Days are getting shorter, nights are getting colder. It's time to face the facts- we are heading towards winter! While getting the warm clothes, boots and the thicker blankets out, it's important to not forget about your pool when preparing for the cold season. You might not use it during the next months, but if you keep your pool maintained, you prevent yourself from lifting the cover and find it green in spring.
Here are some tips and tricks to winterize your pool and avoid trouble at the start of next season:
Clean your pool As a first step, give your pool a good clean. Brush the walls and floor thoroughly and make sure you vacuum the whole pool. This is not your favourite job? As a busy pool owner it's always a good idea to get yourself a little helper and invest in a robot or suction cleaner. It will save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run. Once you've done that, clean out the skimmer and pump basket.
Clean your filter Take your cartridge out and rinse it with a hose. Oil and grease will harden over the cold months which makes it harder to get rid of them in summer and reduces the efficiency. If you find it hard to get it nice and clean, you can try our Life Spa Instant Filter Cleaner. Depending on how bad it is, it might be a good idea to get a new cartridge. Even over winter, you should try to clean it every two weeks for best results. If you have a media filter, check your water level first. Make sure you have enough water in the pool to give it a nice long backwash. It's recommended to do that every four weeks.
Balance the water Even through winter, your pool should always be perfectly balanced to prevent algae and bacteria from growing. The more you stay on top of it, the less work you will have in spring. pH & Alkalinity - Algae love a high pH to grow. So keep your pH between 7.2 and 7.6. Your total alkalinity keeps the pH where it needs to be. If it's out of range (80-120) your pH is more likely to change drastically. Adjust the pH and alkalinity with acid and alkalinity increaser.
Chlorine - For a clean and clear pool, keep your free chlorine at a level of 2-3. If you are using a salt water chlorinator, adjust the output, check your salt level and add some salt, if it is too low (4000 - 5000) . In case you manually dose the chlorine, make sure you always stay on top of it.
Specialty Chemicals Phosphate Remover - Phosphates are food for algae. If you are not removing any organic matter, such as leaves, dirt or nuts, they sink to the bottom, break down and raise your phosphate level. Phosphates stop your sanitiser from doing its job. To make sure you get rid of them, add 1L of phosphate remover as a preventive treatment. Algaecide - To keep algae bloom at bay, use 500ml of long life copper-based winteriser algaecide. If you have a high copper level, you can alternatively use a metal free algaecide instead. Clarifier - All the dead algae and other little particles are going to float around in your water. Some of them might be too small to get caught in the filter. Therefore, you want to use 1L clarifier to bulk all the fine particles up, so they get caught.
Keep your routine We know it's hard to keep your routine in mind, while you are not using the pool. But it's worth it and you will be thankful in spring when it's warming up again. Therefore we recommend: - run your equipment for 4h every day (2h in the morning, 2h in the afternoon) - if you are on a regular maintenance service, stay on it. If you know, you won't look after the pool yourself, don't pause the service over winter. It will cost you more money to get a green pool treatment in spring. - bring a water sample to the shop at least once a month to balance the water, if you don't have a regular service - clean your filter every two weeks or backwash every four and check the baskets - if you have a cover, you can leave it on, but take it off for 1-2 days a week
Come to our shop 1/124 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan
to get your water tested and shop your chemicals.
This all sounds like too much work for you? No worries!
Book in with our technician and let him get your pool ready for winter.
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