Should I heat the pool to clean/close?

[nate5532]

This is our first year as pool owners with a permanent, 24' hard-sided AGP in Ohio. I just got our gas heater hooked up last week and have not used it yet (outside of testing to make sure it works).

I'm looking ahead to closing our pool in the next several days. Unfortunately, we do not have a pool robot/cleaner, so I will need to get into the water give it a good cleaning. Our water temperature is in the low 60's, and I have no idea how well the heater will work to make ~15k gallons a bearable temperature.

Question: should I attempt to heat the water up to a tolerable temperature and get in? And would heating the pool cause algae blooms?

Or should I bite the bullet and invest in a robot cleaner instead of a crazy high gas bill?

Or other alternatives?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! I'm a little confused as to why you would need to get int the water to clean it. If you have a manual vacuum and brush that will suffice. If you don't have a manual vacuum, at least just use a net to scoop-out any leaves and such, then perhaps give the pool a good brushing with the pump circulating water well so dirt can get sucked-up into the skimmer. Clean the filter afterwards and you should be fine to start closing preparations. Hope that helps.

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[Pauls234]

As Texas Splash suggests, you should be able to clean your pool fine from the outside with a manual vac and brush with telescoping pole. I have found using a step ladder where I have no deck to be helpful.

Now, it is definitely easier to do the cleaning inside the pool, so if you want to run the heat for some time to get it comfortable and do your cleaning and covering, go for it. I've done it that way the last few years (since I got a heater). Your water temp will be over 60 of course, but it will quickly drop down. You can leave your pump/filtration system in place while you wait for temps to drop. Just be mindful of freezing temps overnight.

My guess is the cost of a robot cleaner would be at least 30x higher than the cost of heating your pool for a day. Plus, I wouldn't want the first 7 months of the warranty to be while it is sitting in the garage unused.