So you want to close your in ground pool yourself? First take a look at Jason's thread here it covers most things you need to know, and is where you should post specific questions about your pool closing!!
All I want to do here is tell you is tell you what you need to do, but not how - the 'hows' are covered in Jason's sticky.
What you are doing is preparing the pool and equipment to survive the freezing winter without damage. (If your winter is mild, you may not want to close the pool - pump run times and chem requirements are MUCH lower in the winter, just be sure to run the pump any time the temps get below 32 deg)
You want to have the water chemistry balanced (leaving unbalanced water sitting in the pool for a few months is just asking for trouble next spring!
) and shock the pool. Most folks like to add algaecide as insurance 
. You need to get the water out of the plumbing and filter equipment (and make sure water can't get back in!) so the ice expansion doesn't break it! Any lines that you can add antifreeze to (not automotive antifreeze!!) you should! Cover the pool so that all the stuff that will fall can not enter the water and cause you a big headache in the spring. Protect the equipment from ice damage and the elements and do any yearly maintenance to it.
Because there are so many different pools and set ups out there, a comprehensive post covering all of them can't be written
Let's try to keep all the winterizing questions and tips/ tricks to Jason's closings post so that we all can easily find the info and post on the info in 1 place :!:
(I hope this post gets a lot of views, but NO answers
)
All I want to do here is tell you is tell you what you need to do, but not how - the 'hows' are covered in Jason's sticky.
What you are doing is preparing the pool and equipment to survive the freezing winter without damage. (If your winter is mild, you may not want to close the pool - pump run times and chem requirements are MUCH lower in the winter, just be sure to run the pump any time the temps get below 32 deg)
You want to have the water chemistry balanced (leaving unbalanced water sitting in the pool for a few months is just asking for trouble next spring!
) and shock the pool. Most folks like to add algaecide as insurance . You need to get the water out of the plumbing and filter equipment (and make sure water can't get back in!) so the ice expansion doesn't break it! Any lines that you can add antifreeze to (not automotive antifreeze!!) you should! Cover the pool so that all the stuff that will fall can not enter the water and cause you a big headache in the spring. Protect the equipment from ice damage and the elements and do any yearly maintenance to it. Because there are so many different pools and set ups out there, a comprehensive post covering all of them can't be written
Let's try to keep all the winterizing questions and tips/ tricks to Jason's closings post so that we all can easily find the info and post on the info in 1 place :!:
(I hope this post gets a lot of views, but NO answers
)
