During the cold season, snow can seriously deteriorate your pool and essential equipment such as pipes, filters, pump, nozzles, etc. This is why it is necessary to choose passive wintering, which allows the pool's filtration system to stop working. Of course, there are some types of pools that are favorably resistant to frost. However, self-supporting pools, which are not resistant to snow and frost, are the most popular category today. To ensure their durability, they must be taken apart during the winter and put back in place in the spring to enjoy the first beautiful days of summer. Also, it is quite possible to winterize the pool during this season.
Why winterize your pool?
Winterizing a swimming pool is a process that allows you to protect your pool from the external aggressions inherent to the cold season. Depending on the climate of the region, owners adopt passive or active wintering. In general, it is not recommended to empty the pool completely. Indeed, the water stored in the pool exerts a pressure on the liner and on the structure of the construction. Keeping the water in the pool helps to avoid all kinds of deformations due to instability of the ground. It also allows you to avoid other more or less serious problems. The main reason why homeowners have to winterize their ponds is almost obvious. Indeed, logically, the water freezes at a given temperature. Since the pool is not an icebreaker, it certainly cannot withstand the onslaught of cold throughout the winter. Even if you were in the southern part of France where the cold is more bearable, you will not be able to escape to an unprecedented period during which the temperature becomes lower and lower, enough to freeze the water. A situation that can at any time damage the filtration circuit and cause the pipe system to burst. That said, wintering at the right time and under the right conditions is a good way to avoid this kind of problem. However, you can free yourself from this type of maintenance only if you have a swimming pool with a shelter and a heat pump. Since the pool is well protected under its shelter, it can withstand snow and very low temperatures. This allows you to use your pool as you wish and throughout the year.
Ideal conditions to winterize your pool
It may seem unexpected at first, but the perfect time to winterize the pool is early fall. The beginning of winter will be too late to get you started. Therefore, the mandatory condition to start wintering is the water temperature. Please note that this kind of maintenance must be carried out once the water temperature is below 12°C. You are probably wondering why the temperature should be 12° or less. Bacteria and micro-organisms cannot grow below this temperature. You will therefore have no problem with algae growth.
For your information, you will need a bit of elbow grease for passive overwintering. On the other hand, you will not need to touch your pool during the winter period. While waiting for spring, you will then have peace of mind knowing that your pool is under good protection. By the way, the accessories and equipment that keep your pool in good working order will be in perfect condition when the weather returns.
First stage of winterization: cleaning the pool and its accessories for shock treatment
A swimming pool needs to be thoroughly cleaned before it is winterized. The same goes for all its accessories in order to keep them in perfect condition throughout the time they will be useless. This cleaning is generally done in a few steps.
- Brush and vacuum the bottom of the pool to remove all impurities. The same goes for the walls and water lines.
- Clean the filter using a disinfectant and detergent.
For the second cleaning step, backwash the filter before rinsing it for a few minutes. Afterwards, it is important that you pour a special filter product into the filter before switching on the filtration system for a few seconds. During this phase, you are advised to refer to the prescriptions written on the product used. For shock treatment, it is advisable to use suitable pool winterizing products such as chlorine, bromine or active oxygen. To do so, you will simply have to turn the pool's filtration system on for about 24 to 48 hours for a deep cleaning of the devices.
Step 2: Lower the water level and store the winterization accessories.
You have finished the first stage of cleaning in the winterization process, you can then proceed with the storage of the equipment. Before doing so, do not forget to reduce the water level to about 10 cm above the discharge nozzles. Once this has been done, start by completely emptying the filter equipment, heating and all other equipment before closing the filter valve and the shut-off valve. Then dry, cover and carefully store the pump and filter under cover. As for the other essential accessories such as ladder, foot bath, bubble cover, etc., they must be stored in a safe place. They must be stored in a suitable place after they have been thoroughly dried.
As for the placement of winterizing accessories, please :
- Remove the basket from the skimmer before placing it in place of a bottle ;
- Seal the delivery nozzles with a winterizing plug ;
- align the wintering floats on the diagonal of the pool and on the walls. Empty water bottles will do the trick.
Is it necessary to use the winterization product?
Many homeowners still question the usefulness of winterizing products, questioning their effectiveness. However, they are indispensable for the simple reason that they keep the pool in perfect condition throughout the period during which it will be useless. In fact, several brands of detergent products have developed adequate products to winterize a swimming pool. That said, it is necessary to pour the wintering product, taking care to distribute the dose prescribed on the packaging evenly. This must be done throughout the pool. Afterwards, it is important to cover the pool carefully. You can choose between several types of covers, such as the winter cover. In addition, it is also possible to install an inflatable support underneath it. This prevents rainwater from stagnating. This also allows for better water drainage after the rainfall. In any case, in order to ensure that your pool is winterized in the best conditions, it is recommended that you are accompanied by a professional with all the necessary know-how and experience in this area.
