Make Sure The Ph Is Perfect
Your pools pH level is a measure of how acidic or basic the water is. The lower the level, the more acidic the water is. The higher it is, the more basic the water is.
If your water is acidic, add a base to lower the acidity. If your waters too basic, add a pH increaser to bring it into proper balance.
Remember, youre shooting for a pH in the range of 7.4 to 7.6. And as with alkalinity, a higher level is better when youre winterizing.
The Duo Behind The Countach
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It took a special team to invent, design, and build the Lamborghini Countach. Without Paolo Stanzani and Marcello Gandini, the Countach would have never become a reality. Stanzani was responsible for the mechanical part of the Countach as he was the head engineer. His efforts on the very first Countach have helped make all the models powerful adversaries in the supercar world.
Yet, the engineering would not have occurred without the futurized design concept of leading design director Gandini of Carrozzeria Bertone. It was thanks to Gandini that the Countach possessed clean and futuristic designs. Additionally, it was Gandinis idea to bless the prototype and subsequent V12 models with the iconic scissor doors that became much loved by the Lamborghini fan base.
Clean Your Filter And Other Pool Equipment
With your swimming pool clean and balanced, next is your pool equipment. Heres what to focus on:
- Pool filter
- Skimmer basket
- Pool pump basket
To clean a cartridge filter, take off the top housing, and remove the cartridges. From there, clean the cartridges using a filter cleaner or soapy water. Then, rinse them clean with a hose, and replace or store them once dry.
If you have a sand filter, set your filter valve to backwash and run your pump. Alternatively, you can also use a special sand filter cleaner.
To clean a DE filter, simply backwash it. For added measure, you can also remove the grids, rinse them off with a hose, and add a cup of DE powder through the skimmer.
Before moving on:
- Open up your skimmer lid and clean out the basket
- Clean out your pool pump basket
IMPORTANT: At this point, leave your pool pump running for the next 24 hours
2a.) Service your pool heater and filter pump
Most guides on closing your inground pool dont mention this, which is unfortunate. Especially considering the hundreds, if not thousands of pool owners who open their pool each year, only to discover that water isnt flowing, or that their heater isnt warming up.
No one wants to swim in a cold, dirty pool.
Servicing your pool heater and pump extends their lifespans and keeps them running at peak performance. Both of which saves you money on energy costs, and expensive repairs.
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What Is A Winter Pool Cover
The name is pretty self-explanatory, but you may be asking what the difference is between a winter pool cover and any other type of pool cover. Its easy to explain:
- Automatic Pool Cover: An inground cover deployed by an automated mechanism. It sits very close to the top of the water, and below the lip of the pool.
- Solar Pool Cover: A blanket made up of bubbled plastic , it sits directly on top of the water and concentrates solar energy to heat the water below it.
- Pool Safety Cover: A strong cover secured by pins or ties, it lies flat over an inground pool, even with the deck. Its pulled taut, and while it does keep debris out, its primary purpose is to prevent people and animals from falling into the pool.
- Winter Pool Cover: A plain cover laid over the pool, and secured on the deck with water-filled bags. On above ground pools, a winter cover sits on top of the pool and is secured to the walls with cable tied through grommets and tightened with a winch. Its purpose is to keep debris out of the water while the pool is closed, and it offers little to no safety benefit.
If you dont have children, and you dont have any worries of pets or other animals possibly falling into the pool, a winter pool cover is all you need to protect the pool while its closed.
Give Your Pump And Filter A Leg Up
The summer might be vacation time for you, but the winter is when your pump takes some much needed time off. To take down your pump, remove all drain plugs from the pump and the filter. Youll also want to remove the pump itself, the chlorinator, and all hoses. Store all drain plugs in the pump basket for easy locating next spring, and keep the pump, chlorinator, and hoses in a dry, shaded area indoors. A garage, for instance, is perfect for the task.
As you might know, your filter is a holding place for all the gunk that it can pick up from your water as it circulates through. Yeah, youre going to want to drain them before storing them insideno way do you want that stuff sitting for long.
If you have a sand filter, set your multiport valve to winterize and remove the drain plug at the bottom. Allow the filter to completely drain. If your valves has any other extras, like a sight glass or a bleeder valve, remove those, too. If your filter is too heavy to carry inside, itll be fine as it is: outside, with all drain plugs removed.
For cartridge filters, just take the cartridge out, submerge it in water with pool filter cleaner, rinse it out, let it dry, and store it inside. Youll want to leave the valves open on your filter throughout the winter.
