Give up and close?

[Uncle Rico's Pool]

Hi everyone. So I have had a series of unfortunate events. You may have seen in my other post that my pump is going out. I have been too busy to get to it and hoped I could make it to close. My water is still 70 degrees so it seems I need to wait a bit more. Then last night we had a crazy windstorm and it filled my pool with dirt and leaves. I tried to vacuum my pool and realized I have very little pressure at the filter and little suction at the vacuum. In order to get the dirt out, I’ve got to replace the pump now. Since I don’t have time that means I may end up paying a pool store. My question is - if I leave it, will the dirt hurt anything (I can probably get leaves with leaf rake). Will the dirt cause algae? Or is it just a mess to clean up when I open? I appreciate the help.

 

[PoolGate]

As long as your chlorine is at proper levels you'll have "clean" dirt which shouldn't cause any real issues. My pool always gets tons of leaves blow in after I close and remain until opening. Never caused any issues.

 

[Uncle Rico's Pool]

Update: I cleaned all the leaves out and checked levels. Please see my signature for all of them. Do I need to raise the chlorine back to normal levels? Won’t the chlorine be zero a week or so after close anyway? Does that level matter? I’m going to try to prime my pump and see if will run enough to mix when I add chemicals...

 

[Mdragger88]

Hey Rico! Chlorine is paramount. It is recommended to bring your pool to slam level for your cya before closing- also since u are closing a bit warm u should add some polyquat 60 incase your fc drops. If you open early before the water temp gets above 60 u stand a better chance of not opening to a swamp
FWIW - I always have fc left @ opening
Here’s the guide

Closing an In Ground Pool

Winterizing a pool is essential for keeping your in-ground pool protected during cold-weather months. This Pool Repair guide will show you how to do it.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ajw22]

Update: I cleaned all the leaves out and checked levels. Please see my signature for all of them. Do I need to raise the chlorine back to normal levels? Won’t the chlorine be zero a week or so after close anyway? Does that level matter? I’m going to try to prime my pump and see if will run enough to mix when I add chemicals...

If your pool is algae free and passes a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test and you cover it them there is little to consume chlorine. Having some chlorine in the water kills Any algae that runs off into the water while closed.

Best to get your FC up to around half SLAM level. Then add Polyquat 60 as insurance as described in the linked article above.

 

[Enzodast]

Another option is to buy a robot that runs on electricity to clean your pool. I have one and love it. Puts no pressure on my pump and don't need a separate line to use it just an outlet.

 

[Uncle Rico's Pool]

So I just finished closing my pool and then noticed your post said HALF slam level. I had done a full slam. Will this be a problem? Worst case if I need to I could put the garden hose under the cover and my pump and dilute. My cover is mesh so will that allow chorine to escape without damaging the cover? Thanks for your help.

 

[ajw22]

So I just finished closing my pool and then noticed your post said HALF slam level. I had done a full slam. Will this be a problem? Worst case if I need to I could put the garden hose under the cover and my pump and dilute. My cover is mesh so will that allow chorine to escape without damaging the cover? Thanks for your help.

Your pool will be fine. See you in the Spring.