Opening Your Pool

No one likes closing their pools, but if you live in an area that gets a winter then it’s a necessary evil. No worry though, as when winter is ending and spring is in full swing, it’s a great time to think about reopening that pool and restoring your backyard to its fun, splashy summer oasis once again.

Some people go with the long weekend in May to open their pool for the season. It may not be total summer weather but we at least know the high temperatures are on the way. Whenever you choose, though, it’s best to do it the right way the first time so that you can enjoy your pool all the sooner.

The first thing to do is to drain the water off of the pool cover. It’ll be too hard to remove with it on, and you don’t want all of that top stuff landing in the pool either. Now you can take that cover off, clean it, let it dry and then store it in a cool dry spot till the fall.

Now it’s time to fill the pool up to its post winter levels, and once that is done, you can go ahead and reconnect all the pool equipment. The filter, the heater and the pump can all be reattached, but remember to take out all of the winterizing plugs or agents that you used when you closed the pool first. Take the winterizing plugs out of the skimmer and return lines too so you have a clear run for the water to take.

Now you can prime the pump and start turning everything back on. Once everything is running smoothly it is time to test the pool water chemistry and get it back to optimal after its long winter tucked away. pH should be around 7.4-7.6, total alkalinity should be between 80-120 ppm and chlorine should be sitting between 2.0 and 4.0 ppm.

Next you’ll want to vacuum and clean the pool walls. There may be some debris or dirt that got in there over the winter or when you removed the cover that will need to be taken out. Now all that’s left is to shock the pool so that you can kill any lingering bacteria, replace the ladder, diving board and slide if applicable and you’ll be on your way to enjoying that pool and backyard once again.