Keeping Your Pool Safe and Protected During the Winter Months

Swimming pools are great for having fun in the sun, but if you live in a more temperate clime and not in one of the areas of the country where sunshine (and warm weather) are constant, it's time to prepare your pool for winter.

Guardian Pool Fence Systems, Inc., a national leader in the pool fencing industry, has a number of suggestions for keeping your pool safe and protected during the winter months. Covering the pool (and installing a leaf net) is a good place to begin. But there is much more that pool owners can do.

According to Steve Sadinsky, Guardian's CEO, "Preparing your pool for winter will save you money and keep your valuable property from being damaged. This will prevent leaves and other debris from becoming a problem pool; it can cut expenses for chemicals and electricity in half, as it eliminates much of the normal maintenance procedure."

It is still important that some minimal maintenance be done. If a pool is winterized properly, necessary chemicals are kept in balance and staining, scaling, and equipment damage can be prevented. Failure to do this can be expensive.

Here is a handy list of the steps you can take to get your pool ready for cold weather:

• Clean the pool thoroughly – brush and vacuum to get rid of dirt and other debris
• Fill up the pool with chemically treated water – nearly to the point of overflowing
• The total alkalinity level in the pool should be kept in the 80 - 120 ppm range, depending on the sanitizer used
• The pH the range should be maintained at between 7.4 to 7.6. (Low or high pH water can harm the pool finish while it's covered.)
• The Calcium Hardness level should be in the 200 - 400 ppm range
• Keep the chlorine in the pool at recommended levels
• Turn the pool filter on for 2-4 hours per day
• Inspect the pool at least once a month to make certain there are no changes in the color of the water, there is no staining, and no scaling has begun

If the temperature is likely to fall below freezing, there are other measures you should take. Check with local dealers to learn more.

"Pool safety is a year-round concern," says Sadinsky, "even in the off-season. Protecting your pool with proper fencing is a good idea in the winter as well as when the weather is warm."