You can't stand the thought of covering that gorgeous pool water with that ugly winter cover!
Thanks again, TFP.

I think this is the last weekend for us too, Going to close next weekend

Why close so early? You have a heat pump. Also, if you stay open till the end of September, 1st week of october, your chances of a mess next spring are minimal. Even if you dont swim, you can still keep the water circulating. And with the cooler water/weather, you wont have to run the pump as much. I'm a big advocate of keeping the pool open as long as it's not freezing.

I don't know what closing/freezing is, so I am not going to comment here

I'm not ready for winter. But, im not sure if i would like california winds, fires, mudslides, earthquakes, mountain blizzards, etc. You guys have it all. Now Key West, thats the ticket. I could deal with an occasional hurricane.

Seriously, Im not sure what the rush is to close. Even if you dont swim, looking at nice, clean, blue water is better than a cover. I really consider my pool as part of my landscape, too. Even in Massachusetts, it wont freeze hard enough to damage anything up into November. I wouldnt want to heat the pool or get in it that late, but really Columbus day is a good date to shoot for a close. Besides, messing with the pool is a great thing to do on a saturday or sunday morning waiting for football to start

I'm still wishing for the temps to drop.

/living in florida is just AWFUL.

Just closing now due to all the trees i have dumping lots of junk in the pool, normally close this time of year.

I let the thermometer decide. When the water hits 65°F I know I am not going in again. 68°F on a hot day I will. I don't have a heater, because if I did the noisy females in my life would make me use it and I hate water over 84°F.

So then I wait until it gets to about 62°F and shut her down. With a solid cover, I have never had algae in the Spring. Using this method I have closed as late as Oct. 6 and as early as Sept. 15. Any later than Oct. 6 and I could get a LOT of leaves coming down. Better they fall on my leaf-net than into the water.

OK so then why does a pool have to be closed, now that i just realized i am suffering from sparklypoolitis?? I work with this guy who says he doesn't close his. He says once the leaves stop falling, it's very little maintenance, and he's been doing it for years now. I want to try it, but i am scared because i am not sure what the problems could be. He says he just leaves the pump going when the temp drops below freezing. I mean,wow, wouldn't it be awesome to look out the window while i am doing the dishes, and see that sparkling clear water staring up at me, reminding me of what's in store for me once spring comes... yummmm

I don't know how to do a signature, so here goes:
Gina from Nashville TN
24 Foot Round above ground, 15,000, Cartridge filter.
Sparkling clear water thanks to me, a noob, and avid learner of sparling pools 101

I'm interested in this THEORY of leaving the pump going when there is a freeze. Where I live, we get MAYBE one or two nights of FREEZE. Then I go out like a crazed person (usually late at night) and do the whole process of draining the pump/filter/hoses etc. All for just for those few nights. I did get a 1/8 to 1/4 inch sheet of ice on top one year but mostly the freeze warning are to cover plants and bring in the animals.

What do you all think if I did as this guy and just left the pump on those nights? Anyone?

Oh, spaklypoolitis ... when you don't want kids in the pool because it won't be so sparkly after a bit!

dpool

Closing, I am not stinking closing my pool Close a pool in Texas, HA. I might be swimming in December.

If you live in an area that does not have hard freezes then you don't have to close the pool. You can research the average low temp in your area for the winter months. If the temps only drop below freezing a couple of hours at a time then you can keep the pump running during the freezing hours.

Thanks!

I might just try that this year. Usually, the pool stays pretty clear and then we have one of those over night freeze warnings - I drain everything (except the pool) and then it sort of sits until spring. It's in those following months that I don't run the pump and let the water sit that I get the swamp minus the frogs!

dpool

I just remind everyone what happend last winter to those in the south who thought they didnt need to close. Remember the folks in texas with cracked filters and pipes and ice flowing all over the equpiment?

That did not happen to everyone. I covered mine with insulation and a tarp. The insulation kept the pipes warm and the cover kept the rain off. Left my pump running and ran into no issues. I think the people in northern texas where it seems to get colder may have happened there. But really in Texas when do we have anything like we had last year?

I never 'closed' my pool: just let the freeze protection switch run the pumps while it was below freezing, and enjoyed the sight of a beautiful, clear, blue pool in my backyard all winter long. And it was a long, cold winter... We had like 6 snows, a low of 7F, and about a week solid of sub-freezing temps. Cold for this part of the world..

On a cold, dry day the pool would steam. It was wonderful to sit out at 7am on a Saturday morining, bundled up drinking coffee & Bailey's, watching the sun rise & the steam off the pool

The rough month was November when all the leaves fell. No fun. But it was over in a few weeks.

I'm with your acroy, the pool is beautiful no matter what the weather.

My pool is sited so that as you walk in the front door, you see it through french doors just across the living room. The house is sort of H-shaped and so it sort of wraps around the pool making the pool highly visible through the huge windows to the back yard. You see it through the 8' tall windows in the den, and the 8' tall windows in the master bedroom.

I couldn't bear to cover it. Instead I've used that color blue as an accent all through the house to bring the outdoors in.

[edit] Oh, I do have a freeze protection program on the pool. Not even sure when it kicks on, PB set it long ago. I never worried about the pool last winter. But, man oh man, I should have done more to protect the tropical plants.

THIS YEAR I bought 125' x 6' of freeze protection cloth (~$55 online). I think I will sew up bags to snap over the tropicals I replanted.

Maybe, but anyone want to take that chance again? I'm just sayin

If you take the proper precautions you should be just fine. How many times in Texas have we had temps over 90 in November and December.

I dunno, I live in Massachusetts