Hi all, I have a medium fiberglass, salt water pool. It was installed in July, so this is my first winter with it. I live in Charlotte, North Carolina and I'm wondering if I actually need to winterize my pool. We sometimes get 1 or 2 snow fall per winter. Usually really lite snow and if it's heavy snow, it melts within a couple days. Can I just get a leaf net or something? I literally have no idea what I'm doing haha! thanks for any help!
Do I need to winterize?
- Thread starter Chelsea123
- Start date
Chelsea, I am guessing it is an inground pool. I keep mine above ground pool year round BUT I do live in Florida. We do not get as cold as you do long term.
I would worry more about your equipment and pipes during a hard freeze. The skimmer, returns and pipes could be damaged during a hard freeze as well.
It is up to you BUT you really need to think of your area and your weather. I would call your PB or look around to see if there are any pool owners in your area you can pick their brain about what they do.
Here is the link to closing pools just in case you want to go that way.
Pool School - Closing an In Ground Pool
Kim
I would worry more about your equipment and pipes during a hard freeze. The skimmer, returns and pipes could be damaged during a hard freeze as well.
It is up to you BUT you really need to think of your area and your weather. I would call your PB or look around to see if there are any pool owners in your area you can pick their brain about what they do.
Here is the link to closing pools just in case you want to go that way.
Pool School - Closing an In Ground Pool
Kim
Chelsea:
If you decide to leave the pool open all season long, please make sure that the pump is running 24/7 if temperatures drop where water can freeze. If you wish to take a break for the winter, I would recommend closing the pool. You can blow out the lines, like we do up north, place some winter chemicals in the pool and put the cover on. Then you can take a 4-6 month break.
You may even be able to work backwards with the plumbing. Close the skimmers and return jets, vacuum some water out and pour some RV Pool Anti-Freeze down the piping. As the RV-Antifreeze mixes in the return side, you will get some to mix in the MD. If you have a good air compressor, you can just blow out the MD for a few seconds until you see some bubbling and then create the "air lock". You will be all set at this point.
If you decide to leave the pool open all season long, please make sure that the pump is running 24/7 if temperatures drop where water can freeze. If you wish to take a break for the winter, I would recommend closing the pool. You can blow out the lines, like we do up north, place some winter chemicals in the pool and put the cover on. Then you can take a 4-6 month break.
You may even be able to work backwards with the plumbing. Close the skimmers and return jets, vacuum some water out and pour some RV Pool Anti-Freeze down the piping. As the RV-Antifreeze mixes in the return side, you will get some to mix in the MD. If you have a good air compressor, you can just blow out the MD for a few seconds until you see some bubbling and then create the "air lock". You will be all set at this point.
Raleigh is close to the same climate as Charlotte. My pool there for 9 years was never winterized. Temps down into the teens were fine as long as you run the pump. I never turned on my pump unless it was prolonged below freezing for several nights in a row.
If you are still concerned, simply drain your filter back into the pool and make sure most of the water is out of all exposed pipes. The underground plumbing will not freeze in Charlotte.
If you are still concerned, simply drain your filter back into the pool and make sure most of the water is out of all exposed pipes. The underground plumbing will not freeze in Charlotte.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,382
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
As Kim alluded to, it would nice if you could fill out your signature line with your pool details. That helps us a lot in helping you.
As others have stated, you probably don't have to close your pool as long as you take precautionary measures during times when your local weather may dip below freezing. Even here in the southwestern desert we can get extended periods of freezing temperatures. I have a Pentair automation system which automatically turns on certain features when the temperatures drop. If we knew more about your equipment, we could better advise you.
Just remember that, if you keep your pool open during the winter, you still need to test your water regularly and adjust chemistry as needed. I got lazy the first winter we had our pool and did not pay attention to the chemical levels. The calcium scaling that was caused by my inattention cost me ~ $300 to fix later that season. I could have avoided that by not listening to the conventional wisdom which said I could forget about my winter pool.
Good luck,
Matt
As others have stated, you probably don't have to close your pool as long as you take precautionary measures during times when your local weather may dip below freezing. Even here in the southwestern desert we can get extended periods of freezing temperatures. I have a Pentair automation system which automatically turns on certain features when the temperatures drop. If we knew more about your equipment, we could better advise you.
Just remember that, if you keep your pool open during the winter, you still need to test your water regularly and adjust chemistry as needed. I got lazy the first winter we had our pool and did not pay attention to the chemical levels. The calcium scaling that was caused by my inattention cost me ~ $300 to fix later that season. I could have avoided that by not listening to the conventional wisdom which said I could forget about my winter pool.
Good luck,
Matt