For diatomaceous earth filters drain all water out of the pump and filter, and then rinse off the grids with a hose to remove excess DE. Again, leave the valves open on this one.
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Add A Winterizing Chemical Kit
Many pool stores sell winterizing chemical kits that should last for the entire season. Use one of these in your pool and follow the manufacturers directions exactly.
Never mix chemicals or cleaners unless directed to do so. Pool chemicals are generally safe when used as directed, but combining them incorrectly could be dangerous or even deadly. This is particularly true if youre also using household cleaners in or around your pool.
How To Add An Automatic Cover To A Pool
Oftentimes, when people think of automatic pool covers, they think of the type built-in to the swimming pool and assume that since they didn’t add an automatic cover when first installing their pool, they can’t add one later. The good news is that most inground pools can add an automatic pool cover at any time, meaning it’s not too late for your inground pool to enjoy all the added benefits an automatic pool cover provides.
And guess, what? Adding an automatic pool cover to your existing pool is easier than you might think!
In this article, we’ll touch on the following aspects of automatic pool covers. Click on any topic to jump to that section:
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Phosphate Removers Affects Sequestrant Effectiveness
Assuming you use well water high in copper and iron. Somehow, these two metals find their way into the swimming pool. If left unchecked, the copper ions could turn your pool cloudy and green, while iron can give the pool surfaces a nasty rusty brown color.
So, you rush to the pool store and get a metal sequestrant to help get rid of them. The sequestrant is supposed to bind with the metals to prevent oxidation, thus preventing their effects on your swimming pool.
And since the most influential metal sequestrant products are phosphate-based and you add them in the same water that you added a phosphate remover, the effectiveness of the sequestrant will reduce.
The phosphate remover will lower the phosphate levels in the sequestrant, which are supposed to bond with the metal ions and prevent oxidation. That means the sequestrant will have little to no success in preventing the effect, meaning you wasted your valuable money on two fronts.
Pro Tip: If youre trying to deal with an algae problem by removing the phosphate levels in your swimming pool, it might not be as effective as you might want it to be. The algae presence is more likely to be caused by another underlying issue that the phosphate remover wont solve.
Simple Pool Equipment Covers
As a pool owner, you know that caring for your pool is essential for keeping the pool water crystal clear and beautiful. Whether you have an above ground pool or one in the ground with a pool liner, youll have a pump, filter, and possibly a heater. You dont have to invest in something expensive and fancy to hide your pool equipment. A simple wall or box is all you need.
Source: insular.com.au
A small storage box will fit just around these pieces of equipment to hide them away, dampen the sound they produce, and protect them from the seasonal weather elements. For the best protection, look for one with a lid that opens, vented sides, and hinged doors.
Measure the total length and width of your pool equipment. Then buy a box with dimensions that fit.If youre looking for something even simpler, you can place a vinyl screen around your equipment. These affordable screens are simple to assemble and are quick to erect. Just know that they dont cover the top of your equipment and may not withstand the abuse of being outside year-round, year after year, the way other materials can.
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Pool Equipment Covers With Hinged Lids
At some point, youll need to access your swimming pool equipment. This is when having a hinged lid or doors will come in handy. Youll be able to easily and quickly open the cover to access the storage area or work on your pools system.
The most common solution is to build a hinged lid into the top of the box. But this only works if the box isnt too large. Otherwise, youre going to be bending over the side of the enclosure.
Consider installing hinged doors on the front of your enclosure. This will let you access everything easily. For the most access, you could install both a lifting lid and hinged doors.
When designing the lifting lid, think about how it will stay open. If it cant stay open on its own, youll need to install a support bar or piston arms that can hold it open.
When To Winterize Your Pool
You should winterize your pool before temperatures drop below freezing in your area. Unfortunately, cold snaps can be unpredictable, and homeowners like you dont always have the opportunity to winterize things properly before it gets too cold outside.
In these cases, the best option is to keep your pump running and winterize your pool as soon as possible. Leaving the pump on will stop the water from freezing, but this could still cause problems if theres a power outage, so its better to winterize than leave the pump on all winter. If youre in really cold temperatures, you can also add antifreeze to your lines.
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Check Your Pool Chemistry
The next step for winterizing your pool is checking the pool chemistry. In particular, look at your pH, overall alkalinity, and calcium hardness. If these are all within the appropriate ranges for your pool, youre ready to start winterizing. If theyre not correct, adjust them as necessary.
Some people shock their pool before winterizing. If you havent done that in a little while, do it before checking and adjusting the rest of your pool chemistry.
Clean Your Swimming Pool Regularly
Use a pool brush to dislodge any debris that might be sticking pool floor and walls. Use a vacuum to remove them from the swimming pool entirely.
