12 tips to winterize your pool properly
1.CLEAR UP ANY EXSISITING PROBLEMS
If any pool problems exist, such as combined chlorine, cloudy water, or algae growth, these issues need to be
resolved before the pool is winterized
2. HAVE YOUR WATER TESTED and BALANCE YOUR WATER
Although your water could be perfectly balanced all summer when it comes time to close the water balance must prepare the pool for freezing as opposed to preparing the pool for swimming. Bring in a water sample to avoid corrosion or scaling in your pool.
3. CLEAN THE SOLAR BLANKET
Using Spray On Cover Cleaner, clean the solar cover with a nylon bristle pool brush and then roll it and store it wet. Storing it with Stow Away still on the blanket will reduce the ability for mold and mildew to grow and may extend the life of your solar cover.
4. PERFORM HOUSKEEPING CHORES
Brush and vacuum the pool.
Clean the water line on the liner with Clean and Perfect.
5. CLEAN YOUR FILTER MEDIA
Use BioGuard Filter Brite or Dazzle Filter Cleanse to ensure that your filter media is clean and ready for spring season. This product will remove oils, greases and other particles from the filter. Doing this in fall is easier while the filter is still wet. Left until spring, those particles may be more difficult to remove, reducing the efficiency of the filter.
6. LOWER THE WATER LEVEL
Use a submersible pump to lower the water to below the pool’s return outlets (jets).
7. OXIDIZE SUMMER WASTES
Add BioGuard Hiber Shock or Dazzle Amaze around the edges of the pool. This will oxidize off non-filterable wastes. Brush behind the application to distribute the product throughout the pool.
8. PROTECT POOL FROM ALGAE
Treat the pool with BioGuard Hibernate Algaecide II or Dazzle Algae Resist 50. This will prevent any algae from growing in your pool over the winter. When the pool is left untreated, it is a natural breeding ground for algae.
9. PROTECT POOL FROM STAINING AND SCALING
Prevent staining and scaling due to metals in the pool by adding BioGuard Hibernate Stain and Scale Inhibitor or Dazzle Stain and Scale Cleanse. The cold temperatures over the winter can lead to staining and scaling
formation.
10. WINTERIZING THE POOL EQUIPMENT
- Drain water from filter, heater, pump, hoses, and pipes. Make sure electricity and/or gas are shut off.
- Protect with BioGuard Hibernate Deluxe Antifreeze or Dazzle Eco Preferred Antifreeze.
- Chemically clean the cell of your mineral springs unit.
- The chlorinator should be drained and flushed but antifreeze should not be added.
NOTE: keep all the parts removed from pool equipment in a safe, easy place to find.
11. RAISE THE WATER LEVEL
Raise the pool water level above the pool returns to 3” below the skimmer faceplate. This keeps the pool structure more stable and assists in preventing “floating” liners.
12. COVER THE POOL
Install the pool cover and optional leaf net. Use the appropriate sized water bags to hold the winter cover in place. These bags will minimize the possibility of the Blanket tearing and/or falling into the pool
If you decide not to cover the pool or wish to use a mesh cover, you will need to add a second treatment of
BioGuard Hiber Shock or Amaze just before the water freezes. * Make sure to have an extra litre of Spray On Cover Cleaner to chemically clean your cover in the spring! *
