Winterizing a swimming pool involves adjusting water chemistry, clearing plumbing lines and covering the pool for the winter.
First of all, it seems like every pool professional who winterizes swimming pools has a different definition and process of winterization. This articles is not meant to define an exact process for winterizing, nor is it to cover every detail of it. Instead, let's overview the fundamentals of what needs to occur when a pool is winterized.
In short, pool winterization is the process of closing the pool and preparing the water for the winter months ahead.
Here are several podcast episodes that elaborate:
Equipment and plumbing winterization
We strongly advise hiring a pool professional to help you with these steps.
If your pool is located in a climate that will freeze every winter, water needs to be removed from the equipment and pipes. If water is not cleared from the equipment and plumbing, freezing will expand the water, and it can fracture pipes and cause a leak. Worse than that, we have seen filters and other pool equipment break open from frozen water inside.
It is critical to not just drain water out of the system! There is a sequence for this that should be followed per the equipment manufacturers' instructions. Certified pool professionals should be trained by manufacturers before doing this.
The pipes should also be blown out with compressed air to remove the water, then plugged. This requires lowering the pool water level down to below the inlets. Do not drain your pool below the inlets unless you are properly trained to do so. Lowering water can cause other problems if not done correctly, especially in vinyl liner pools.
Water chemistry winterization
Read this: Proactive Pool Winterization (blog)
Then this: How to winterize a swimming pool (procedure)
In short, water needs enough calcium to keep it LSI-balanced during the coldest months of the year. Either you give it the calcium it craves, or the water will have to find it on its own.
