Hello, I am new to the pool world, so please forgive any misstatements I make, or incorrect terms I use!
We moved into our current home about six weeks ago, and it has a beautiful in-ground pool. We are near Oklahoma City. The pool pump is Hayward and there is also a Hayward heater. We are from Texas, and have never had a pool before. When my husband asked the previous owner about anything special to do with the pool in the winter, the owner just said when it would get cold, he would run the heater for a while, and that's it.
For reference, the pool is less than two years old.
Well, we just entered a big cold snap, the first of the year, and right now it is 32 degrees outside and it has been snowing/sleeting lightly most of the day. I noticed the little pool system thing said "freeze warning, filter on", and the filter has been running continuously all day. The pool and spa temp are both at 43 degrees.
I started googling after reading this message about the freeze warning, and read a lot about winterizing... I don't think the previous owner ever winterized the pool, and I don't know if our climate is cold enough to justify doing so. Yes, it will go below freezing, but it will also get above freezing for at least several hours pretty much every day. Any thoughts on this?
Husband also wanted to turn on the pool heater to heat the water up a bit (like the previous owner had mentioned doing), but when I pulled out the manual, it seemed to discourage this when it's really cold. Is this true? Can we turn it on or should we not? Would it even work if we tried?
Do we need to do anything special now to protect the pool and heater, other than making sure the freeze protection is on and the filter keeps running? I am really worried because I obviously don't want anything to freeze/be damaged. Thanks in advance for any advice.
We moved into our current home about six weeks ago, and it has a beautiful in-ground pool. We are near Oklahoma City. The pool pump is Hayward and there is also a Hayward heater. We are from Texas, and have never had a pool before. When my husband asked the previous owner about anything special to do with the pool in the winter, the owner just said when it would get cold, he would run the heater for a while, and that's it.
For reference, the pool is less than two years old.
Well, we just entered a big cold snap, the first of the year, and right now it is 32 degrees outside and it has been snowing/sleeting lightly most of the day. I noticed the little pool system thing said "freeze warning, filter on", and the filter has been running continuously all day. The pool and spa temp are both at 43 degrees.
I started googling after reading this message about the freeze warning, and read a lot about winterizing... I don't think the previous owner ever winterized the pool, and I don't know if our climate is cold enough to justify doing so. Yes, it will go below freezing, but it will also get above freezing for at least several hours pretty much every day. Any thoughts on this?
Husband also wanted to turn on the pool heater to heat the water up a bit (like the previous owner had mentioned doing), but when I pulled out the manual, it seemed to discourage this when it's really cold. Is this true? Can we turn it on or should we not? Would it even work if we tried?
Do we need to do anything special now to protect the pool and heater, other than making sure the freeze protection is on and the filter keeps running? I am really worried because I obviously don't want anything to freeze/be damaged. Thanks in advance for any advice.