Closing seasonal pool for fall/winter without draining?

[AGrayson84]

Hello everyone! I did some reading on this site (in the forum, FAQ sections, etc.) and didn't seem to find a solution to my situation. We have an above-ground pool that we plan on closing for Fall and Winter. The pool is at a house that we won't be visiting often during the colder months (maybe once a month), and it is located in Virginia where we'll get some freezing temperatures once in a while during the winter.

I just ran a slew of new 2" and 1.5" PVC for the jets and already dealt with several leaks and we are wanting to avoid the pipes freezing over the winter and causing anymore leaks that we've already fixed in the PVC. Our plan was to plug the jets, drain the plumbing, and throw a winter cover over the pool until Spring. We have the pool pillows to go under the cover, and water bags to weigh the cover down in place, so I think we are good to go there.

My question is since the pump/filter won't be running for quite a few months, what is a recommended way to chemically treat the pool in order for it to hold over for such a long time? I understand that there probably be a bit of cleaning up to do and we'll have to start all over again with balancing the water in the Spring, but we really prefer to not have to drain the pool, especially since we don't have a way to cover it to protect the liner without having water in the pool. It's a rectangular pool with a deck built around it, so without it being filled with water and the air pillows in place any cover will just collect with water and fall in. Any suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[WestSidePool]

Hey AGrayson84,
You could probably follow the instructions in the Pool School section for closing an above ground pool.

 

[AGrayson84]

Thank you Eric, I appreciate those links. So I shouldn't need to dump extra chlorine or anything when I go to run the pump for 24 hrs before closing it up for that long of a time? I thought I'd heard somewhere (before coming to this site) that it is recommended to do something like that. Thanks again!

 

[WestSidePool]

Hey again Andrew,
I'm assuming your using your temporary pool as a permanent above ground pool since you have a deck around it.

If you have a test kit like the TF100 or similar to test your CYA you can bring your pool to shock level 24 hours before closing (Chlorine to CYA chart) and if the rest of your levels are good (proper levels) there shouldn't be much starting over when you open it the next season.

 

[AGrayson84]

Yes Sir, it's a permanent pool that will only have the pump/filter operating seasonally and will spend the rest of the cooler/colder months covered. Thanks again for the links and information... looks like I need to read a little bit about shock level and such. We are new to the pool world and have only been operating our's for a few weeks now, so still in the learning process. Thanks again Eric!

 

[WestSidePool]

I took it your headline as an actual seasonal pool (the kind that are put and and taken down each season). But it's good to know you have an AGP that you just want to close at the end of the swimming season.
A few thigns that will help with further questions you may have is to go ahead and put you pool and equipment info in you signature. It will help eliminate the need for people to ask you what equipment type and size of pool you have.
Go ahead and read what you can in the Pool School section I posted earlier and if you don't have a decent test kit, it's a wise investment to purchase one. The most recommended on this site is the TF100 kit (link in my signature).

 

[AGrayson84]

Oh sorry, I meant to use the term "seasonal" as the pump/filter will only be used in Spring/Summer, the pool water will obviously otherwise be completely stagnant during the other seasons. My mis-use of terminology

Thanks for the suggestions. Just edited my signature, and I will definitely study the Pool School section. We've been using test strips, and doing some reading on here the past few minutes I've already learned that we need to get a real kit... so we'll definitely pick up the TF-100. Thanks again, I really appreciate all of your feedback!