Know Your Pool

Macarthur - (02) 4625 2522 - 1/5 Hollylea Road

Tuggerah - (02) 4335 1111 - 2/88 Pacific Highway

SPLASH'S POOLS - OPEN 7 DAYS

Macarthur - (02) 4625 2522 - 1/5 Hollylea Road

Tuggerah - (02) 4335 1111 - 2/88 Pacific Highway

The NewSplash Knowledge Base

Your Comprehensive Guide to Using and Enjoying your Swimming Pool

(This professional pool care advice and information is provided courtesy of Splash's Pools)

SO 'WINTERIZE' YOUR POOL. REALLY?

Our team is often asked "How do I shut down my pool for winter?"

Perhaps it's "How do I put my pool to bed?"

You can't! 'Winterize' it instead.

'Winterizing' your pool is what you do to prepare your pool for its hibernation in the cooler months of the year.

That's because you can't just "shut down" a pool, or "put it to bed"! Any body of water with no sanitizer or filtering, will quickly turn green - even in winter. So here are some more questions, about pools in winter. And their answers.

Why do I need to winterize my pool?

The way you handle your pool water in summer is quite different from how you handle it in winter.

Over summer, the pool gets slammed with chemicals, and the body fats and oils from swimmers. The demand on filtration is high, the water is always in the move, and electricity usage can be quite significant.

You can't just stop all that.

When you head for the off-season, you'll need to prepare the filtration equipment and the water for quite different conditions. You do that by cleaning the filtration equipment, making sure the water quality is good, and so lower the demand for filtering and sanitation. This reduces the running times for pumps, chlorinators, and any other equipment, to a minimum. This will save you money during winter.

When do I winterize?

You need to do this when the pool is no longer in high demand, and the water temperature has dropped to 20 degrees or less. May is normally the time to winterize our pools in this region - but it does depend on the weather and water temperature.

Here is what you need to do:

Empty and clean all your baskets

Sweep down the pool walls and floor
Vacuum clean the pool
Back wash and rinse your media filter, or hose clean the cartridge if you use a cartridge filter
Clean salt cell electrodes
Test and balance the water
Add a long-life algaecide, like Lo-Chlor Winteriser
Add phosphate remover
Add a water conditioner
Make sure the sanitizer level is correct
Reduce the running time for the pool to half the normal summer running time
Normal summer running is a minimum 8 hours a day for a 50,000ltr pool.
We suggest winter running of 4 hours a day.
Some pools will require more or less running time, depending on the volume of the pool.
Chlorine output from your chlorinator may be adjusted down to produce less chlorine
Remove automatic pool cleaners from the pool
Clean the pool cover - then cover the pool.

Your pool is now prepared for its off-season. It has been "Winterized"

Winterizing your pool gives you a trouble free winter. When Spring comes, you'll have an easy start up - and a Happy Pool!