SORRY to be a BOTHER! First time above ground KS resident need HELP, PLEASE!

[Cjo]

I've put off closing the pool because of the mild 70-80º weather and basic ignorance! But with 25º temps coming this weekend hubby says I've got to get it in GEAR! I made a huge mistake of following some ill-gotten advice from some friends who allowed their pool to "go green" as the season was ending.... I was unaware they were planning to get a new liner for next season, so was just following their lead... Now that I've realized their mistake, I have a FILTHY pool! and do not know what my next step needs to be to winterize. I have an 18'x48' above ground Coleman 6,000 gal, steel frame. Filter is Hayward Sand Filter Model VL40T32. Obviously, this is the original filter and not the newer Hayward..... Can anyone give me advice where to start? Should I go ahead and try to get it cleaner to winterize? the water is a good 4" below the intake skimmer/valve.... Again, I'm sorry to be so unknowledgeable ....

Anxiety driven....

Cjo

18'x48' above ground Coleman 6,000 gal, steel frame. Filter is Hayward Sand Filter Model VL40T32.

 

[dsmith99]

You will never get it cleaned up in a couple days before cold weather arrives so you're either closing it dirty or draining it. If it were mine I would drain it, clean it up and take it down. For a small pool like that it will take less time to drain it and clean it up, then you can start fresh in the spring. You will probably need to drain a good bit of water just to close it anyway.

If you leave it up you will need to drain the pool below the filter lines (or plug off the two lower lines) so you can remove all the hoses from the pool. After the filter is disconnected you can then cover the pool with a winter cover. For the filter, remove the valve from the top of the filter, remove the drain plug/cap at the bottom to drain all the water from the filter tank and cover the top opening in the tank. When I had a sand filter I always left the heavy tank outside but covered it then stored the pump and valve inside where it's warm.

It will take a lot of work and several gallons of liquid chlorine in the spring to get it cleaned up. Always a chance the nasty water may damage or stain your liner over the winter. If you go that route I would get it up and running early in the spring while the water is still cold, it will clean up quicker than if you wait and the water gets warm and the algae starts blooming.

 

[kimkats]

Purrfect advice up there ^^^^^ THANKS!

Let us know which way you want to go and we can help you.

Kim

 

[MarianParoo]

And btw, you are not a BOTHER!!!!

 

[Texas Splash]

Cjo, I deleted your duplicate post for this same issue. You have good advice above. Good luck.