Leaving pool for 10 months!

[Keebert]

So a real annoyance for me but we just bought a house with a pool and now the company has given me a job in the Middle East for 3 years. It means that at the end of this summer, we'll be leaving TX and will only come back next summer for holidays (2 months) and then back out again.

So my options:
- Pay a pool guy to look after it while I'm gone
- Cover and leave it as is and come back to 6ft of green sludge
- Empty the pool (is this even possible?)

Any other ideas? Is there a strong reason not to leave the pool or empty it?

 

[JasonLion]

One fairly good option is to winterize the pool as if you were further north and cover it with a solid cover with an automatic cover pump. This isn't perfect, nothing really is, but it is one of the top options. As long as the cover doesn't collapse into the pool and the pool doesn't leak it will be fairly easy to reopen it when you come back. You will likely get algae, but not so seriously (due to the cover keeping most sunlight out), and easily recovered from.

 

[Casey]

I agree with covering the pool and interesting it.

Good luck n stay safe on your new job site.

 

[Keebert]

So covering the pool is a realistic proposition? I figure that having a pool guy will cost me around $2k per year plus the electricity to run the pump so that's plenty enough to spend on a robust pool cover. I had a look online and a custom cover with 5' overlap and mesh panels to allow drainage may be the solution. I guess the mesh panels will not be completely opaque but I don't think I can have a cover pump without having someone competent check it from time to time. We have a lady who will look after the house but I doubt she will be able to do anything like deal with a broken cover pump.

Since we don't get sustained freezing weather here, I'm not so worried about that but I would still empty the above ground equipment and preserve with antifreeze. I'm thinking it may not be a good idea to leave the drain plugs out as all kinds of bugs will find their way in and build homes!

Should I get some kind of chlorine dispenser? Is there something out there that can dispense chlorine over a long time - months? Actually, thinking about it, I could get our house sitter to stick a puck in the weir basket every week or so...

 

[JasonLion]

The only chlorine dispenser like thing that has any chance of working over 10 months would be a SWG. But I don't recommend it. There is no way the pump will keep working correctly for 10 months without some regular attention, cleaning the skimmer, maintaining the water level, etc. And there is no point in adding any chemicals without the pump working.

It is much simpler to close the pool and leave the chemistry alone.

 

[williamsonpools]

I am in the northern part of va we have a couple of pools that have been closed for a couple years we winterized them put a cover on and do a once a month check where we add chlorine clean cover and deck area flip motors on real quick to prevent them from seizing up I'm sure a pool company around your way would do a once a month service like this it will cost you some money but when you come back for those couple months there will be no surprises and pool will be swim ready faster