Cleaning out your skimmer can also help prevent phosphates from entering your water by removing debris that collects there during the week while you are not using it. Cleaning around this area is essential because phosphates get stuck in these areas, which turns into phosphates in the water.
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Winter Pool Cover Tip #: Mind The Water Level
Its important to keep an eye on your pools water level. If it drops more than an inch, it can stress the cover and the pool. If the pool loses 6-12 of water, with rain water pooling on top of the cover, it will damage the cover and possibly the pool. Fix leaks before closing, or add water under the cover if needed.
Also important to mind the water level on-top of of your winter cover. A small bit of rain water is OK, but more than that could stress the cover, and 6-12 of water will push pool water over the edges, lowering pool water .
Pump regularly with a pool cover pump like our manual or automatic 350 GPH pump or the non-electric Cover Saver siphon pump .
Pump the water a good distance, to avoid over-saturating ground near the pool,and be careful not to pump out pool water through holes in your winter cover! If the cover has small holes, place the pump far from holes, or use upside-down Frisbee as a pump base.
Metal Pool Equipment Storage Ideas
Choosing a metal box as your equipment pool cover can be an affordable and low maintenance option. Unlike wood, you dont need to do a lot to maintain the box. If you choose one made out of aluminum, then itll be rust and corrosion-resistant.
Source: insular.com.au
Metal boxes typically come in neutral colors and have a sleek, modern feel to them. This pairs well if you have a more modern home.When choosing your metal box, look for one that has slotted sides. This will help with air circulation through the box. Solid sides will be more effective at sound dampening, but can also encourage the temperature to rise too high.If youre looking for something slightly bigger, you can find ready-made metal shed kits. A kit can give you a bit more space for storage and provide you with an affordable structure. Youll find some that are freestanding and others that are designed to back up against the side of a building.
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Best Winter Pool Cover
That can be a hard one to answer, because we have such variety. But to help you make an informed decision, winter pool covers can be broken down into 3 groups solid, mesh and one that is a unique combination of the two.
SOLID COVERS: Winter covers are not just tarpaulins made stronger with a tighter weave and scrim and dipped several times to make it thicker and more resistant to sun and cold. Select your pool size and you will see five options, each one better than the previous, with warranty periods from 8-yrs to 20-yrs. We have covers to match every winter budget.
MESH COVERS: We offer two types of mesh covers for above ground pools, the Fine Mesh winter cover with the 3-yr warranty, and the patented Micro Mesh winter cover with an 8-yr warranty. Here again, you get what you pay for, as the more expensive cover will usually last longer and is less likely to rip or tear from wind, tree branches or heavy ice.
ULTIMATE 3000: This is a very heavy duty solid cover, the same fabric and construction as our 20-yr Solid Winter Cover, but it has a mesh strip sewn into the middle to allow rain and snow melt to drain into the pool. In addition, only the Ultimate 3000 attaches to the pool walls with heavy rubber straps and brackets. No cable and winch or Cover Clips needed!
Lower The Pools Water Level
If you live in a warm, dry climate, you can skip to the next step.
The reason for removing some water at the end of the season is to prevent freeze damage and, to a lesser degree, overflow. Ideally, your water level should be below the tile border, or the bottom edge of the skimmer if you dont have a tile line, or whichever is lower, if you have both. If you have thaws or a rainy winter, its a good idea to check the water level while the pool is closed.
The exact level to drain the water down to is determined by which type of cover youll be using, and the type of pool surface you have. The water helps support your cover, and the weight of any snow or debris that ends up on top, so its important to follow the manufacturers recommendations too.
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Are Phosphates A Problem
Phosphates are the number one food source for algae the more phosphates in the water, the more food for the nasty algae. However, keeping the pool water chemistry balanced and ideal sanitization is enough to ensure the algae doesnt survive in your swimming pool.
Adding algaecide and shocking your pool occasionally even decreases the chances of the algae becoming a problem. That means, even if you have high phosphate levels in your pool, you shouldnt worry that much. Besides, the phosphate compounds are safe they can maintain their oxidation.
Phosphates wont cause any skin or eye irritation, as some claim, and it doesnt consume chlorine as many pool owners assume.
Why Choose A Pool Supplies Canada Winter Cover
Our swimming pool Winter covers will protect your pool through the harsh Canadian Winter months! Having a quality Winter pool cover will ensure that your pool lasts for years and helps you avoid costly winter damage and time consuming clean up in the Spring. We carry only the best quality Winter pool covers, at the best discount prices available.
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