This is my first year of pool ownership, and I'm going to have it closed by a company soon. I assume they're going to just turn everything off and cover it up. What's going to happen in the water over the winter? Is it still susceptible to algae blooms and whatnot? How is the water likely to look upon re-opening?
What happens to the water after closing?
- Thread starter ElkPool
- Start date
From what I gather in my reading here, your pool can be anything from looking just like it did when you covered it to green porridge. We don't really have winter where I live...it just gets dark earlier and rains a little bit sometimes.
lol well if your actually going to pay someone to close it, it should look absolutely clear when you pull the cover off. Maybe you could tell them you want a clear pool guarantee on opening....
closing a pool is i personaly think, and i am about to find out, not really that difficult. I close my pool and it wasnt difficult to learn even without TFP. I am actually just starting my closing pool research since I am now 'in the industry' lol love that title...and would like to learn about closing all pools for my employer. I believe, its mostly about the equipment and protecting it from freezing over the winter, ie getting all water out of the lines, and adding rv antifreeze to lines that will, no matter what will have water left in them.
Each piece of equipment came with a manual and that manual has instructions that include how to winterize it.
People FEAR(False Evidence Appearing Real) closing their pool themselves and wrecking something that costs 'thousands of dollars to fix', verbatim what a customer told me yesterday btw.
With a little effort and TFP you would be very able to close your pool properly.
closing a pool is i personaly think, and i am about to find out, not really that difficult. I close my pool and it wasnt difficult to learn even without TFP. I am actually just starting my closing pool research since I am now 'in the industry' lol love that title...and would like to learn about closing all pools for my employer. I believe, its mostly about the equipment and protecting it from freezing over the winter, ie getting all water out of the lines, and adding rv antifreeze to lines that will, no matter what will have water left in them.
Each piece of equipment came with a manual and that manual has instructions that include how to winterize it.
People FEAR(False Evidence Appearing Real) closing their pool themselves and wrecking something that costs 'thousands of dollars to fix', verbatim what a customer told me yesterday btw.
With a little effort and TFP you would be very able to close your pool properly.
One of the main reasons for winterizing is to ensure the the plumbing and equipment are devoid of water. This prevents expensive freeze damage since water expands when it freezes.
Since the pool is uncirculated and unfed for a number of months, the only ways to avoid greening up are to use a cover that keeps light out, wait till the pool is below 60 degrees to close, or to feed and circulate with another pump. The latter two options are suggested for those with mesh safety covers.
When I winterize a pool, or any service company does, there is not warranty against going green, even though it is a usual practice to boost the chlorine and add an algaecide ad the pool's final meal before hibernation.
Scott
Since the pool is uncirculated and unfed for a number of months, the only ways to avoid greening up are to use a cover that keeps light out, wait till the pool is below 60 degrees to close, or to feed and circulate with another pump. The latter two options are suggested for those with mesh safety covers.
When I winterize a pool, or any service company does, there is not warranty against going green, even though it is a usual practice to boost the chlorine and add an algaecide ad the pool's final meal before hibernation.
Scott
I will add that what makes a pool green is having nutrients, light, and temperatures high enough for algae growth. N-P-K, nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium, same stuff on that bag of fertilizer for your grass, is what feeds algae. Different algae like different portions of N-P-K. So if you have a solid winter cover, you do not want that brew of water and dead leaves to leak into it, full of nutrients. Keeping algae out in the first place is also important. So starting with a clean pool and clean cover and dosing algaecide makes sense.
There are several of us who don't use a winter cover and start the season with clean, clear water.
We close when the water temperature is 50F or below. Until then, we occasionally add bleach and circulate the water for a couple of hours. At closing, we bring the FC to its appropriate shock level, drain to below the return, disconnect and drain the equipment, and take out the steps.
We skim what leaves may blow in manually as long as we can until the surface freezes. The pool receives direct sun all through winter but we've never had any algae growth when we opened.
We close when the water temperature is 50F or below. Until then, we occasionally add bleach and circulate the water for a couple of hours. At closing, we bring the FC to its appropriate shock level, drain to below the return, disconnect and drain the equipment, and take out the steps.
We skim what leaves may blow in manually as long as we can until the surface freezes. The pool receives direct sun all through winter but we've never had any algae growth when we opened.
Thanks for the replies, everyone! I may very well close it myself in the future, but for the first time I'd rather watch a company do it, like I did when they opened it this spring.