to cover or not???

[ta2dwonderwoman]

As we get closer to the cooler temperatures I'm starting to seriously consider the process of closing down my pool for the winter. This will be our first year of leaving it up and after everything I've read and all the other post I feel pretty confident that it will be ok. I plan to wait until the water is consistently 60 degrees or cooler, then I will bring my chlorine to slam level and take my pump and fittings inside. I did buy a large cover and a pillow assuming that I needed to cover it for the winter , but by the time that comes around most of the leaves around us will have already fallen and we don't get many to start with. I'm wondering if I actually need to cover it or if it can or should be left uncovered? In my mind the cover would keep what sun we get from eating up my chlorine over the winter, but maybe the winter sun is not strong enough to do that? So basically is the cover to protect the chlorine levels or to keep leaves out of the pool? Also do I need to monitor my chemicals over the winter while it is shut down or can I raise it to slam and ignore it until spring???

Thank you in advance for any advice and I have to say that my summer was awesome thanks to tfp and next year's probably going to be even better due to some upgrades I'm going to make now that I'm not scared!

 

[Texas Splash]

The cover does a little of both, but leaving it uncovered in an area with little or no debris is just fine. Many people do. Good thing about that is that on occasion you can still get easy access to the water if you want grab a sample and/or do a quick scoop/sweep if needed. Once the water temp drops below 60, chemistry levels will really slow down. Even though you may not be circulating water, you can still check a chemicals from time to time to make sure nothing hits rock-bottom. You'll see a pattern that works for you are it gets colder checking every few days, then once a week, then perhaps longer in the colder periods. Easy stuff. I like to keep one of those long, rubber Easy Off cleaning gloves handy in the winder for when I need to grab a water sample. At the very least, it's a good idea to make sure FC doesn't disappear on you. If needed, add a touch of bleach and manually swish it around a bit and you'll be good.

 

[ta2dwonderwoman]

Awesome! That just verified what i was concluding after all my reading!