FORECLOSURE -- Newbie in MD

[Burntwoods]

Hi everyone-

We just bought a foreclosure with a pool and spa. We're in MD. Here's all that we currently know. Inground Pool 28x48 and 8' round spa. We believe the house has been empty for approx 2 years. Luckily someone installed a Loop-Loc cover on the pool and the spa has a thick fitted cover as well.. foam block maybe with vinyl cover? Both the pool and spa have water in them and from what we can see, peeling back a small section of both pool and spa covers, have plugs in the jets.. I've included all the information we found so far with regard to systems.

Since we're brand new to this I'm reading all of the Pool School articles familiarizing myself with what's what.

My first question is ... when do we start "opening" and assessing the pool? After freeze?

What comes first? Assess the pool for debris?

Thanks all!

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

I wouldn't mess with it until the danger of freezing is past. You have a pretty big window between that and when the weather will really be warm enough to swim so there's no need to hurry it. You'd be in a mess if you couldn't run the pump and it got really cold. Not to mention you'll have your arms in cold water up to your biceps taking the plugs out.

You might start looking for drain plugs on your equipment. Those are removed for winterizing, so if they aren't around somewhere you may need to do some searching. Download manuals and find out which items have plugs. People often store them in the pump strainer basket.

Your covers probably kept the big stuff out of the pool and spa.

You'll need a test kit. Tftestkits.net is where I would go. You'll be happiest in the long run.

Taking some pictures and linking them here would probably be a good start as well so people have something to refer to when answering questions.

Don't worry. People here have been through much worse situations. On foreclosures, usually all of the equipment is gone and the pool wasn't winterized.

 

[Burntwoods]

Thank you so much!

I'll be back after the weather warms up a bit and we no longer have to worry about freezing temps. Going to get a test kit soon, since I know I'll need it.

We did factor in that the equipment would be toast when we bid, and although the pool tiles and spa look to be in decent shape who knows what we'll find when we pull that cover off.

Thanks again!

 

[bmoreswim]

No problem for you to open in mid April. It may still get below freezing but not for long enough to cause a problem.