Swimming Pool Covering and Uncovering Services

Closing and opening a swimming pool for your enjoyment is crucial to your pool’s care. A total pool maintenance schedule must include procedure for closing your swimming pool for the winter and opening it for the season in the spring. As Olympic great Mark Spitz said, “If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.”

You can do it yourself, but it takes time and professional expertise to get it right.

Why close the swimming pool?

Closing the pool correctly in the fall makes opening it for the following season easier. Depending on the climate zone, you’ll want to close the pool a few weeks before you expect the weather to turn cold. Deep cold conditions will damage inground and above ground pools, sometimes permanently.

Freezing water expands. Without attention, it may crack your pool walls and foundation. But, it certainly will hurt pipes, valves, pumps, and filters. Left to survive the winter, the pool and equipment may present expensive repair and replacement costs.

Freezing winters may not threaten the warmest geographical locations. But, the late fall is still a good date to prepare the pool for heavier use in the spring. For example, it you act after the water dips below 60 degrees, you will inhibit the growth of algae.

Give the water a head start

The winter months, filled with holidays and travel, keep you preoccupied with things other than the pool. So, you start by getting the water right to remain clean and “healthy” through the winter.

Test and correct the water’s pH factor. Correct it to 7.2 to 7.5. Correct the pool alkalinity until it is at 80 to 120 ppm, the calcium at 175 to 250 ppm, and chlorine at 1 to 3 ppm. And, add algaecide to kill and prevent algae growth while pool is not in use.
Use pool brushes, nets, skimmers, and vacuums to clean the pool bottom and walls thoroughly. You must remove all sand, gravel, leaves, twigs, and toys.

Water must be lowered and all piping drained. The pool water should be lowered below drain vents. That provides the opportunity to remove ladders, handrails, baskets, and anything else in the water. Flush pumps, heaters, and chlorinates. Backwash filters and all parts that can be removed, rinsed, and stored. And, blow water from pipes to prevent their freezing and bursting.

Cover the pool right

Anchored canvas pool covers stretch taught across the pool. Such covers must be sized to the pool to keep the elements out of the water, but they are child and per proof.

Other covers float on the surface of the water. Some are fitted to the pool size, but others sit on the water and up the sides of the pool and over the coping to the deck. Pool owners often use sandbags to secure the cover and/or add enough water to the floating cover to weight it down into place.

If your pool is in an area prone to high winds or heavy rains and snows, the cover must stay put, and you must keep it clean of anything that would load it down too much.

Or, you can leave it to us

American Pools & Spas in Columbia South Carolina has you covered for all of your swimming pool needs. Call or visit our showroom today!