Closing down the pool for the winter – Winter closure

Winter closure is an important part. Ensure that your pool can withstand that the water freezes.

When the bathing season is over and winter is coming up, you need to check your pool and its equipment. Precisely when to do this depends partly on where the pool is geographically located and how the pool is used. Below are some tips on what to do when the bathing season is over. Under certain circumstances the surface of the water must be insulated and circulation must be maintained.

 

For pools that can withstand freezing:

  1. Adjust the pH to 7.2-7.6 and switch off the pool heating.
  2. Allow the pump to circulate the pool water and continue withreduced chlorination until the temperature of the pool water falls below +10°C.

 

The final shutdown procedure is as follows:

  1. Brush the sides of the pool clean and vacuum the pool thoroughly.
  2. Backwash the filter thoroughly approx. 3 – 5 minutes. Then set the backwash valve lever to FILTER.
  3. Switch off the electric power on the main switch (fuse box).
  4. Remove ladder, wipe it clean and store it in a dry place.
  5. Remove the filter basket and flap lid from the skimmer. Then install an expansion flask or pieces of cellular plastic where the filter basket was located. These will take up the expansion of ice.
  6. Remove the adjustable inlet nozzles (the balls). If the pump/filter unit is below the water level, install winter plugs where the inlet nozzles were removed.
  7. Remove the lighting unit and store it in a plastic bag on the edge of the pool.
  8. Drain the filter tank by unscrewing the drain plug in the bottom of the tank.
  9. Remove the pump cover and take out the filter basket. Remove the drain plugs from the pump housing and the pre-filter housing. If the pump is outdoors, the motor should be removed and stored indoors.
  10. Remove the pressure gauge on the backwash valve of the filter.
  11. If the heater is not in a frost-free location, remove the drain plug. If there is no drain plug, disconnect the pipe coupling between filter and heater, so that all water is drained from the heater.
  12. Add anti-algal as recommended on the packet.
  13. Shock chlorinate by dissolving calcium hypochlorite in a bucket of warm water and adding it to the pool.
  14. If the pool has steps of fiberglass, provide something around the steps to take up expansion, which will shrink when the ice moves, reducing any strain on the steps. This could be a few plastic containers partly filled with a mixture of water and anti freeze (glycol), held in place with a weight.
  15. Place your pool cover over the pool. NOTE! Some pool covers cannot handle snow loads. In these cases, corrugated winter plates should be used.