When the warm weather comes, you’ll want your in ground swimming pool to be ready to use. Don’t wait around until the first hot day of the year to get your pool ready! It’ll take some time to get it up, running and prepared for swimming, so doing this ahead of time you’ll be able to take immediate advantage of your pool when the heat finally arrives. In this article, we’ll go over some spring pool opening tips to make sure it’s ready to go when the outdoor temperatures start to spike.
The Pool Cover
If your pool has been covered for the entire winter, the first order of pool opening business would be to give the cover a good cleaning. This goes for the type of cover that you’ll store for the entire summer as well as the type that you’ll use on a nightly basis. For the cover that will be placed in storage, cleaning will increase its longevity as well as reducing the need to do it when it comes time to close your pool. For pool covers that will be used throughout the summer, it’ll ensure you aren’t continually dumping dirt and debris into your pool every time you take it off or put it back on.
Skim the Surface
Get out your pool net and skim off any of the debris and dirt that’s floating on the water’s surface. You don’t necessarily need to get to the debris that’s fallen to the bottom of the pool – that can come later. But make sure to get any of the big pieces that are floating at the top.
Scrub and Vacuum
After you have all the surface debris removed, give the walls of your pool a good scrub to remove any dirt that stuck to it over the winter. Get all the dirt down to the bottom of your pool and then give it a vacuum or set your robot vacuum cleaner free to do the work for you.
Inspect Your Gear
Before starting everything up, you’ll want to give your machinery a good visual inspection. Look for loose fittings, cracked pipes, frayed wires or any other signs of wear and tear. Take a look at your filters and make sure they’re free of obstructions. Reconnect your pump and turn it on to make sure it’s still working properly.
Refill and Recalibrate
Now that everything’s been cleaned and your machinery appears to be working properly, bring your water level back up to where it belongs. Check your pH, alkalinity and calcium levels and get them back into balance. Turn on the pumps and let the water circulate for at least 8 hours before considering any shock treatments. If necessary, perform a chlorine shock treatment. Monitor the chlorine levels until they are back to an acceptable range.