor.

Drain and clean the equipment

Water trapped in your equipment is likely to freeze and expand, which could destroy the equipment. That means your filtration system, pump, hoses, and heating systems need to be thoroughly drained of all water and the openings securely plugged. For good closure, use threaded winterizing plugs.

Cover the pool

Finally, the last step in above ground pool winterizing and it's a easy one. All you need to do now fit a winter pool cover on your swimming pool to keep out debris and algae-encouraging sunlight. A solid cover works especially well. If you're expecting heavy snow or rain, use an air pillow under the cover so excess water will run off instead of pooling and weighing on the cover.

It may be too cold to swim right now, but that doesn't mean you can't still have fun with your pool. Come over to perfectpoollandscaping.com for easy, creative ideas on how to landscape around your pool come spring. Don't miss my low maintenance pool landscaping secrets that can save you hours on yardwork.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Aral