During the cold winter months pool water tends to stay clear with very little help. Generally algae does not appear and I hardly ever see a pool turn green. Any algae growth that does occur is extremely slow.
Of course winterizing is ideal, but many of our pools are not winterized. To these we add an occasional dose of chlorine and run the pump at least once a week. Vacuuming requirements are negligible – once every 3 or 4 weeks is plenty under normal circumstances.
Winterized pools? We cover them and forget them until April or May, which is so much easier.
At the end of the day it is the pool owner who makes the decision and either way we are happy; our pools are always clear and blue.
So not winterizing is more labor intensive but can be a lot cheaper.
Interesting!
I never winterize because I prefer to kepp the pool going. I have a water feature and love the sound of gushing cascading water.
Since we live in Florida, we don’t winterize. There is not too much maintenance or chemicals needed in the winter here. But we do keep it vacuumed in order to eliminate stains and buildup of debris in the filter.
Rosemary
The type of swimming pool you have also dictates the importance, time and cost of winterizing a pool. For example the importance of winterizing a vinyl lined above ground pool is the highest because they can be the most fragile in harsh weather conditions. The vinyl liner to these types of pools can rip easily and needs to be fully shielded from winter weather conditions. A new liner for an above ground pool can cost anywhere from $100 to $500 depending on the size of your pool.
Yep. Winterizing is great. Quick and Easy. Keeping your pool open all year round is alot of work! Just make sure your lines don’t freeze, that can be bad!
I Agree it should not take to much money , when living in a area with wind worse that temperature . We have all kinds of winterizing supplies and helpful hints.
Very nice article. You are right on in saying that you really don’t hace to do much with your pool during winter months. I was asking pool professional about this and to my surprise they almost exactly what you wrote about. Keep up the good information about pools
Great post, this is the first i have seen this product, I find that there are a lot of people that struggle with their pools during the winter months and I think that this product will be very useful.
Many people have outdoor hot tubs that they use throughout the winter. HeatTrak manufactures heated mats specifically for hot tub owners to be able to get to the tub safely and comfortably.
You could also try a professionell cover for your pool.
Total Pool Warehouse made a very good point. The decision to Winterize a pool or not Winterize a pool depends quite a bit on the location of the pool. Anyone daring NOT to Winterize in areas where ground freeze, below freezing temperatures, and heavy precipitation occur for more than a few days will undoubtedly have quite an expensive mess to clean up come Springtime. Even people living in areas where the temperatures drop to non-swimming levels should consider the merits of at least covering their pool to prevent debris such as leaves and dirt from entering the water, settling to the bottom, and potentially causing staining. In the end, though, the decision rests w/ the pool owner so we advise all pool owners to do their homework before blindly accepting ANYone’s advice on ANY pool care topic.
Just put a cover on your pool! You don’t have to winterize or worry about algae! It saves you money and if you live in four seasons weather all you have to do is close the pool during the winter. Then during the warm weather all you do is open the pool with a simple switch and close it when your done. It keeps the pool warm, clean, safe, and saves you money all year-round!
Pool care in winter is a huge challenge among our clients. Another problem is that debris enters the pool area and t’s left until swimming season comes again.
I agree with your post.and that is really good info for the cleaning the hot tub in winter weather.And this is not so expensive.thanks for this info.
We live in Arizona and we continue to maintain our pools in the winter. However, we do turn down the running time of the filters and hardly use any chemicals. We’re also able to lengthen the life of the salt systems because we’re able to turn them off for weeks at a time because the chlorine residual stays in the pool a lot longer during the winter. Also, we’ve found that breaking up chlorine tabs allows the pool to absorb the chlorine better in the winter. Hope these tips help someone!
I totally agree, swimming pool owners really do need to keep their swimming pools in top condition all year around which means even in the winter and cold months. If a pool is not looked after in these months too your swimming pool will be left more prone to damage or will not be useable once the summer weather is back.
Some simple swimming pool tips and mantanence can help to keep any swimming pool in top condition. We have some great tips and guides on swimming pool water treatment which are well worth a read if your not sure on what can be done to keep your pool water in top shape.
Thank you for the info, I think it’s really helpful info about Pool care in winter, I will keep in mind your site if some one asking me about things that you mentioned.
Winterizing in So Cal is as easy as running your equipment after7pm, and running it for shorter periods. Chemical consumption is limited. You still ned to pay your service though, problems with equipment or PH can cost much more than the monthly fee
Keeping in mind that water self lock (water chemistry) at 59 degrees makes it very mainenance free when water reaches this desired temperature. Colder regions of the world have lower maintenance in the winter months. More maintenance and more water activity (chemically speaking) in the warmer regions of the world.
Winterizing during the off season is very important. Protect your investment as you do during the swim season.