Don't forget about TFP as the swim season draws to a close..

[SeanB]

I know for some of our more northerly members, the swim season is already drawing to a close even though those of us south of the Mason Dixon have another month or so.

So before you close the pool and move on to fall and winter activities, I wanted to remind you to stay in touch here at TFP. I hope to have an active off-season here in the off topic Coffee Bar, as well as in the Backyard Living area as fall is my favorite time of year to spend time trying to perfect my bbq!

We have such a great group of people here, I hope the forum stays active year round and not just when people's pools start turning green. :lol:

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Guest]

well i wont close my pool to nov and open in feb so, that isn't long for me, but there should be some people in florida and way south who keep open year round.

 

[SeanB]

We don't actually close ours here in Houston, but there will be a few months when it is too cold to swim - without heating the pool, that is.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Close my pool? What pool?!?

 

[pooladdict]

We close ours around Canadian Thanksgiving...sheesh..I hate closing, means snow and cold are around the corner.

I hope this stays open all winter, kinda gives us colder climate blokes a chance to dream about nice weather.

Rik

 

[98xc600]

We have about another month and then it's on to the winter power sports :-D I hope it snows

 

[SeanB]

Did I mention our new forum on snowmobiles. :lol: j/k

 

[Kinguni]

Without a working heater I may have the winter cover well before the end of September, especially if the lousy weather keeps up.

I'm debating doing what a co-worker does though. He doesn't bother with the cover and throws all his snow in the pool over winter. That way in the spring he has very little filling to do to open the pool. Mind you, I opened a clear pool last spring with proper closing and using the winter cover. Would have been nice not to need a day of running water to open the pool though.

 

[pooladdict]

Kinuni:

I dont cover my pool at all, and its as easy if not easier to open the pool then what my neighbors go through with the winter covers. Couple jugs of bleach, turn on pump and in 1 day my pool is crystal clear. You know of the issues with winter covers.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Close my pool? What pool?!?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Riles_J]

I live in Nashville, TN and we don't close our pool. Just keep an eye on the weather and when freezing temps set in just turn on the pump and leave it on. I find it much more pleasant to look out back at the water versus the cover.

You do have some increased electrical costs and chemicals costs, but I find it is more than offset by not have to buy the cover or extra chemicals to close. Not to mention the fact I always hated cleaning off that cover in the spring. Yuck!

Does anyone further up north leave their pool open year round? When I grew up in Michigan, I know we always covered.

Riles

 

[AnnaK]

I'm in East Central PA and we don't cover the pool.

We did the first winter and it was a major PITA, putting the cover on and then the process of taking it off w/o getting too much crud in the water.

Now, we leave it uncovered. I skim the leaves out as long as I can before it freezes. At the first sign of a thaw you'll find me trying to hurry the ice floes along by breaking them up. Keeps me busy and off the streets

This Spring, after the ice was thawed, there were some leaves on the bottom. The water was crystal clear. I scooped out the leaves, added some bleach and stirred it with the skimmer net. We didn't have to add a lot of water because we had plenty of snow last winter.

I don't see the point of putting on a winter cover - we just don't have that many leaves blowing in and having the melt water really took a load off our well.

Anna

 

[Kinguni]

Once I get rid of the ornamental apple tree at the west end of my pool (this weekend) I'll likely have far less leaves making their way into the pool, so cover off could be much more feasible. I'm very much leaning toward that now, rather than scooping all the crud off the cover, pumping all that water off it, cleaning it, etc. etc....

 

[Casey]

I'm in southwestern PA and I'm dreading this pool closing stuff just because it will be too cold for too long and I'll miss my pool! I hate winter! BRRR!

As for covering or not,
I have to cover because of all the leaves we get. Last year I didn't cover it because I was going to replace the liner and the water got black on me so this year, I will cover it! I wanna get a leaf cover too and check those out!

I'll definately be sticking around to get my pool fix til next spring!

Anyway we can put an order in for mild temps and NO SNOW here?!!!

 

[NWMNMom]

Without a working heater I may have the winter cover well before the end of September, especially if the lousy weather keeps up.

Heck I am just 125 miles south of you and I don't foresee being able to keep the pool "open" even till the end of September with this weather. Its too cold to swim and too warm to close - Gotta run that pump, etc, to keep the algae out but I find myself almost wishing it would get down to the low 60s/high 50s so I can close it. Last year, it was just days after September 15 when we got our first snow and had to close it in a hurry.

If this keeps up, I'll just shock it, throw that polyquat in there and get the leaf net on for now. The leaves are already becoming a nuisance. When they stop falling, on with the winter cover and be done with it till spring.

 

[Rangerman]

Whoa - too many leaves for year round operation. It's a situation here. Would like to close after the threat of algae, but that's after the leaves have started falling in NW Arkansas.

I have a mesh cover (drats) that lets just about everything in except leaves. So, spring is not so much fun when the cover comes off. I'm searching the site for answers to my spring time/pool opening dilemma.

 

[Kinguni]

Without a working heater I may have the winter cover well before the end of September, especially if the lousy weather keeps up.

Heck I am just 125 miles south of you and I don't foresee being able to keep the pool "open" even till the end of September with this weather. Its too cold to swim and too warm to close - Gotta run that pump, etc, to keep the algae out but I find myself almost wishing it would get down to the low 60s/high 50s so I can close it. Last year, it was just days after September 15 when we got our first snow and had to close it in a hurry.

If this keeps up, I'll just shock it, throw that polyquat in there and get the leaf net on for now. The leaves are already becoming a nuisance. When they stop falling, on with the winter cover and be done with it till spring.

I think I was the only one in the pool last September. Nice August but September was cloudy, cool and windy. Maybe the reverse this year? Pool was only at 72 today but we swam for a bit anyways with the warm air. New gas heater being budgeted for spring installation. 8)

 

[MikeInTN]

I live in Nashville, TN and we don't close our pool. Just keep an eye on the weather and when freezing temps set in just turn on the pump and leave it on. I find it much more pleasant to look out back at the water versus the cover.

You do have some increased electrical costs and chemicals costs, but I find it is more than offset by not have to buy the cover or extra chemicals to close. Not to mention the fact I always hated cleaning off that cover in the spring. Yuck!

Does anyone further up north leave their pool open year round? When I grew up in Michigan, I know we always covered.

Riles

Hmmmm...I've never even thought of leaving the pool open, and I live in Hendersonville. You've given me food for thought.

 

[giulietta1]

Not to gloat, but I expect to be swimming well into November. . . maybe even December. I haven't been thru a full year with the pool yet, so I don't know exactly what to expect. Once it starts getting cool I will be using the solar cover (aka "nighttime blankie") so I need to get a reel system soon. Thought I'd try to go without one, but the cover's just too much of a pain to deal with.

I was thinking about getting a heat pump but I decided I needed to spend a full year WITHOUT a heater to see if I really need it. . . of course the $$$ was a consideration too. The ones with the features I want are around $4000 or so.

 

[Marillion Fan]

Did I mention our new forum on snowmobiles. :lol: j/k

Where do we sign up for the Snowmobile giveaway? :-D