Opening Your Pool
Winter is over and the days
are getting warmer. The kids are talking about going swimming,
but the pool is not ready – what do you do?
Before hot weather gets here,
take the cover off the pool. Removing the cover is a “team”
effort. One person cannot remove the cover without dumping
the cover and any trash on the cover into the pool. Dumping
the cover into the pool defeats the entire purpose of putting
the cover on in the first place.
Once the cover is off, put the
plugs (if you followed the winterizing instructions, the
plugs are in the pump strainer basket) back into the pump
pot, pump housing, and the filter drain.
Raise the water level in the pool back to the proper level
– midway the skimmer opening. While this is happening,
remove any leaves or other trash that may have fallen into
the pool when the cover was removed.
Note: Once
the cover is removed, we get panic calls that “my
pool is half-empty.” If you left trash and water on
the cover over the winter, the downward pressure from that
mess displaced pool water and caused the missing water to
escape through the open drains in the pump and filter. Fill
the pool up and watch it for a few days. You may not have
a leak after all. To prevent this next year, keep the cover
clean.
Prime the pump. You must fill
the pump strainer pot with water (you may have to do this
several times) before the pump will prime. Even though the
pump is self-priming, water cools the pump seal and internal
parts of the pump. You can run the pump about five minutes
without obtaining prime and then you must allow the pump
to cool, add more water to the pump pot, and try again.
You need to have the pump circulating water before adding
any chemicals.
Reinstall any ladder, handrail,
etc. that you removed for the winter when the cover was
installed. Check the ladder for two rubber “bumpers”
that are on the ladder rails if the ladder rests against
the pool wall. These bumpers protect the pool finish from
damage when the ladder is in the pool and if yours are worn
or missing, replace them. The bumpers are inexpensive, but
the damage that can be done to the pool without ladder bumpers
in place is not.
Test the water in the pool.
We strongly recommend taking a small sample (about a pint)
of water to a professional pool dealer’s lab before
adding any chemicals. You will need to use a clean glass
or plastic container – not an empty pop bottle. Throwing
the same “stuff” in your pool that your neighbor
uses may not be the correct thing to do. Professional analysis
helps you get off to the right start and will make operating
your pool so much easier than the “guess” method.
If you are not going to have
the water professionally tested, and after you have the
pool circulating properly, adjust the Total Alkalinity and
pH before adding any sanitizer, especially chlorine. If
you immediately start dumping sanitizer in the pool you
can cause stains. Besides high levels of certain sanitizers
make it impossible to get an accurate reading on pH and
the other water balance variables with the standard home
pool water test kit.
Hopefully the water has remained
clear over the winter and you don’t have to contend
with algae. However, if you have algae, you will need to
use a concentrated algaecide to aid in clearing the pool.
Using the “big jug” of algaecide probably won’t
help since the highest concentration of this type of algaecide
is usually less than 10%. Once more, we recommend bringing
in a water sample to a pool dealer – it is quick,
accurate, and best of all, it is usually a free service.
You do not want to add an algaecide
containing copper to the pool except under the direction
of a pool professional. Certain copper compounds in conjunction
with large doses of other chemicals can create a huge staining
problem. Some stains can be removed if treated within 24
hours of occurrence, but it is a slow and expensive process.
It is easier to avoid the stains than to remove them.
If you are battling a “swamp”
you must continue to brush, dip trash, run the pump constantly,
and add chemicals every day until you satisfy the chlorine
demand and clear the water. Chlorine demand usually results
from improper “shocking” the pool during the
winter or allowing dead leaves and other trash to accumulate
in the pool. Again, a professional lab visit will aid you
in solving this problem.
There are several ways to attack
the “swamp,” but you need to follow the advice
of only one individual. That person could well be your neighbor,
but he should have experience handling your problem. Getting
advice from one person, doing what they suggest and when
that didn’t work, asking another person tends to prolong
the process, and usually adds lots of dollars to cost of
opening your pool.
Once you have the pool water
balanced, the water clear, and everything working properly,
all you are waiting for is for Mother Nature to warm up
the water.
Enjoy the season!
