Ready to Close Your Pool? How A Pool Closing Service Can Help
It’s about that time. Fall is well underway and winter is drawing closer and closer. It’s time to finally close your pool for the season. You may have been pushing off winterizing your pool for one reason or another. However, time has officially run out! Instead of trying to carve out the time to close your pool along with all of your other personal and professional responsibilities, we recommend hiring a pool closing service in NJ to help.
Why Hire A Pool Closing Service?
Like we said, it’s hard for people to find time to accomplish the rest of their tasks, let alone close their pool. By the time they get around to it, they may try to close their pool as quickly as possible. However, cutting corners will definitely cause you a major headache come summer when it’s time to open it up again. By properly winterizing your pool with the help of a pool closing service, you’ll not only safeguard it from damage caused by freezing temperatures, but also make sure it’s ready for next year. Your pool will be expertly closed by trained professionals while you can worry about everything else on your plate.
Clean Debris
First, your pool closing service will clean your pool. They will use a pool brush with a telescoping pole to scrub the walls and floor of your pool, getting into all of the nooks and crannies. This will help break up any algae so that it can be vacuumed up. It will also disrupt any budding blooms, making them more vulnerable to treatment chemicals. They will skim the surface, clean out the skimmer, and pump the strainer baskets after thoroughly vacuuming your pool.
Backwash Your Filter
Backwashing the filter will clean the filter media prior to closing. You may want to consider adding on a filter cleaning as well. This does not need to be done at the closing, but can actually be done in the winter months or in the spring months prior to opening when your pool company is not as busy as during pool closing season. This will make life a lot easier when it’s time to reopen the pool next spring.
Drain Pool Lines
To help you avoid pricey repairs from burst or damaged pipes during freezing weather, your pool closing professional will drain your pool lines. Most pool equipment, like the pool pump, filter, and heater have a drain plug that lets water escape. Your pool professional will drain all of the water out of this equipment. They will also remove any remaining water from the pool plumbing and equipment. Then, they will put the drain plugs in the pump basket over the winter so they don’t get misplaced.
Remove Accessories
One of the final steps that your pool closing service will complete is removing any pool accessories that may be in your pool. This includes the ladder, rails, and anything else that is in your pool.
Test Water
Next, your pool closing service will test the water. It’s extremely important that the levels (pH, alkalinity, etc.) are properly balanced as this will help protect the pool from corrosion and scale build-up that can occur while it’s closed during the winter and early spring. They will balance your pool water according to the following safe levels:
- Total Alkalinity: 80-120 ppm
- pH: 7.2-7.6
- Calcium Hardness: 200-400 ppm
Add Winterizing Chemicals
After testing and balancing out the water, a professional pool closing service will add winterizing chemicals to keep your pool clean and clear all winter long. Typically, they will add a phosphate remover in order to prevent algae growth. They may also add stain and scale chemicals to prevent any buildup of metals or minerals in the water.
Shock and Chlorinate
Your pool professional understands that shocking the pool with oxidizers gets rid of organic contaminants in the water, while also fighting bacteria and algae spores. They will shock your pool a few days before you close it. If that’s not possible, they will at least treat the water with 1–2 pounds of non-chlorine shock per 10,000 gallons of water during the closing process. After shocking and chlorinating your pool, they will make sure that the pool chlorine level is adjusted when shutting it down.
Cover the Pool
Finally, it’s time for the professional pool closing service to place the cover on your pool. Pool covers come in different types. Safety covers, for example, provide the highest level of protection against accidental intruders and winter storms since they are anchored into the surrounding deck. By investing in a high-quality safety cover, you can take all worry out of off-season pool maintenance and prevent any unwanted accidents.
Winter covers, on the other hand, do not guard against individuals or pets slipping into the water since it is not securely fastened around the pool. The cover is kept in place with a series of water bags or winter cover blocks, which weigh down the edges, and is not recommended.
For Pool Closing Services, Choose Pool Operation Management
If you want your pool expertly closed for the winter, choose Pool Operation Management. Our trained professionals will ensure your pool is in perfect condition come spring. Whether you’re looking for openings and closings or commercial pool inspections, we provide all the pool and spa services you need. Contact our NJ team to close your pool today.
