I bought a house with an in ground pool (pool was put in summer of 2005) and have never owned a pool before. The house was for sale and vacant for at least 3 years and I don't believe the pool has been touched in the last 3 years. I live near Chicago so I wasn't planning on messing with anything until spring at which point I want to do a complete drain and cleaning of the pool. I'm hoping that when they closed the pool years ago they got all the water out of all the lines but I guess I won't know until Spring. There is currently a lot of algae and a lot of water on the cover. Should I do anything before winter if I'm going to be draining the pool? Thanks!
New Pool Owner
- Thread starter nagihcim1
- Start date
- Jun 20, 2012
- 439
You should pump the water off the cover, and pour a gallon of bleach on it. then cross your fingers.
- Jun 20, 2012
- 439
nagihcim1 said:
Pouring the chlorine on the is just a way of killing any algae on the cover and holding down bacteria. adding chlorine under the cover really won't help.
^IF it was a foreclosure, you may want to check to see if the service company closed it prior to sale. Under Freddi Mac and Fanny Mae policy, the property managers have a budget to do so. In that case, you should winter-over just fine.
However, if it was a homeowner and just left vacant, it may never have been closed properly. I'm at roughly your latitude, and last year was a very forgiving non-freeze season (in Michigan). But it might be worth a check - either by a pool company (ask them to see if the equipment was drained or check yourself to see if drain plug is out of the filter) and to see if your skimmer has been winterized.
Come talk to me next spring -- I rehabbed one of these
-- and don't be tooooo surprised if you discover that even though there's a cover on it, it was clearly left open and is FULL of debris...and that the real estate co just put that cover back on (that's what happened in my case.)
But no worries - you can clear it. Start early - eg. April, before warmth is against you in terms of outpacing algae! Best wishes.
PS Is it a safety cover - and if so, is it solid or mesh, or a combo of both with the mesh center square?
If it has a mesh square, or is mesh, be careful when you pump it that you don't just bring the water level down too low. In winter, with snow accumulation, the cover needs the weight of the water to sit upon.
However, if it was a homeowner and just left vacant, it may never have been closed properly. I'm at roughly your latitude, and last year was a very forgiving non-freeze season (in Michigan). But it might be worth a check - either by a pool company (ask them to see if the equipment was drained or check yourself to see if drain plug is out of the filter) and to see if your skimmer has been winterized.
Come talk to me next spring -- I rehabbed one of these
-- and don't be tooooo surprised if you discover that even though there's a cover on it, it was clearly left open and is FULL of debris...and that the real estate co just put that cover back on (that's what happened in my case.)But no worries - you can clear it. Start early - eg. April, before warmth is against you in terms of outpacing algae! Best wishes.
PS Is it a safety cover - and if so, is it solid or mesh, or a combo of both with the mesh center square?
If it has a mesh square, or is mesh, be careful when you pump it that you don't just bring the water level down too low. In winter, with snow accumulation, the cover needs the weight of the water to sit upon.
Here's what I'm dealing with. It looks like just a tarp covering the pool. A few frogs have made the pool their home and I assume the water under the tarp looks the same as the water on it.
- Jun 20, 2012
- 439
nagihcim1 said:Here's what I'm dealing with. It looks like just a tarp covering the pool. A few frogs have made the pool their home and I assume the water under the tarp looks the same as the water on it.
That cover looks fairly new, and it appears to be on the pool properly.
If the pool was winterized, and the cover does not have holes in it, it is likely that the water under the cover is good.
I repeat, pump some of the water off the cover and pour some bleach on top of the cover (just for hygienic safety) and deal with it next spring.
EDIT: that area on the left side of your photo, where there doesn't appear to be any water bags, should be pulled up a bit and waterbagged.