Let’s see your water after removing winter cover!! **RESURRECTED FOR 2025!**

That's what I did. There was only a couple leaves in the pool so I didn't bother with the skimmer plate / basket and put the vac hose right to the skimmer pipe.

There was no need with sending it to waste. I can only imagine how many bloated mushy worms got eviscerated by the pump basket, further eviscerated by the impeller and are now fertilizing my grass.

I would have (over) filled with the hose to be able to vac to waste if no rains came. It's still pretty cold here so I was in no rush and waited it out.

I've never been able to vacuum to waste. In the spring, there is fine dirt and pollen in the bottom of the pool that's filtered through the mesh safety cover by rains. Being that it's fine in size, I have to move the vacuum head slowly across the bottom. If I rush, it gets stirred up. I can't finish the vacuum job before running out of useable pool water and need to stop.
 
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I can't finish the vacuum job before running out of useable pool water and need to stop.
That's why I took several attempts to brush the bulk of it to a smaller area. Most of it was on the deep end floor and the lower part of the slope and I had plenty of time to only vac there. (y)
 
It's the dogaway9000. The basset was digging in for traction on the brand new $3500 cover and ripping it.

So I had to build a fence to protect the cover meant to protect the dogs. :roll:

Harry Hound-ini made it his winter mission to teleport inside anyway, but most of the time it was too much trouble.


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What did you use to support the fence on the concrete sides of the pool? I'm going to have to do the same this fall as my labs run across and lie on my mesh safety cover and have worn holes where it touches the edges of the concrete coping. It has lasted only 4 seasons!
 
What did you use to support the fence on the concrete sides of the pool?
Its a work in progress and I'm starting over next year. The wind howled a different direction this year and made me modify what I had on the fly, no longer needing it the way it started. I'll send you a PM to not take up 3 more pages here.
 
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I get 10 lashes with a wet noodle for not getting a pic, but i was too busy dry heaving, so.

I had a ridiculous amount of worms upon opening recently. I did not want to vac them up for their guts to be smushed into the cartridges until it was warm enough to hose them off. So I've been gently brushing once a day to get the bulk of the winter crud to a smaller area to vac it to waste while waiting for the rain to give me some extra water. I had both well covered today and sent the bulk of it to waste.

The pump basket was full to the brim with mangled worms when I went to empty it afterwards. :puker:
Ick. I just pulled my robot out and it looked like spaghetti in there!
 
*sigh*

The grand opening is canceled. Going scorched Earth on the acre instead. :(

It has to be done.

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Thats only a baby.

I fished huntsman that was 3 inches across the other day. Well maybe only two inches, but the girls were not happy. I had already fished him out once before. Put him over the fence but he came back. He was re-housed in the tree out the front the second time and haven’t come back.

And for the record my pool looks exactly like same at the end of summer as it does in the beginning. :D
 
Pulled the cover on Saturday.

The edge of the cover over the shallow end fell in during a blizzard in January, and then the pool quickly froze after, so it stayed that way for like a month and a half.

Edge came loose on the deep end a couple weeks before pulling it.

So unfortunately, a bunch of leaves worked their way in, but still had crystal clear water!

Pic is looking in the deep end.

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I can't believe all you central Indiana guys opening already. Suppose to freeze tonight and snow flurries on Monday !! Better than the tornados a few days ago I guess.

I'm waiting till at least the first of May. My water temp is around 48F last time I checked.
I normally open mid May, I test water temp and open when the water is about 55 degrees. I always peek under the cover on a sunny spring day though. If I open early this year it’s because I need to find a possible leak. But yeah, it’s too cold in Central Indiana right now! Brrr
 
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I can't believe all you central Indiana guys opening already. Suppose to freeze tonight and snow flurries on Monday !! Better than the tornados a few days ago I guess.

I'm waiting till at least the first of May. My water temp is around 48F last time I checked.
To each his own I guess. I’ve been open for a couple weeks now and will continue to open early and close late. My water temp has been up to 60dg (although currently it’s 50dg) I frequently get in in the 50’s and vacuum it out as I want to keep it clean as possible and I just love taking care of it. But you do you as they say😊.
 
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First time opening with the mesh safety cover…
I can see the bottom of the 8ft deep end… not too many leaves. But the steps… what a lovely shade of green :LOL: Can’t wait to get started!!!


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Not so green, temperature 57 degrees,
FC: 0.5 (maybe)
Cya:0
Salt: 1200 pm

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AP1GczNsMxVHK_meQdqYQ7l4gCV7z_DcfJbImVtYJ_mlo6VbQ5OSuPXGbYFciUUxVp5WEDkmyoEhcUdnZGS8e77-_jtc9aljKREdxkgMUxpL9FU5EjX_615Q=w1920-h1080


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Mesh winter cover. We had a ton of rain so I was pumping often. One time I just unplugged the sump pump and didn’t pull it and it sucked 70% of my water out. Didn’t realize it until we got 15”s of snow and it broke the springs to my cover. Tried to refill but my hose bib had also froze even though I covered it. Turns out the pitch was wrong on the frost free hose bib and it busted. Long process but now I’m ready to covert to salt this season!

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Oh yeah, so much stuff finds its way under that mesh, and the worms, and the leaves.
 
Solid safety covers may still have puddles to hold them down if they weren't pumped, but once dry it shouldn't matter which cover it was, both billow in the wind and leaves blow in the same wind.

A thorough yard cleaning in the fall is the best defense for winter pool leaves. Of course, some of the oaks just finished dropping last years leaves so it's not perfect but it still helps alot.
 
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Just pulled the cover, and fired up the filter. Water temp 48 degrees🥶. My robot died last fall 😡so time to vacuum manually 😡😡image.jpgimage.jpg
 
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Water temp 48 degrees🥶. My robot died last fall 😡so time to vacuum manually 😡😡
I'd be manually vacuuming either way. Water intrusion is the leading killer of robots and gaskets shrink in cool/cold water.
 

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