Whether you use your pool less or not at all during the off-season in California, it’s important to continue to take care of it through the cooler months. Caring for your pool during the off-season can help to ensure that it’s sparkling clean and ready to go when warm weather returns.
Luckily, off-season pool care is simple and straightforward. To protect your pool during these months, try these easy tips:
Clear the Water Before Covering Your Pool
If you plan on covering your pool during the off-season, you’ll want to ensure you aren’t trapping debris under the cover. Take the time to clear out your pool’s water of sticks, leaves, and other debris before the cooler weather sets in.
This can leave you with an easier job when it’s time to ready your pool for swimming season again. Also, leaving debris in your pool over the off-season can cause a variety of issues that can require more trouble — and more money — when warm weather returns.
Balance Your Water
It might sound like extra work without much purpose, but in reality, ensuring that your water is balanced before you close it up can save you a great deal of trouble come summer.
Unbalanced water living beneath your pool’s cover throughout the off-season can result in algae and bacteria growth that can prove to be a nightmare to rid your pool of when it’s time to use it again.
Instead, grab a test kit, test your water chemistry, and then add the necessary chemicals before you leave it unattended for the cooler months. Not only can you save yourself more effort later, but you can protect the health and longevity of your pool by avoiding potentially harmful bacteria to grow freely for an extended period of time.
Keep Some Water in Your Pool Over the Off-Season
You might wonder if it’s pointless to leave any water in the pool when it’s not in use, but the truth is that it’s critical if you want to avoid a host of issues. When you don’t have water in your pool for a long period of time, you can risk dealing with problems with your liner, such as:
- Bacterial growth
- Structural damage
- Drying
- Shrinking
- Cracking
These issues will not only be a huge headache to handle, but they can be incredibly costly as well.
Rather than removing all the water in your pool, you’ll just want to lower the level down to about six inches beneath your skimmer. This allows your pool to maintain its structure, avoid damage, and be ready for swimming as soon as possible once the off-season is over.
While you’ll still have water in your pool, you will want to go ahead and turn off and disconnect your pump and filter so that they won’t be running unnecessarily during the off-season.
Clear Debris From the Cover During the Off-Season
One of your most important tasks over the course of the off-season will be to ensure that leaves, sticks, debris, and rainwater do not accumulate on your cover. While your cover is most likely more than capable of handling this burden, it’s only going to make preparing your pool for use later a slower and more arduous process.
You don’t have to run out to your pool every time a leaf drops, but waiting too long to clear off any debris can create a lot more work for you when the off-season is coming to a close. Just step out with your skimmer regularly and have the submersible pump at the ready, and you’ll be golden when summer returns.
Enlist the Help of Pool Care Professionals
You already have plenty of responsibilities to handle in your everyday life, without worrying about pool care. Reach out to your local pool company, and ask them to help you tackle the job of taking care of your pool in the cooler months. Pool care professionals can cover all your off-season needs, so you don’t have to.
Need Help Caring for Your Above Ground Pool This Off-Season?
When you take steps to care for your pool during the off-season, you can save yourself time and effort in the warmer months and protect the longevity of your pool along the way. If you want to make sure that your above ground pool is ready to go as soon as possible when swimming season returns in California, turn to the experienced team at All Seasons Pools and Spas. Not only do we sell all of your essential pool supplies and water care, but we also will ensure your pool or spa is properly maintained all year long with our Pool Services. Contact us to learn more today; we proudly serve the Sacramento area!
