A few things you can be doing during the colder months that will help you come next year…
So winter is upon us and most of you began winterizing our swimming pools back in September. If you’re wondering if you’ve winterized your pool properly and are ready for cold months click here. There’s also a lot of states that “technically” don’t do anything special for their pool this time of year (Arizona, parts of CA, NV, and many others).
Regardless of where you reside there’s a few things that we can (and should) be doing this time of year to be prepared for the next swim season… 
Here’s a few ideas…
1. Great time for basic equipment maintenance such as a sand chage, DE clean, replace o-rings (at the pump and the backwash valve and filter).
2. Have any return side water leaks that need to be addressed? Common spots are directly about the pump angle prior to water being filtered and then again at the push/pull valve as filtered water makes its way back to the pool. If you have a top or side mount multi port valve, be sure to check it out and replace the spider gasket (nothing more than an o-ring). This is a great time to do any plumbing work and get rid of the “bandaids” you may have used to “get by” during the warmer months.
3. Do a swimming pool drain/refill to bring in fresh water. This can do wonders for calcium issues and TDS (total dissolved solids). Ever notice that you’re adding more chems than you used to add and actually get the same or less result? TDS, water hardness and other “buildups” that naturally take place over time cause your water to become aggressive and nonreactive. This is something I wouldn’t consider for most until Feb/March (to protect the surface of your pool). It’s just too cold out currently in most of the country (in CA, AZ, NV and a few others you’d have to do it very quickly). While the pool is drained you may consider doing an acid bath to clean up the surface a bit.
If you reside in a state where it’s not necessary to drain the pool this time of year, be sure to cutback on the amount of hours you’re running the equipment. During the swim season you’d like about 8 hours (or enough time where one complete cycle of water gets turned over). During winter months you can cut this amount of time in half. Also, check with your utility company and the time plan you’re on…make sure you’re running during “non peak” hours – this will save you a few bucks a month.
Set yourself up for success for the next swim season…you and your family will be glad you took some time now to do some “loose ends”.
You’ll be happier than this dog…
This Dog Did Proper Swimming Pool Maintenance In The Off Season...
Take care,
Terry
P.S. Feel free to shoot me an email with any questions you’ve got or items that you’d like to see get addressed. Your feedback helps all of us.
