When to Open for 2010

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mamasproject

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Oct 8, 2009
97
My husband and I are bickering over when to open our new pool installed in October of 2009. I have it scheduled for April 17, 2010...he thinks it's too early, we will never use it that early (even though we have a heater), and the electric usage will outweigh any benefits of having the pool open. Oh, and all his co-workers who own pools tell him that we will regret all the unnecessary work.
I on the other hand think that opening in April will be fine, and we will have an easier time getting the pool cleaned up and be ready for the early heatwave we can expect (fingers crossed). The pool has a Polaris so I don't expect to do much vacuuming and I will be taking care of all the water balancing!
So let me hear your suggestions....we live in PA outside of Philadelphia!
 
If you have a solid cover, wait till the middle of May. If we have a warm Spring and you have a standard mesh cover, opening a few weeks earlier is when you will want to. If you have a Merlin Smart Mesh, you can treat it like a solid cover.

Pollen and tree dropping are very prevalent from mid April to early May.

Scott
 
We are in Ohio and I have been opening in April too....extra work? yes but, gives me something extra to do. It is a pain with the extra grud floating around but, makes it feel closer to some summer fun. We were able to swim several time in May so, it was worth being all ready in April...kids love being the first ones around swimming in their pool :)


chris
 
We live in eastern PA near Allentown. We open when the ice is all melted which can be as late as the middle of April. We don't actually get in the water until the end of May though (no heater) but the dogs do as soon as the steps are in.
 
I usually open in April but last year, DH was so impatient, he took the cover off in March and yes, I topped her off and started the pump and ran it when it dipped below freezing. There is absolutely no way anyone would swim but it sure does look perty. I will probably open again in late March, early April if for nothing else, to look at it. :cool:

What can I say, I love my pool and it looks so much better than just sitting there with a black cover on it, even if no one swims. I deal with the pollen so it's not enough to deter me from opening early. :mrgreen:
 
I too opened very early last year, mid April. I liked this becuz the water on top of the cover didn't get all gross, and the usual birds that used the cover as a litter box in prior years seemed to stay away. I didn't turn on the heater or anything, kept the solar on, FC loss was minimal cuz the temps were down anyway.... I plan to do this again this year. :wink: even tho we won't swim till late May/Memorial Day weekend usually.
 
This is key. First year with an inground and I opened up April 1st. Next year I opened up mid may. Let me tell you, opening up in May is horrendous. There is so much nasty stuff on that cover by then from the tree seeds and everything else. It's MUCH better to allow the skimmers and the dolphin to handle that stuff on a day by day basis rather than scooping it off the cover with a net manually. Think about it. But this applies to me, in my area, and with a lot of trees near the pool and could be different for others. I have solar now, so I think better to get it open and start gettng the water warmer asap.
 
We opened our pool in April last year and it was so much easier than the year before when we opened in May. The pool opened cleaner and it was easier to get the chems in line while the weather was cooler. No, we didnt swim that early even though we do have a heater! The added bonus was that we got to look out the window at sparkly pool water vs. the view of the green pool cover.
 
Thanks for all the replies! So I am keeping my April 17th opening date! The husband isn't going to win this one! Hopefully all the snow will be gone by April...we have about 18" on the ground and the forecast is calling for another 14-20" on Wednesday. All I can do is have high hopes for an early spring!
 

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I open the end of March. Its way too eary, but by the time the weather starts warming up, I start getting very impatient. Also, we have a spill over spa that is utterly useless until we open the pool. So I try getting it open as quickly as possible.

That being said, it isnt a brilliant idea. So much muck, dirt, pollen, etc gets into the pool when you open that early. If I waited an extra month, I think I could avoid a lot of work and cleanup / backwashing. But I do it anyway. :lol:
 
mitch08 said:
I open the end of March. Its way too eary, but by the time the weather starts warming up, I start getting very impatient. Also, we have a spill over spa that is utterly useless until we open the pool. So I try getting it open as quickly as possible.

That being said, it isnt a brilliant idea. So much muck, dirt, pollen, etc gets into the pool when you open that early. If I waited an extra month, I think I could avoid a lot of work and cleanup / backwashing. But I do it anyway. :lol:
Click to expand...

I guess I don't understand why you get more "muck, dirt and pollen" in late March than say mid or late April. What am i missing?
 
Quote
I guess I don't understand why you get more "muck, dirt and pollen" in late March than say mid or late April. What am i missing?
End Quote

About two weeks of crud, a month of increased electricity usage, pool food, cleaning a cold pool on a cold day.

Other than that, not much!


Scott
 
We don't have a cover, so in a sense our pool has been "open" all winter long. The other day I got my testig kit out, and started balancing the water. So here we are, with snow on the ground, and a sparkling blue pool. I thought it would be cool to get in the spa (attached to pool), but when I went to turn the filter handle, it broke right off. Serves me right, wanting to get in the pool in the middle of February :oops:

Last year I didn't "open" the pool (balance it) until May, and it was a gross mossy green mess. I'll NEVER do that again! It's much easier to get it balanced and all the bacteria killed when the water is 40 degrees, rather than 85 degrees!
 
I am going to open the last part of march. I am going to get the pump going and get it balanced, but iam not going to turn on the heat pump until April.. if the water starts to get warm you will get stuff starting to grow. so i have been told the earlier the better... spring works for me...
good luck everyone, cant wait to get in 96' water
 
Thinkly said:
mitch08 said:
I open the end of March. Its way too eary, but by the time the weather starts warming up, I start getting very impatient. Also, we have a spill over spa that is utterly useless until we open the pool. So I try getting it open as quickly as possible.

That being said, it isnt a brilliant idea. So much muck, dirt, pollen, etc gets into the pool when you open that early. If I waited an extra month, I think I could avoid a lot of work and cleanup / backwashing. But I do it anyway. :lol:
Click to expand...

I guess I don't understand why you get more "muck, dirt and pollen" in late March than say mid or late April. What am i missing?
Click to expand...

I have 2 huge trees in my yard that start budding the middle of March. When this happens, they constantly drop buds (millions of them) all over the yard and pool. If its open, it gunks everything up and the skimmers need to be cleaned out about 5 times a day.

By mid-April everything has budded and the garbage stops falling. We are planning on taking these trees down this year. :lol:
 
PoolGuyNJ hit the nail on the head. As owners/managers we definitely see this trend. People always gauge everything on the weather, and that isn't always the best thing to do....and the cover in use also make a big difference. The mesh style covers allow a lot of sunlight through, so your water is going to be warming up earlier than those with a solid tarp style cover. The decision is ultimately up to you, but the cost of running that pump for a dollar a day through April when you aren't using it will definitely outweigh 14-16 dollars on one case of chlorine. Our company goes with tax day is the latest you want to open with mesh covers btw. Hope that helps =]
 
I like to open when the water gets up to 50 degrees. Algae, if there is any, is very easy to kill when the water is cold. Some people prefer to leave things till the water gets warmer than that. I wouldn't wait longer than when the water gets to 60 degrees. Warmer than that and you are very likely to have algae problems on opening.
 
frustratedpoolmom said:
I too opened very early last year, mid April. I liked this becuz the water on top of the cover didn't get all gross, and the usual birds that used the cover as a litter box in prior years seemed to stay away. I didn't turn on the heater or anything, kept the solar on, FC loss was minimal cuz the temps were down anyway.... I plan to do this again this year. :wink: even tho we won't swim till late May/Memorial Day weekend usually.
Click to expand...

I am so tired of winter I am opening next THURSDAY...WISHFUL THINKING...Can I count on you to try to beat me again this year... :party:
 

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