Closing Time?
September is an interesting time of year. Most tend to think of it as a new beginning with the start of school for many. We in the pool industry tend to think of it as an ending, as summer ends on September 22. Although, summer officially ends, warm weather doesn’t always stop. This can give you the opportunity to extend your pool season. For those of us at the “Jersey Shore”, September has long been known as “Locals Summer”. This is the time of year when tourists stop frequenting our shores and the locals get to enjoy the uncrowded beaches. So, if we can enjoy the beaches in September, we can also enjoy our pools!
Keeping it Hot
If you want to keep your pool open through September, you need to be aware that cooler nights tend to prevail. This will affect your water temperature. If you have a heater, this is really a non-issue. You can control your temperature automatically. If you don’t have a heater, you will want to figure out a way to maintain some of the daytime heating in your pool. One way to conserve this energy would be a solar cover. A solar cover helps reduce evaporation which keeps the water inside the pool and prevents heat loss. One tip is to use “the black hose trick”. By using a black garden hose to fill, you want to keep it coiled in direct sunlight to try and collect some solar energy to heat the hose. This will help to increase the water temperature of any fill water you may add.
Keeping it Clean
Be aware that autumn tends to drop a lot of unfriendly pool debris which can lead to algae growth and staining. If you plan on keeping the pool open, you want to be vigilant to skim as much of the leaves and debris off the surface of the pool. Also, things like acorns can get clogged in skimmer baskets impacting the flow, so you want to make sure you are emptying your skimmer baskets more frequently.
Keeping it Balanced
All of this extra autumn pool debris can also affect your water balance. Storms this time of year can really knock your pool out of balance. You want to make sure that your water chemistry is still being maintained even though the sun’s rays will not be as strong as it is during the summer. If you are removing the debris regularly, those lessened UV rays will not deplete the sanitizer as quickly as it does during the summer months.
Keeping it Open
If extending your pool season is for you and you want to keep your pool open into the fall, please contact us and let us know. That way we can ensure we stay on schedule to keep you swimming.
