7 Common Pool Closing and Winterization Mistakes

[@SwimUniversity]

We hope this helps you with your pool closing and winterizing! Remember, the right prep and steps now will save you from a headache in the spring! And if you want more pool maintenance help, check out the free Pool Care Cheat Sheet at www.swimuniversity.com/cheatsheet

[@TheTerminator1919]

I love how you make videos that are of appropriate timing

[@SwimUniversity]

We try! So glad you think it's helpful

[@oscarlontoc8284]

I understand I need to use pool shock and algaecide in closing. But what about baking soda?

[@ralphcarpenter1973]

I have a 24' above ground pool and for the past 2 winters decided not to cover it at all. I live in Ontario, Canada and it drops below freezing in November so I simply skim the leaves and crap out before it freezes. When it thaws, I skim again a few times but don't have to worry about wrestling with a pool cover that's full of water. Once I hook up the pump, the pool is clear within 8 hours. No replacement covers to worry about every couple of years, no pool pillow and tie downs. No damage to liner either.

[@kw1903]

Hello. I'm in Ohio and think about doing the same. Do you take the stairs out?

[@julianaldous5720]

Hi Ralph, this sounds like a good plan, and we don’t have leaves presenting problems. I am interested in what you did and how things have gone. If we can make contact, I would appreciate it. Thanks, Julian

[@juicer52]

In ground liner pool in freezing Connecticut with a mesh winter cover. I drain the pool down below the one return to blow out the line. is it ok to leave the water level at this height and allow rain and snow to refill the pool over the winter or better to add some water back to support the liner?

[@corneliog310]

Live in texas. No winter here. Just a week in February. Nice vid though

[@jdeveau6718]

What do I do with left over pucks in my chlorinator? Also, is it okay to store pool chemicals in -10C?

[@halfglassfull]

here in Texas we stay warm enough to not need to drain the in ground pools and just run the pool when it gets about 35 F and below. But in Feb 2021 it went to -2F and circulation did not prevent the water from freezing. Draining below the skimmer and draining the pump/filter etc would have helped. But blowing out the underground return lines should not be necessary as the ground here does not freeze.

[@toratora9994]

Yeah that winter storm was wild. My pool froze with the pump running. We have to do an impromptu closing. I usually keep it open in the winter.

[@kimberlyhilton5651]

Do I need to double shock before closing or just use the normal amount?

[@jerrygeeraerts8651]

I closed my pool and since then my pool pillow has gone flat. Any suggestions on how to add one without removing the cover.

[@joejet8]

Hi. Love the videos. Thanks in advance!! I have an inground vinyl liner pool. I have a mesh pool cover. How far should i lower the water? I dont think you covered this scenario. Only with a solid cover. Thanks again!!

[@MegaWilliam2003]

All above ground pools in canada use antifreeze -40c in the bottom drain hose and we drain the water about 20 inches below the skimmer !

[@sheseems]

Hello. This is a late reply to your post..2 years! lol. question.. do you plug your skimmer or leave it open when the ice melts and let the water run out?

[@Chris_g221]

​@@sheseemsplug the skimmer after its blown out

[@Lillyofthevalley222]

@@sheseemsI’m also in Ontario and plug the skimmer, plug everything after the lines have been blown out!!! 😅

[@johnprzybysz3845]

I live in Buffalo NY and have not put shock in my pool in 6 years. The cheaper alternative is just bleach 2 to 3 gallons before I start my aqua bug this cleans and mixes up the chemicals very well. Another 1 or 2 bottles when I open.

[@taylean15]

Basically the same thing. Shock is just the term used for a high dosage of chlorine/disinfectant

[@jrs1007-t5g]

Ruffling

[@nickcarlson355]

I live in northern michigan, I was told to rv antifreeze the pump because the seals last longer.

[@dantecuzzolino3282]

I have an in ground vinyl pool and I’ve had to add water every other day. I had the pool checked for leaks and I was told I have an undetectable leak. It’s been a frustrating pool season with adding water and chemicals. Any idea what I can do ?

[@ShreekDj]

Who detected? The company that built it?

[@jeffp2001]

I have a in-ground pool in New England pool company that installed said my lines don’t have to be blown out we’ve had for over 10 year and never blow out lines when closing. Just curious why do I not have to blow them out. Thx

[@davidclaypooljr7897]

Reason the plugs cracked and any water went down and then freeze it will expand and break pvc. It cost alot of money to dig up your lines and replace them. Alot more they 30 bucks for antifreeze.

[@davidclaypooljr7897]

I live in vt. I been installing and closing pools for 10 plus years. I always put antifreeze in all lines of inground pools. They say if you get all the water out you should be good. But I always put 1gallon in every line for caution, if for some

[@dropgloves4491]

Do I have to blow the lines out? I have a shop and tried sucking the water out instead. I added pool antifreeze down the skimmer pipe and put some in my pump as well. Do you think that’s good enough? I’m in Canada gets down to -40 here

[@shellysadventures2875]

How did the shop vac turn out? Thinking of doing the same

[@dropgloves4491]

@@shellysadventures2875 do it professionally. My pipes froze. And when I say professionally, make sure it’s someone legit. Best advice I can give you. At least from my experience. Just don’t take a chance. It costs too much to fix.

[@shellysadventures2875]

@@dropgloves4491 thank you, i know there is a $250 cash guy who does it on the side locally vs the pool store

[@terryken12]

I have designed a tent pole assembly with easy to get parts that I have been using and refining for 3 years now, the cover never collects water or leaves, I have been blowing heavy snow off in the winter with my leaf blower but have also designed a simple defrost device for when I might not be home, I would post a picture but will have to figure out how, I'm more hands on old school handyman mechanic inventor that computer magician. Funny but I play more with the function and performance of the pool more than I swim in it. Your videos are helpful in this quest to be a pool boy on steroids and got me through the salt water conversion this year when nobody else could. Thanks!

[@Poolknot]

Years ago someone invented the "carousel cover" we got 29 inches of snow that winter. Every single one had a round hole in the dead center of it. The guy who invented it fled. Good luck with it though.

[@terryken12]

@@Poolknot im going on the 4th year now and it's performing well, I'm not trying to sell anything I simply contribute ideas for others to try. I'm sure 29 inches of snow would certainly wreck it if just let to defend itself but just like when everyone else's boat dock collapsed proactive owners pushed the snow off the roofs and was fine.

[@jamessaxton4285]

I have an 18ft coleman so I want to remove the lines and the pump for winter so I have to drain it 16 inches and install the plugs. Should i fill it back up some or will the 16 inches of liner be safe with the pool pillow and cover?

[@ericlthomassr724]

Great video. Thank you

[@marycunningham6540]

How do you deal with algae build up on the back of the pool ladder? We haven’t found a tool for this so we end up taking it out - which is a pain!

[@SwimUniversity]

Just using a brush.

[@mandynicholas6462]

Very informative thanks

[@mneraasen224]

If I’m not covering my above ground pool, should I still do a pool closing, or just let it go?

[@SwimUniversity]

We recommend that your pool should always be covered when it's not in use

[@brendanolasco2214]

I unfortunately was unable to place a cover over my Mother’s swimming pool last winter but did lower the water level and prepared everything else. It took 3 weeks and a lot of time, expense and chemicals to get it clean. Too much debris from leaves, twigs and a zillion tadpoles from the frogs. If it is the last thing I do I will cover the pool before it gets too late in the season. Good luck!

[@mneraasen224]

@@brendanolasco2214 thank you. We have spent so much money and time trying to cover our pool. It has a metal deck and it’s really hard to cover correctly. What I usually do when it warms up enough I used a leaf vacuum attached to a hose to get out leaves and debris . Then I will vacuum to waste to get out as much stuff as I can. It’s a slow process , there has to be enough water to run the pool vacuum, mine is manual. After a few vacuums I will treat the pool. It doesn’t take long to clear it. Sometimes when the farms around me spray their field it messes with my water, so I have to start and get it mostly clear before they spray🤷🏼‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[@brendanolasco2214]

Sounds like what I had to go through too. Vacuumed to waste, added water and more chemicals. Repeat. My Mother’s vinyl lined pool goes to 8 feet and I would brush a lot of the debris on the bottom of the shallow end and slope towards the deep end so it could be more easily vacuumed to waste. Her next door neighbor use to have the green lawn company out to spray the grass and that would always mess up the swimming pool water. I can see where the metal deck would cause issues. My Mother added bungee cords to keep the liner in place because the water filled bags were not 100% effective. I really love the pool though and after 3 weeks of cleaning it has stayed perfect. Hope you are more successful at covering it this time.

[@elizabethpacker-slawinska8280]

Hi trying to decide if to winterise or drain and put away a 18ft x 9ft steel framed above ground pool. We live in the UK so have frost and wind. 1. If I winterise should I also remove the solar cover or leave it under the debris cover? Would the solar cover help insulate the pool from frost damage or will the frost damage the solar cover? 2. Will a tie on cover (as supplied by bestway) be enough against wind and rain? Thank-you

[@CBRaydee]

Intex pool better than bestway. Better pump

[@tenncutt]

I am in Tennessee and all my pool equipment is inside a brick pool house. Do I still need to close? What would happen if I just let it run and keep it chlorinated?

[@SwimUniversity]

We're coming out with a video about keeping your pool open in the winter. Stay tuned! Bottom line: the surface of your pool may freeze but water running through pipes won’t freeze as long as all pumps are running and all valves are partially open. So it doesn’t need to be heated, it just needs to be moving.

[@janiceblackwell2971]

Thanks for the tips

[@melvinbarnes6256]

I have had pool professionals close my pool, but very expensive so I'm closing it myself this year. Going to get a closing kit and clean and balance the water. I have a mesh cover and wonder if this is the problem as when the pool is opened it always has a lot of algae. Thinking on buying a black solar cover to put under the mesh cover. Would this help?

[@adriennedority7823]

I don't know if it helps but I buy just a cheep winterized pool cover from Amazon and I put two winterization balls in mine along with chlorine tablets. Mine was clear this year.

[@jaylevitt4189]

Get a black solar cover if you can find one, worth every penny. Since using one my opening went from days to hours. Almost no algae when opening other than around the edge where the suns still hits if the solar cover shifted during the winter.

[@JohnHakala]

Can you use a skimmer gizmo in an above ground pool instead of draining the water below the inlet lines?

[@SwimUniversity]

I would use a skimmer cover instead.

[@bradsnapp8437]

Thanks. We have an inground pool and use a safety cover. I do use Antifreeze for insurance but I probably don't use enough. Who knows. I do blow the lines out and then blow them out again to make double sure to get the water out. Blowing out the lines just might be the most time consuming part of closing the pool. One mistake that I make is closing the pool too early. It's not uncommon for temps here to reach 80 in early Oct but I will usually close our pool the 3rd week of Sept. Every spring when opening we have algae but I'm a pro at clearing it up. I think the majority of the algae grows in the spring before I open. Probably starts in March and we don't open unit the 3rd week of May.

[@mikefitzpatrick43]

Make sure you add algeacide, a floater with tabs the more the better. And keep an eye on phosphates. Also Keep chlorine high before closing and with added spring and fall phosphree

[@robbhendrick]

Can you tell me what you consider to be the skimmer or tile line ("Inground non-vinyl, mesh winter cover: 18-24" below")... Is that 18-24 from the top of the skimmer opening or bottom?

[@howatt285]

Okay so I have a couple questions for an in ground pool 1 our jets are 4 inch below the skimmer box so if I only go 1 inch below the skimmer box I’m covering the keys after they have been blown out and plugged. Is that okay ? 2 if I go below the jets then there’s enough space that under large snow load my pool safety cover isn’t supported and goes under massive load (we lost 2 clips last year because of this load. 3 what about my main to the bottom. If I’m only 1 inch below skimmer then my main allows lots of water into the the barrel of the basket and then there’s opportunity for that to freeze too. Thanks

[@winstonclarke8959]

How much salt do you add to a 9000 gal pool on first time salting

[@lotusflo12]

I was hoping you would mention warm climates like Florida because I was wondering if I would need to continue running the pump

[@yasirrizvi5335]

Can I keep my in-ground concrete pool empty through winter?

[@nickk05281982]

Look up floating pools. They used to make concrete boats. Even if it floats an inch your plumbing won’t like that

[@ABESuperKiteDay]

I'm noticing fine white powder on the bottom of my pool. It seems to be chemicals that did not dissolve. Should I dissolve in boiling water ?

[@roadrunner8428]

That could be dead algae, usually occurs the day after you shock the pool water.

[@ABESuperKiteDay]

@@roadrunner8428 I think you are right friend. I turned off the pump to let everything settle to the bottom and vacuumed very slowly. Pool is super clear now.

[@StarStormFireFall]

I'd like to see a video on what to do if your hot tub is infected with hot tub rash

[@Lillyofthevalley222]

-12°C 😂 rated anti freeze! I’m in Ontario, that rating might work in December and March but definitely not the months in between! 😂

[@peggyrubicz6889]

All good points. Thank you

[@AlienCreatureThing]

I think I waited too long because it’s cold now and my pool isn’t clearing up and stores don’t have chlorine

[@timheersma4708]

Many grain and feed mills carry chlorine year round.

[@Lillyofthevalley222]

It’s not talked about much, but securing a pool noodle so that a portion of it is on the pool deck and the other portion is hanging down into the pool will go a long way to prevent accident animal deaths in your pool over the winter! The first year I didn’t think about this and I found a dead squirrel and chipmunk in the spring. 😢

[@efrenvaldespino8974]

If place can I go to study more better about closing pools o anything I live in N,Aurora Il

[@mattgoodwin70]

Hello, thank you for all the videos, not quite sure but thought I would ask. I live in England where our winter can be hit or miss regarding the temperatures. Sometimes can be 0°c or lower but then other times sits around 5°c. Ive built a in ground pool using a intex 18x9 pool, with a decking lid that covers it. Ive got a saltwater system which brings me to my question: being a salt water pool would I need to disconnect and store my pump and cholrinator inside or could I leave the system operating?

[@SwimUniversity]

If there's any risk of freezing, you'll want to remove the salt cell for winter and replace it with a “dummy” cell to keep the line properly sealed during the winter

[@50kal44]

Most people leave salt cells on during the winter. Buying a dummy cell is a waste on time and money. If you ever get a new one you can use the old one as a dummy if you are really concerned, but the thousands of pools ive closed and performed winter services on has never had a problem because the cell was outside in the cold connected to the pool

[@mattgoodwin70]

@@SwimUniversity thank you 👍

[@mattgoodwin70]

@@50kal44 thank you 👍

[@poppatello]

What are your thoughts on the Ez drain pool covers?

[@sis3022183]

Thank you

[@mrodelabass]

Thanks!

[@chesi_7_0_79]

Bro I have a annoying problem, I can't get rid of a foggy cloudy water in the pool. I keep the filter on with the appropriate level of PH and Chlorine, I cleared out the floor with the vacuum multiple time and nothing, I've used clarifies and nothing, I might have to waste the water and fill up again. 😐

[@chesi_7_0_79]

@@riceandbeans2019 nah I finally cleared up the water. My trick was after applying the clarifier. just run the filter until late night. Then turn off filter and let all that white cloud of dead algae settle on the pool floor and then, on the next day I vacuum out to waste all the white dust, cleaned out the filter multiple times throught the 8 hour of the filter on, repeated the process with the vacuum as necessary and finally, it cleared.

[@keithguay7523]

You can use a blower too as long as it’s strong enough to get to the main drain….

[@diane8885]

Thanks

[@robbyers7614]

If your pump and all your tubing is winterized why do you need to check your free chlorine levels? You're unable to add chlorine if you need it. Because it won't circulate.

[@lordgarth1]

I switched to cinder blocks because those water pillows kept bursting and even when they didn’t they had a hard time keeping the cover over. I can’t imagine blocks being a problem if you are careful and use enough of them.

[@timvandermey4792]

How do you use the cinder blocks?

