All great advice! The water rate in Wichita is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper from Dec - Mar, and not only is it cheaper, the summer rate per 1,000 gallons is based on your winter usage. So if I end up using more in the Dec-Mar timeframe, my summer rates will be lower. Sounds weird, but true. If under 100% of winter average, summer charge is $2-something per 1,000g. If between 100%-110% of winter average, summer is $9-something per 1,000g. If over 110% of winter average, summer is $13-something per 1,000g.
I would LOVE to wait until March to drain/refill.
@dianedebuda The water service sounds promising and I had thought of that, but wasn't sure how that would work since with a vinyl liner, I can't simply drain and refill, I can only probably do about 12 inches max at a time. If we have to do it, we have to do it, it will be worth it. Knowing nothing about what happens to a pool in winter, I wasn't sure if I wanted to drain since we are going into fall/winter.
re: rain - most of our rain comes in spring and summer though we do have rain in fall too. If we have "rain" in late fall and winter, it's usually in the form of snow
Last night we added 8 lbs of Borax. Hope we didn't over do it for pH considering our FC is now above 10, the pH reading may have been off. Looked at digital pH meters and will research on forum. The cheap ones on Amazon $15 may not be the best to use???
@Newdude - our cover is an automatic cover. The fabric is 10 years old and will likely be replaced very soon, probably next season. It's got a few tiny holes that the previous owner said to just put clear silicon glue on the tiny hole, so that's what I'll do this weekend too. I'm not sure about leaving the pool cover open over winter. That sounds scary to me.