Pool closing or not?

[NaCLTPool]

After having the pool installed this summer, this will be my first fall/winter. Is there any reason or advantage for me to close (located in North Carolina) rather than just maintaining it?

From what I’ve read, it isn’t that difficult to maintain with liquid chlorine once the SWG shuts off due to cold water. Leaves will probably be an issue but I have no problem dealing with it (I saw that now).

 

[Homebrewale]

I'm in NC. I asked once at the local pool store how many people keep their pools open. They said about 50% of the pool owners don't close their pools. I close my pool. I install a safety cover over the pool during the off months. One reason is to keep the leaves out. The other reason is to keep my dog and my daughter's dog out of the pool. Both dogs like to swim. I don't need a wet dog coming into the house dripping cold water. Also I just like not thinking about the pool for a few months. If I kept it running under the safety cover, then I would need to keep checking the equipment each day to be sure I didn't spring a leak somewhere or be sure the pump is running. I would need to pull back the cover to be sure the water level is at the right level. If it dropped below the skimmer, the pump would run dry. If I'm not going to be using it, I see no reason to spend the money on the electricity to run the equipment.

 

[NaCLTPool]

I'm in NC. I asked once at the local pool store how many people keep their pools open. They said about 50% of the pool owners don't close their pools. I close my pool. I install a safety cover over the pool during the off months. One reason is to keep the leaves out. The other reason is to keep my dog and my daughter's dog out of the pool. Both dogs like to swim. I don't need a wet dog coming into the house dripping cold water. Also I just like not thinking about the pool for a few months. If I kept it running under the safety cover, then I would need to keep checking the equipment each day to be sure I didn't spring a leak somewhere or be sure the pump is running. I would need to pull back the cover to be sure the water level is at the right level. If it dropped below the skimmer, the pump would run dry. If I'm not going to be using it, I see no reason to spend the money on the electricity to run the equipment.

I guess losing power and freezing would be my main concern although that rarely happens where I am

 

[Dirk]

Different climate here, but the reason I don't mind maintaining my pool without closing is because:
- It only requires about 10 min, once a week, for 12 weeks (which is a heck of a lot less labor than closing and covering a pool), and
- I like looking at the water year round, instead of a cover, covered with wet, rotting leaves.

The skimmer and vac keep it clean, and cleaning a few leaves out of the baskets is part of that 10 minutes. I have PV solar, so it doesn't cost me anything to run the pump a few hours a day, so that's a factor that might be different for other users.