[@danwoodard5884]

They definitely can be a problem if the cover falls into the pool and drags them in with it.

[@jimkline6285]

If you have a vinyl liner pool the cinder blocks are a bad idea, if it gets pulled into the pool =new liner, you can use sand bags instead of water bags

[@dominicm2175]

I don’t use anything but my neighbor uses recycled 1 gallon jugs from milk or pool shock and fills them with water

[@colleenpittman8445]

I use blocks as well. You just have to put a third of the block on the liner. That way if water pulls the liner it comes out from under the concrete block.

[@shahbasharat]

That’s old knowledge. There is no need to lower water level below skimmer for inground pools. In fact it can damage the vinyl liner if the water table of your area is high

[@howatt285]

So what would you recommend as an alternative ?

[@shahbasharat]

@@howatt285 blow the lines just like u do for returns and plug the skimmer with gizmo when air is gushing out. gizmo has a newer model (check amazon) that has a tunnel in the middle. u can blow the lines while gizmo is plugged in the skimmer. water gushes out through its tunnel.

[@jimbo4692]

That's assuming your pool has a liner...My in ground pool is a concrete/gunite pool..No liner needed. Drain the water below the skimmers, put the cover on and that's it...

[@shahbasharat]

@@jimbo4692 why waste water?

[@cheyannehuey3519]

How many winter pillows should we put?

[@JohnnyDouchbag-nr5yf]

225

[@rjgmedia6298]

Here I am in San Diego watching this video purely for the entertainment value…lol

[@SwimUniversity]

We're all jealous ;-)

[@karrinberman2944]

Me too in Las Vegas.

[@NuNuRokd]

Debris will still slide underneath an unground pool safety cover. You need to weigh it down along the edges with sand bags or whatever

[@xLPDz]

No need for weights, just tighten your springs. If they're out of tension even all the way adjusted your cover was installed wrong.

[@NuNuRokd]

@@xLPDz It’s on there tight. You need to stretch the cover in order to reach the bolt heads in the concrete. But there’s still enough of a slight flat leaves and small debris land on the concrete and a proper breeze can blow small debris underneath the cover

[@xLPDz]

@@NuNuRokd General rule of thumb at least with merlin and looploc covers is 3 inches from the spring loop to the anchor in your deck for tightness. Sure you'll get a little slack and the cover rises slightly when wind gets underneath it will blow some stuff in, it gets a vacuum at opening anyway so who cares. If you have an excessive amount of debris flying in and your cover is fitted correctly then you need to clean your deck

[@ronniehannah139]

wow

[@jeffSommer-u6b]

i have an inground liner pool and learned NEVER lower your water lever in winter. When you lower your water, even temporarily, it stretches the corners and can lead to cracking also when your pool is open, keep the water is high as possible just so the skimmer can suck things in because the sun hitting that liner will wear it out. Much faster always keep lots of water in your pool believe me I learned the hard way.

[@50kal44]

Lmao if you have a solid cover only go 6 inches below skimmer. Yeah okay have fun with time damage - this is really bad advice. He is trying to tell you so there isn’t too much weight on top of cover, but if you only go six inches below you will get water displacement and freezing on the tile. Vinyl the only time you really should be worried about too low

[@mashburnandrea6969]

I don't close my pool. I keep it running all year and it's so much easier.

[@cwstewartjr1973]

Mistake #1: Closing or winterizing your pool.

[@andrewchitty5453]

wrong!, you drain both inground and above ground pools partially. c'mon! Swim University i expected more..

[@SwimUniversity]

Of course! We mention partially draining at 02:14

[@jamessaxton4285]

I have an 18ft coleman so I want to remove the lines and the pump for winter so I have to drain it 16 inches and install the plugs. Should i fill it back up some or will the 16 inches of liner be safe with the pool pillow and cover?

[@DrLoveQc]

I agree, whre I live we NEED to remove 18 to 20in of water under the skimmer for the above ground pool. Add antifreeze -50C in the skimmer to the drain, a foam in the skimmer. Optional one looking like a gray pipe insulation. You want to avoid the tube to expand and cause issue under the pool and drain.

[@lindamonday785]

Thanks