Proper closing procedure for a first timer

shoff1

0
Jul 25, 2012
9
I have looked at pool school, and have a few questions, as this is my first winter . I am in SE Wisconsin, so my 33ft AGP will freeze solid. I just bought a cover and leaf net (which will be removed before the freeze). I plan to let the FC level drop to near 0 before I drain - I wanted to minimize the chlorine impact on my grass. I am going to drain to 2" below the lowest point (skimmer or return). Then I will shock it for 24 hours, put a threaded plug in the return hole, and put the cover on. I bought 3 of the 4x4 air pillows for under the cover. I have read to make sure the cover goes above the skimmer, to minimize pulling that will occur from the weight of the snow. The cover will be held on with the strap and winch, and some pool cover clips that I bought. I have been warned to stay away from the "milk jug" weighting procedure. All hoses and the pump will go in the garage until fall. The sand filter will remain in next to the pool, covered with a tarp, after I allow the water to drain by removing the hoses. Once all the leaves are down, I will remove the leaf net, and wait until spring to fire it back up. For you seasoned vets, am I missing anything? Is there anything I need to do to the skimmer besides remove the hose and make sure the water is out of it, since the water will be at least 2 inches below the bottom of skimmer faceplate?

Thanks for all the postings that allowed me to run this pool on bleach alone, have a crystal clear pool, and not be held hostage by the pool store people.
 
The rule of thumb here is to wait until the water is 60 degrees or cooler and then shock the pool for 24 hours with the pump running and then drain the water to 6 inches below lowest return or inlet the reason for waiting on the water to get to 60 or below is because algae has a tougher time blooming at the colder temps......as far as covers go I will let another person handle that....Mike
 
I have never had any issues with it hurting my grass but I have never had to shock me pool either.but on a side note I did spray some grassy areas with a bug sprayer with a 50% bleach and 50% water and it killed it for a week or so and now it is back greener than ever....lol
 
After closing pools for 30 plus years shocking the pool at closing is really a waste of chlorine. If the pool is covered with clear water, and is opened in the spring before the water gets much above 70 degrees it will most likely be crystal clear when uncovered.
 
I've added Natural Chemistry's Pool Magic & PhosFree to my pool, which I would like to close in a few days. Will adding more chlorine impact the effectiveness of the Pool Magic/PhosFree?

Also, please share any opinions of Pool Magic/PhosFree. I tried it this year because, in the past, I've had good experiences with Natural Chemistry products. I once had a problem with some kind of film on my pool that I believe was coming from local street construction. My neighbor had the same problem with a different sized pool, different pump, different filtration system. After the construction, I tried shocking repeatedly and other chemistry manipulations but I was only able to clear up the problem with Natural Chemistry's Pool First Aid. Pool First Aid also cleaned up stains on my pool that specialty stain removers could not remove. So, I like Natural Chemistry but I'm just not sure that every product NC makes is perfect. I tried PhosFree because I have debris on the bottom of my pool I have been unable to get out with vacuuming and I don't want to spend more time with that.
 
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