Should I uncover my pool now?

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bluskyguy

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Jul 19, 2009
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Charlotte NC
Temps are warming up here in North Carolina. Tree pollen is kicking in. I think if I
keep cover on I wont have to worry about running filter, algae, adding chemicals
cleaning strainers of pollen,etc,etc. Water is still way to cold to swim for awhile.
Any thoughts as to a good time to uncover?
 
Like right now! You already waited too long for your climate. My guess is your water is over 60. Get some chlorine in it fast or you are going to have a swamp.
 
It depends on your situation. My previous cover was a winter safety cover. It was opaque and didn't let much of anything into the pool. There is a farm around my property so the dust and chemicals will blow on windy days. I often waited until May to open. That gave the farmer time to turn his ground and plant before I pulled the cover. It's tough for things to grow with no light hitting the water even if the water is warm. I usually open to slightly cloudy water. Two or three days of running the filter and I'm good to go.
 
I've actually opened my pool but left cover on. Any issues with keeping the cover on, even though the pool is open and filter pump running? We do peel back the cover to hop in the spa.

Everything is balanced and will kick on the Salt generator next since water is just above 60.

First time opening and I want to keep cover on since I have some nasty pollen and flowers dropping from cherry and maple trees.

Thoughts?
 
bluskyguy said:
Temps are warming up here in North Carolina. Tree pollen is kicking in. I think if I
keep cover on I wont have to worry about running filter, algae, adding chemicals
cleaning strainers of pollen,etc,etc. Water is still way to cold to swim for awhile.
Any thoughts as to a good time to uncover?
Click to expand...

You want to uncover your pool now (while it's still cool outside). Once you uncover your pool, do some testing (FC, CC, pH, TA, CH and CYA). This will give you the current chemistry of your pool. Once you know your FC, CC and CYA (especially) results, add the appropriate amount of LC or Bleach to your pool (within target levels) FC/CYA.. This is what I did with my pool when I opened it. I just opened it this week.
 
My pool is surrounded by trees and as I said pollen is kicking. With a winter safety cover, no light is getting in. I feel the minute I take the cover off, the maintenance starts. It will be another month easily before pool temp is swimable. I dont think my SWG works until at least 60 degrees either. Some of you are saying wait and others open now. I guess its a personal choice at this point.
 
Yeah! It would basically come down to what you’ll want to do. I don’t have a SWG pool, but I can tell you that algae get comfortable when the weather starts to warm up. I personally start monitoring the weather at my end and when I see that the evening temperature is falling close to the 50s, I open my pool up and start maintaining it. I do have a solar cover so that keeps a lot of things out of the pool (e.g. leaves, etc).

BTW, my pool is not in use right now, but it was safer for me to open it and start to maintain it now. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you.

My pool is at 45deg right now and it’s only going to get warmer at my end. My pool is balanced and the solar cover is on. Filter running. All is set. Safer to do it that way than to allow algae to grow. ?
 
bluskyguy said:
My pool is surrounded by trees and as I said pollen is kicking. With a winter safety cover, no light is getting in. I feel the minute I take the cover off, the maintenance starts. It will be another month easily before pool temp is swimable. I dont think my SWG works until at least 60 degrees either. Some of you are saying wait and others open now. I guess its a personal choice at this point.
Click to expand...

Are you sure your cover blocks UV? Just because it is black/dark doesn't mean it blocks UV. It isn't a mesh safety cover? You can wait and push your luck but should open. It only takes a gallon of bleach every day or so to make sure you don't get algae. Have you tested the temp? I am at 63 in MD so you being further South you have to be close to 70.
 

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noelc said:
I've actually opened my pool but left cover on. Any issues with keeping the cover on, even though the pool is open and filter pump running? We do peel back the cover to hop in the spa.

Everything is balanced and will kick on the Salt generator next since water is just above 60.

First time opening and I want to keep cover on since I have some nasty pollen and flowers dropping from cherry and maple trees.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
? I don’t think that should be a problem. I mean, As long as you balance your pool chemicals accordingly, you should be fine. The pool water is at the right location of the skimmer right? That way, your pool water is circulating accordingly. Sorry, on my phone and can’t see your signature that describes your pool. Did you ever test your pool for FC, CC, etc when you opened it?
 
My winter safety cover is totally opaque and solid (not a mesh). I actually have to pump water off the cover when it rains and/or the snow melts. The most I get in the pool are a few worms and what little dirt that works under the cover. I don't sweat the water temperature. I don't even check it until it is convenient for me to open the pool. The worst I've had is a slight green tinge to the water (still clear all the way to the bottom of the deep end). It has worked this way for me for the last five years. Getting away from a mesh cover was the best move I ever made. This year we added an auto cover so we will see if I have the same luck next year. Your millage may vary. I have not had an algae outbreak since I learned the TFP method five years ago.
 
bluskyguy said:
My pool is surrounded by trees and as I said pollen is kicking. With a winter safety cover, no light is getting in. I feel the minute I take the cover off, the maintenance starts. It will be another month easily before pool temp is swimable. I dont think my SWG works until at least 60 degrees either. Some of you are saying wait and others open now. I guess its a personal choice at this point.
Click to expand...

What have y’all done previously, or is this your first year opening? I just use a solar cover through the cold months and keep everything running and my temperature just hit 80* a couple days ago so I don’t think you’d be a whole lot cooler as I’m only a couple hours from you. Temperatures supposed to be in the 80’s this week and the cool nights are gone so I wouldn’t wait much longer.

Salty
 
Mendy48 said:
? I don’t think that should be a problem. I mean, As long as you balance your pool chemicals accordingly, you should be fine. The pool water is at the right location of the skimmer right? That way, your pool water is circulating accordingly. Sorry, on my phone and can’t see your signature that describes your pool. Did you ever test your pool for FC, CC, etc when you opened it?
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yes, pool water is at the correct level. If anything I have to lower now with all the rain. Opened it by balanced all the chemicals and also doing a shock to increase FC and lower CC. At the moment water is at 60 so I have turned on the SWG generator to see if it generates chlorine. May need to add some bleach if necessary. SI is 0 at the moment.

Really the pool is fully functional, just cold with the cover on. But we are having plenty of days 70+ that I didn't want to take any chances of opening with Algae with a mesh cover.

I didn't think there would be any issues leaving a cover on, but thought I would ask. Any risk to the cover with chlorine?
 
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