pool closing for dummies

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passionsrlz

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Jun 4, 2010
241
Dayton, Ohio
Okay I read the pool school how to close your pool. I felt kind of lost. Remove this, undo that, etc. etc. I have a few questions......
Do I drain all the hoses and physically remove them after I get the water level below them? What do I remove from the pump,motor,filter station? I have never closed this pool correctly and I would like to start this year. And I live in ohio, the nights are now dippinging into the 50's and the pool is sitting at around 80 degrees. Kids are not getting in anymore and I want to get what I need to close. I have to order a winter pool cover because the old one is not useable. And if I understand correctly all I need is bleach? Or maybe algicide if I don't waint until the pool is 50 degrees? Sorry for all the questions but reading pool school only made me want to ask exactly what I need to do.
Thanks for your help.
 
The exact details depend a great deal on just what equipment you have and how things are setup. For an above-ground pool you normally remove and drain the hoses, drain the pump and filter and bring them inside and then cover the pool. A few pictures of your setup, or a through description, will help us explain it step by step.

For the least trouble opening in the spring it is best to wait until the water gets cold (around 50 degrees). However, if you want to close sooner you can do that. The odds of having algae in the spring go up significantly if you close early, but algae can be cleared up if you have to.
 
I live in NE Ohio and will be closing an AG pool this fall but will wait until the middle or end of Sept. This will be the first year with BBB, but have every confidence that it will be a great opening in the spring. We drain our pool below the return, remove the hoses and clamps, unhook the filter (cartridge) and clean that really well. Inside of the filter housing we keep the hoses and clamps as well as the cleaned filter (I think). We unhook the pump and move the entire unit to the back porch which is covered. Everything that is on the porch is covered with an old solar cover and bungeed ( :?: ) together so the wind and snow don't play dodgeball with the stuff. We have done it this way for the past 2 years without any troubles.

This past summer we added a heat pump, so we will have to winterize that as well.

Last year our barrels wouldn't stay in the middle and one of them wouldn't float (not good for keeping the winter cover off of the surface) :hammer: so we removed them. We were worried that the incredible amount of snow we got would cause troubles without the pillow, but it was ok. We always removed as much snow and water as we could when weather permitted.

We hold our cover down with bottles with water in them and use bungee cords that allow the bottles to juuuuuuuuuust reach the ground to reduce the swinging in the wind. I am looking at an alternate weight for the cover. I HATE attaching those danged bottles to the cover, especially the part under the deck. :rant: Hope this helps a bit.
 
so you remove the entire pump/filter unit so there is nothing left? and plug the return and drain pool an inch or so below the skimmer? that all makes sense. And put pillow in middle of pool and cover it and weigh it down. See.......just needed to dumb it down for me...... : )
 
PoolGuyNJ said:
A $2 Hayward 1.5" threaded plug with a gasket for the return.

Do not plug the skimmer. Ice expands. Crack goes the skimmer body (UhOh) :hammer:

Drain the filter and pump thoroughly!

Scott
Click to expand...

the skimmer plug was just to prevent me from having to drain the pool i still plan on draining everything outside the pool (the pump, plumbing lines, skimmer basket) i just didnt want to have to drain 4 inches of water out of a 24' pool.

thanks for your input though it is appreciated.
 

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PoolGuyNJ said:
There are water tight skimmer face plate covers made of stainless the block the pool water available. I don't like them because you have to unscrew 1/2 the screws to attach and remove. This can lead to stripped holes in the future though.

Scott
Click to expand...
i agree with what you said and i did see some of those and i didnt look any farther for that reason.

but the one i linked before is supposed to be a water tight rubber plug.
 
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