You might not think about your swimming pool during the chilly winters of Ohio, but proper pool maintenance is essential all year long. Therefore, you need to focus on pool maintenance during the winter and to make sure your pool is ready all year long.

Here are some tips for maintaining your swimming pool in the Winter:

Keep the pool clean

Brushing the floor and walls and vacuuming the whole pool every couple of weeks help prevent algae from forming. Cleaning the pump’s lint basket of leaves and skimmer baskets also helps make sure the filtration system works efficiently.

Maintain pool water balance

The pool’s pH level needs to be between 7.2 and 7.6. You can check it by taking a water sample from elbow deep and add the appropriate treatment to bring the pool to the correct level. If you are not sure about the process, take the specimen to the local pool specialist, as they can measure it for you.

Clean the filter

Make sure that the pool’s filter is cleaned regularly, as any oil or grease deposits will harden over winter and make the filter even harder to clean in the warmer months.

Check the chlorine levels

If you want to keep your pool clear and clean, it is essential to maintain it with chlorine at a constant level of 2-3 PPM (parts per million) throughout winter. If you are using a pool blanket and a salt chlorinator, remember to reduce the output of the chlorinator to 1-2 PPM, as pool blankets trap chlorine and chemicals. It may cause high chlorine levels to occur – potentially damaging pool equipment if not monitored carefully.

Use shock treatment

The use of shock treatment in your pool helps remove inorganic and organic wastes (referred to as chloramines). It includes dead bugs, bird droppings, suntan lotion, and sweat. It also ensures that the sanitizer can be concrete in killing algae and bacteria instead of the contaminants. Once you add an appropriate shock treatment to the pool, run both the filter and pump for several hours to make sure even distribution throughout the pool.

Remove algae as soon as you see it

When there is an algae bloom, most of the sanitizer in your pool tries to control and kill the algae leaving behind no residual to keep the pool water healthy and clean. A good algaecide provides year-round protection against algae without any constant use.

Use pool cover

Rolling out the pool cover when you are not using the pool helps keep the leaves and organic materials out of the water. It helps make sure you do not have to clean much, and it directly leads to less food for bugs and algae. In addition, blankets and pool cover helps to minimize the chemical evaporation-saving money and time.

Follow maintenance schedule

Once you complete the winter preparation, you must keep a weekly maintenance schedule even if you are not using the pool. It involves doing a visual inspection to make sure all the equipment is working properly, checking the water level and topping it up if necessary, checking the pH level, chlorine and emptying the skimmer basket.

Drain some water out

You’d not want to drain out all the water out of your swimming pool for the winters. After all, you might not want to waste water when you re-open the pool for the spring and summer after few months. However, you may think about draining little water out of your pool. For example, you should not drain all the water out for the Winter that way you don’t waste all the water for when you reopen the pool in the Summer. However, a few inches below the skimmer is good to prevent freezing. Draining the water out of your pool filter, pump and heater will protect them from freezing-related damage during the Winter.

Open your pool as soon as you can

It is a good idea to go ahead and stock up on chemicals and other essentials now so that you can open your pool for the season as soon as the time comes.

Conclusion

It’s important to prepare your pool for the Winter and keep it in good shape until the Summer. It is best to open the pool as soon as you notice the temperature rising. It will allow you and your family to get more enjoyment out of the swimming pool. It will also help to prevent algae growth once the temperature starts to rise.