Cold weather has a way of creeping up. Before you know it you’ve blown through the summer season and are stuck dealing with cold weather. During the fall and winter months swimming pools are left out in the cold — literally! Depending on your location and climate this can mean needing to close down your swimming pool for the season or switching over to an off-season pool cleaning program.
A lot can happen during the off-season but winterizing your pool for the season protects it from damage. The only issues with closing your pool for the winter is having to perform a pool opening when spring comes back around.
Seasonal Pool Maintenance Tips to Protect Your Swim Space
Whether you have an inground pool or an above ground pool they will both need regular cleaning and maintenance.
Pool Closings: When dealing with freezing temperatures for months on end a proper closing is important to avoid unnecessary and expensive damage. Extreme cold will cause plastic to degrade and become brittle. This means cracks in pool equipment and the possibility of water leaks. Closings involve a deep cleaning, dropping the pool water level so it falls below skimmer lines. Winterizing drain plugs and dropping water levels prevents water from seeping into vulnerable areas where it can freeze and cause damage. When water freezes it can expand by nearly 9%. This might not sound like much but it’s enough to burst pipes. Winterizing chemicals are also applied to prevent freezing and reduce the risk of algae growth.
A pool closing might protect your swimming pool from the cold but it also means needing to open it up again in spring. This is another multi-step process that takes time and, if you wait too long, can mean missing out on the first warm days of spring. It’ll take more than a simple shock treatment to get water back to clean after months of disuse. You’ll need to pull back that winter cover and deal with whatever is lurking underneath.
Off-Season Cleaning Programs: For Puddle customers living in areas with mild winters an off-season pool cleaning programs is a great option to avoid the heavy lifting of a full cleaning while keeping your swim space looking its best. During the height of summer it takes weekly cleanings to keep a pool clean but when the temperature drops swim spaces aren’t being used as often. Instead of a full closure Puddle technicians drop the frequency of cleanings to bi-weekly. Customers can expect the same cleaning process, just less often. The best part? When warm weather comes back around all you have to do is turn on the heater and hop on in!
A well-planned cleaning program doesn’t just skim the surface of pool care. An in-depth seasonal care plan ensures that your pool stays in good, working order all year long. It’s easy to overlook a full cartridge filter or forget to empty skimmer baskets, scrub walls and floors but local Puddle technicians can help!
Puddle Pool Services: Reliable Pool Care at Any Time of Year
With technicians hard at work from coast to coast there is never a bad time to consult your local Puddle Pro about the best way to tackle seasonal swimming pool maintenance. Whether you need to balance pH levels, deep clean your swim space or are trying to decide whether or not an off-season pool cleaning program is right for your space, there’s never a bad time to call Puddle.
It might be December but it isn’t too late to protect your pool from cold weather! The best time to close your pool for the season is when the average outdoor temperature reaches 59 degrees (15C). Closing too early can mean missing out on warm days and encouraging algae growth. Waiting too long to prep your pool for cold weather can mean dealing with unexpected damage. If you’ve still got some seasonal pool care to tackle, just call Puddle and let a local expert handle it for you!
