What does it mean to Winterise your pool?

As the summer weather draws to an end you may be wondering what you need to do to your pool over the winter. Unless you’ve had a pool for over a year you may not know what it means to Winterise. Simply it means to prepare your pool for winter.

If you choose to leave your pool as it is and not winterise you run the risk of damaging your pool. Frost can damage any area containing water such as the pipes, pumps, and heater and therefore incurring expensive fees to get your pool up and running come the spring. If left uncovered and untreated you may face problems such as pipe failure, excessive scale build-up, green sludgy water, stained tiles due to leaves and a mountain of insects who have found a home or grave in your beloved pool.

Here are some simple steps to protect your pool and its accessories:

• Buy your winterising pool chemicals
• Firstly remove your summer cover, give it a good clean and store it somewhere dry and safe preferably away from little creatures that may decide it looks tasty.
• Balance the calcium levels to at least 200ppm.
• Check and raise your pH levels and ensure they are slightly higher than usual.
• Shock treat your pool to ensure help your algaecide performs better. By removing all debris and organic matter there will be nothing for the algae to eat, so it is less likely to develop.
• Add your algaecide, there are many great products available, we recommend Blue Horizons Winter Time as it is a great algaecide, prevents scale build-up and staining and can cope with fluctuating Ph.
• To avoid frost damage it is recommended that you place bungs into the water outlets so that rainwater does not enter pipes and freeze.
• Clear the skimmer pipelines of all water.
• Empty the pump, filter, and heater.
• Store the pump in a warm dry place.
• Your pool may also benefit from a floating chlorine dispenser to help your algaecide if your pool is susceptible to water dilution.
• Finally invest in a really good winter pool cover, one that can be customised to fit your pool to prevent leaves and other debris from blowing in.

With all this, in place, your pool should not need regular winter services, but a mid-winter check is advisable. Now you can relax in the knowledge that your pool will be ready to easily open once we are blessed with some sun once more.