How to Winterize a Pool and Why You Should: A Guide

When the leaves start to change colors and the temperature drops, it means it’s sadly time to start thinking about closing your pool for the season.

To close your pool for the winter, you need to do more than just throw a cover on it. To make sure your pool is ready to go come summertime, you need to winterize it. How do you winterize a pool, and why is it important?

Check out this guide to learn how to winterize a pool.

Why Do You Need to Winterize Your Pool?

Winterizing your pool is important because it helps prevent expensive pool equipment from freezing. A surface freeze in your pool can tear through the vinyl liner, causing irreparable damage.

Additionally, most people stop performing maintenance on their pools during the winter months. If you’re not running the filter through the wintertime, your pool will become susceptible to bacteria, algae, and chemical residue. These problems can be quite expensive to fix, which is why winterizing your pool is so important.

How to Winterize Your Pool

So, how do you winterize your pool? Here’s what you need to do:

Clean Your Pool

Your pool will be able to withstand the winter weather better if it’s as clean as possible before the cold comes. Cleaning your pool is a multi-step process, as it involves scrubbing away visible stains, scrubbing off algae from the pool walls, and using a leaf net to remove any floating debris.

You can also run an automated cleaner over the bottom of the pool.

Let Some Water Out

After cleaning, it’s time to let some water out of the pool. You’ll want to drain it to a level that’s recommended by the pump manufacturer.

Typically, this means the water level should be one foot below the skimmer.

Test and Balance the Water

It’s now time to test and adjust the pool’s pH levels using the same test kit you used to maintain your pool water throughout the summer.

We recommend you set the chemical levels slightly higher for the winter, as the levels will drop slightly over the course of the season. Typically, the pH levels should be in the range of 7.4 to 7.6.

Add Winterizing Chemicals

Once you’ve balanced out the water, it’s time to add in the winterizing chemicals. Often, these chemicals are sold as “pool closing kits” and they help protect the walls of your pools.

Make sure you read the instructions carefully, as some winterizing kits recommend you shock the pool with a burst of chemicals first to prevent algae growth. Check out this guide for cleaning your pool to learn more about winterizing chemicals.

Clean the Pool Filter and Other Final Steps

Next, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to clean the pool’s filters and the water lines. Then, remove all the water from the pump lines and remove and replace the drain plugs.

Shut off the power and remove the deck equipment, then cover the pool.

How to Winterize a Pool: Time to Get Started

Now that you know how to winterize a pool, it’s time to get started. With the above tips, your pool will be ready to go next summer.

Check back in with our blog for more pool maintenance tips.

Photo by Ferdinand Asakome on Unsplash