Winter Care

[towacodaddy]

Hi, I'm a new poster here so please excuse what I'm sure is a stupid question.

This is our first year with the pool. It's closed for the winter, with a mesh cover (SmartMesh). We have had a few inches of snow already, followed by a few inches of rain that washed the snow away. I know the benefit of the mesh cover is that the rain and melted snow flow through the mesh so they don't have to be pumped off the cover, but at what point does it become too much water & it overflows, or I have to do something to pump it out? There's a big rainstorm in the forecast for this weekend and I'm concerned I'm not aware of something I should be doing.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[pwrstrk]

Welcome to TFP !!
I think you should be ok. Are we talking about an above ground or in ground pool ? Has the pool been drained down at all for the winter ?
If you could add all your pool and equipment info, plus your location to your sig, it will help us help you better.
No such thing as a stupid question. Hope you enjoy the forum !

 

[woodyp]

Covering a pool is not the same as actually "closing" a pool by draining it down and the equipment emptied of water.

 

[duraleigh]

If you think the rain might be enough to overflow the pool or get too much higher than normal, pump some out.

 

[towacodaddy]

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

It's an in-ground pool, and the pool was closed by the guy who put it in, not just covered (I will learn how to do it myself but for the first year we had him do it). I know they take down the water level but I don't know how far.

I guess that's the question - when you close a pool do you take down the water level down to the point where you shouldn't have to worry about overflowing during a normal winter? If we end up having a big snow, like 18-24 inches, how are you supposed to handle that? I don't want to just forget about the pool all winter and then find out I should have been doing something.

Like I said, these are probably extreme beginner questions. Our pool guy was very unhelpful so I'm trying to learn what I can on my own.

 

[duraleigh]

Where do you live?

 

[towacodaddy]

Northern NJ

 

[duraleigh]

You folks get pretty cold so, if you are expecting a lot of moisture, drain the pool prior by about 4-6" or so. That should do it.

 

[pwrstrk]

Can you check your water level ? The people who closed your pool should have it drained down. They know the type of climate your in. I'd take a peek.

 

[Rocco]

I also have an in ground pool with a mesh cover in Virginia. I normally drain my pool down to the return lines (about 2') so I can blow them out and plug them. If the person closed your pool down they most likely plugged the skimmer and return lines as well as closed down the equipment. In my case I add non-toxic antifreeze to the lines. So draining the pool via your equipment will most likely not be an easy option.

However in my case my pool was filled back up by the time winter even arrived with the all the storms we had through Fall. I have not had any issues as of yet (3 years) and the pool is filled to just below the coping now.

 

[towacodaddy]

Thanks, I will check the water level after today's rainstorm. Hopefully I'm worried over nothing. The whole system is shut down, so if I need to drain a few inches out I'm not even sure how to do it. I'll post back if the level looks too high. Thanks again for all the help and advice.

 

[pwrstrk]

A submersible pump or you can rent a pump if need be.

 

[bmoreswim]

I think one item that has not been discussed yet is that you are in an area that could easily freeze the top several inches of pool water (not every year, but some years it could). If this occurs at or just below the tile level, it can cause tiles to pop. The conundrum is that Merlin (Smart Mesh manufacturer) recommends only lowering the water level to 18" below the cover so that the water will support the cover when it snows (any lower may void your warranty per their site). So, you should maintain your water level between 18" from the cover level and below the tile. As it nears the tile, pump it back down.

Due to the specifics our pool, that only leaves us with about an 8" range in the water level during the winter. I've pumped out about 10" of water since we closed in early November. When I have it open, I also check the FC and pH for kicks and adjust as necessary, recirculating the water using the pump I pump it out with. It's really easy to pop the corner of the cover off with the pipe tool if you haven't done it yet. As mentioned before, get a submersible pump and a 2" hose. The 2" hose will make the pumping time much quicker than a garden hose. Our autocover came with a cover pump so that's what I use instead.

All that said, I'm new to pools and don't know in reality just how sensitive the tiles are to ice expanding up into them. But I'm erring on the side of caution as it's easy to do and lets me monitor the water quality during the winter as well. I don't want to be fishing tiles off the bottom next spring or any spring. Water is still crystal clear.