Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Don't Wait Too Late to Prepare Your Pool for Summer Fun

Winterizing chemicals only last through the winter! 

As temperatures rise in the spring, the water under the pool cover begins to heat up. Even though the pool is not exposed to the sun, the warm water under the cover begins to encourage the growth of bacteria, water molds and algae. Very quickly, any traces of sanitizing chemicals left in the water disappear as they react with the growing organisms. This leaves the pool water unprotected. This has now become the perfect environment for bacteria, water molds and algae to grow and multiply very rapidly.

Problems always cost more than prevention!

Some pool owners think they are saving money by waiting until the end of May or early June to uncover and begin operating their pool for summer. This couldn't be further from the truth.

Consider the following, CHEMICALLY, you would need:

For a really green 10,000 gallon pool, you would need, on the average at least 10 lbs (usually much more) of a superchlorinating product, a bottle of flocculant, a bottle of stronger-more costly algaecide to fix the problem.

For the same sized pool, opened 4 weeks earlier, you would need on the average 1lbs of superchlorinating product per week, 2-3 Smart Sticks per week, 3 ounces of algaecide per week.

Not factored into the first scenario above...YOUR TIME and TROUBLE!

BELOW: Steps to open your above ground pool: (For a personal prescription and friendly advice, bring us a water sample! We will tailor your opening to your needs.)




Plan to attend Pool School at POOLCO!

Clean the cover with BioGuard StowAway (or it WILL SMELL really, really bad next fall when you need to winterize your pool!) Do yourself a favor and dispose of any cover that has developed pinholes from the cover fabric pulling apart (or you will be pumping pool water from under the cover next spring when you open the pool....)



Tighten all hose connections -  SUPER TIGHT! 
Tighten connections
The manufacture of flexible filter system connection hose recommends changing these annually. 

Biofilms develop inside the hoses that will require additional chemical treatment. 

In addition to this, the sun is very harsh and drying on the plastic. The bend in the hose can crack and then leak (and unwanted "fountain"...)





Remove skimmer plate.
How high is the water level? If there is enough water added to the pool - and the water is clear (you can easily see the bottom) - then beginning running the filter system.

Immediately test and chemically treat the pool water.  Winterizing chemicals are often used up by end of April, sometimes sooner, if winter and spring temperatures were above average.


Bring a sample of water (16 ounce) to POOLCO for a complete water analysis. We will make opening dosage recommendations and customize your instructions based on your pool's needs, your budget and your time!

Run the filter 24 hours a day for several days until the water clarity and chemical balance are perfect! Then you may reduce filter time to 8 - 12 hours per day (with the use of a timer - or you WILL forget to run filter!)

** If there is a layer of fine dirt (or worse) on the bottom of the pool you must remove this from the pool. Come see us with a water sample for how to best handle this situation.




Our friendly advice is always free!

3 comments:

  1. Thanks a lot for sharing such interesting and useful information. While choosing the hot tub spa chemicals, make sure that it is compatible with your water Ph level and skin conditions.

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  2. It is very necessary to prepare your pool before you start it for summers.. One should use high quality replacement filters to keep the pool water clean so as to fully enjoy swimming in it.

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  3. No need to plan before because now it is very easy to clean the pool on time. Cartridges which is used in the filters for cleaning, can remove the debris, bugs, grime and keep it in a good condition. Cartridges have a time period so generally people have to replace it after the limit of execution. Pool filters cartridges are easy to use and keep water pure for swimming.

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