When to Winterize?

[abbysdad]

So I've spent most of my summer fully burying a Radiant Metric pool, I am pretty happy with the results. I am going to wait till next year to do the decking around it. I have a few questions about closing it for the winter.

1. I live in Michigan, when should I close the pool.
2. I can't find a 24' round winter cover for an inground pool, can I just use an AGP cover, are there any differences, should I get mesh or a solid cover?
3. Since the pool, is buried, I don't want to drop the water level much, the manufacturer also recommends to keep it full of water, how low should I drop the water level.

Thanks.

 

[zea3]

You want to winterize before the first hard freeze but after the water temperature drops below 60 degrees on a consistent basis. If your pool gets full sun that will probably be when the air temp is consistently no higher than 60 degrees. If the top rails are 2-6" above the ground you should be able to use a standard above ground cover. Whether to use a mesh or solid cover is a matter of preference. The mesh will allow snow to melt and pass through, but it will also allow silt and fine dirt to pass through as well. If you use a solid cover you will want to keep as much snow off of it as you can to prevent water displacement before it all freezes. Standard winterizing involves draining the pool below the skimmers and return, blowing the water out of the lines, and plugging the lines. Some folks put pool antifreeze in the lines, some do not.

In the next 30 days or so we will begin to get more pool owners asking about winterizing, so keep an eye on the forums and you should see more information relevant to your area.