With the arrival of autumn and especially winter, the cold begins to settle in, and of course, so does our swimming pool. Unless our pool is heated or we’re brave enough to enjoy freezing water, we’ll have to say goodbye to swimming season until the warmer weather returns. Now that the cold is upon us, we wonder: what to do with the pool during the winter? Today we’re going to suggest the best solution if we don’t want to swim during this entire period: winterizing the pool.
What is hibernation? And why should we do it?
Winterizing your pool involves adding a series of chemicals to preserve it in good condition during the winter season, so you can have it ready for the following swimming season. This process prevents the proliferation of algae and bacteria that would otherwise spoil the water.
The benefits of this preservation technique are numerous, but we will summarize some of the most important ones:
- Simplicity : the application and use of hibernation products requires very little effort on our part, and they are also very easy to use.
- Savings : the pool water will last us several seasons and preparing the pool for the swimming season will be much cheaper.
- Clean appearance : the pool will be free of insects and algae, which are so annoying and characteristic of stagnant water.
- Damage prevention : Structural damage to the pool that could appear in case of draining (cracks, holes…) is avoided.
When and how to winterize our pool?
When the water in our pool drops to 15ºC, it will be time to start winterizing it. So, keep an eye on the thermometer! The steps we should follow are:
- First, we must thoroughly clean the pool (including the walls), either by using a pool cleaner or an automated robot.
- We will analyze the pH and adjust it between 7.2 and 7.6 (to avoid excessive disinfectant use). This process can be repeated periodically to prevent imbalances.
- We will do a shock chlorination – with dichlor or fast chlorine – to disinfect the water and prepare it to add the winterizer.
- We’ll let the filter run .
- We will clean the filter bed using FILTER CLEAN. Adding a FILTER CLEAN tablet to the pump’s pre-filter basket will disinfect the sand or glass in our filter.
- After 24 hours we will add the INVER-REIN product, leaving the filter running for 8 hours for proper distribution.
- We will clean the filter the next day.
- We will close the water returns and suction valves to let it rest.
- In case of extreme temperatures, we will add some type of floating material to prevent the water surface from freezing.
- Cover the pool to prevent leaves and debris from falling in . It is highly recommended to cover the pool with a tarp or winter cover.
And that’s it?
Almost. Halfway through the winter season, we’ll need to add the INVER-REIN product again. Now we just have to wait for the months to pass, and when the water temperature rises above 15ºC, good news! This will mean that the swimming season is approaching, and we’ll have to start with the usual water treatments.
Now that the cold weather is approaching, Reindesa is offering the Winterization Pack at a special price. Protect your pool from the cold!
Order it at your nearest Reindesa location:
