Closing your pool

Winterizing is the most important thing you can do to make your spring pool opening as easy as possible. There are enormous benefits to correctly closing your pool, including:

• Protecting your pool surfaces and equipment; protecting your investments

• Keeping water looking its best all winter long

• Protecting equipment from freeze damage

• Saving time and money on extra maintenance when you open your pool

Whether you completely cover your pool or just reduce maintenance, BioGuard® can make winterizing painless. Convenient Arctic Blue® Winter Kits​ include the products you need for cold weather care.

1. HAVE YOUR WATER TESTED Although your water could be perfectly balanced all summer when it comes time to close the water balance must prepare the pool for freezing as opposed to preparing the pool for swimming. Bring in a water sample to avoid algae, liner wrinkling, cover degradation, corrosion or scaling in your pool.

2. CLEAN UP ANY EXISTING PROBLEMS If any pool problems exist, such as combined chlorine, cloudy water, or algae growth, these issues need to be resolved before the pool is winterized.

3. CLEAN YOUR SOLAR BLANKET Using BioGuard Stow Away®, clean the solar cover with a nylon bristle pool brush and then roll it and store it wet. Storing it with Stow Away still on the blanket will reduce the ability for mold and mildew to grow and may extend the life of your solar cover.

4. PERFORM HOUSEKEEPING CHORES

• Brush and vacuum the pool.

• Clean the water line on the liner with BioGuard Off The Wall®

5. CLEAN YOUR FILTER MEDIA Use BioGuard Kleen It® or Strip Kwik® to ensure that your filter media is clean and ready for spring season. These products will remove oils, greases and other particles from the filter. Doing this in fall is easier while the filter is still wet. Left until spring, those particles may be more difficult to remove, reducing the efficiency of the filter.

6. OXIDIZE Add BioGuard Arctic Blue® Shock around the edges of the pool. This will oxidize off non-filterable wastes. Brush after application to distribute the product throughout the pool.

7. PROTECT THE POOL FROM ALGAE Treat the pool with BioGuard Arctic Blue® Algae Protector. This will prevent any algae from growing in your pool over the winter. When the pool is left untreated, it is a natural breeding ground for algae.

8. PROTECT POOL FROM STAINING AND SCALING Prevent staining and scaling due to metals in the pool by adding BioGuard Pool Closing Complete®. The cold temperatures over the winter can lead to staining and scaling formation.

9. WINTERIZING THE POOL EQUIPMENT

• Drain water from filter, heater, pump, hoses, and pipes. Make sure electricity and/or gas are shut off.

• Protect with Pool Safe Anti-Freeze

• Blow out all skimmer and return lines utilizing your winter plugs and gizzmo's

• Chemically clean the salt cell.

• If you have a tablet dispensing chlorinator, it should be drained and flushed but antifreeze should not be added.

NOTE: keep all the summer parts removed from pool equipment in a safe, easy place to find.

10. COVER THE POOL Raise anchors or fill water tubes. Install the pool cover and optional leaf net. Use the appropriate sized water bags to hold the winter cover in place. These bags will minimize the possibility of the blanket tearing and/or falling into the pool.

11. OFF-SEASON TREATMENT:(Mesh Covers or covers with a mesh drain) For every warm month the pool is closed add 1-Qt. BioGuard Back up2 or Algae All 60 per 25K of pool water. Dilute in a 5 gallon pail of water and pour around the edge of the pool; through the cover. Typically a dose in Oct, Nov, early April and a dose early/mid May is best, depending on when you close the pool/open.

**As all pool equipment is different, this is a general guide only and The Spa Shop assumes no liability. To have your pool professionally closed, please contact spashopflanders@gmail.com