I had turned off the filter for a week to get the closing process started, and went to finish and put cover on to find the water level had drained to below the skimmer. Applying the cover revealed the issue of wind whipping under the side, even with a TON of water that I frantically put on the cover to try to weight it down. So at the time I pulled off the cover and ordered some products to help - wind cover clips + long water bags.
Now after 2-3 weeks of delays the items are here and I realized I neglected to shock/add chlorine....so the bottom of the pool is covered in these brown piles of dirt/algae. With the water below the skimmer, I can't run the pump to power the vacuum and clean up the dirt before re-applying the cover and finishing up the rest of closing. I had tried vacuuming a month ago but the suction created from the skimmer was terrible, or I didn't get ALL the air out of the hose....or both. The PSI was around 25 but I never checked it when I first bought the pool so I don't know the normal level. The return jets were much weaker than before so I believe there is a filter clog issue I need to resolve -- if the water level were at the skimmer.
Basically I am wondering if it's okay to just plug the lines and cover until April/May or if this will cause some serious expensive issues if I don't refill/vacuum/fix high pressure issue? I can't effectively shock without a running filter either, and it would be a waste of money without fixing the sediment first.
I can technically vacuum the pool with my shop vac, but I would be doing 20-30 seconds at a time before emptying the water. This situation is a mess because I didn't want to cough up $500+ $75/30min vacuuming for someone to come clean/close after seeing the national average is 150-275, but now I'm regretting it.
Now after 2-3 weeks of delays the items are here and I realized I neglected to shock/add chlorine....so the bottom of the pool is covered in these brown piles of dirt/algae. With the water below the skimmer, I can't run the pump to power the vacuum and clean up the dirt before re-applying the cover and finishing up the rest of closing. I had tried vacuuming a month ago but the suction created from the skimmer was terrible, or I didn't get ALL the air out of the hose....or both. The PSI was around 25 but I never checked it when I first bought the pool so I don't know the normal level. The return jets were much weaker than before so I believe there is a filter clog issue I need to resolve -- if the water level were at the skimmer.
Basically I am wondering if it's okay to just plug the lines and cover until April/May or if this will cause some serious expensive issues if I don't refill/vacuum/fix high pressure issue? I can't effectively shock without a running filter either, and it would be a waste of money without fixing the sediment first.
I can technically vacuum the pool with my shop vac, but I would be doing 20-30 seconds at a time before emptying the water. This situation is a mess because I didn't want to cough up $500+ $75/30min vacuuming for someone to come clean/close after seeing the national average is 150-275, but now I'm regretting it.
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