Caring for your pool during the winter months
Pools are a great, much appreciated respite from the heat during the hot summer months in North Georgia, but what do professionals suggest in maintaining your pool during the winter months, where temperatures dip at or below freezing regularly?
“Leaving the pool open year round is the easiest and most cost efficient thing to do,” said Danny Cline, owner of Cline Pools in Calhoun. “However, most pool owners do not have the time or the desire to maintain their pool during the off season. Leaving the pool open year round requires keeping the pool clear from debris, emptying the skimmer, shocking and doing a chemical check once a month.”
When that is the case, Cline suggests closing the pool for the winter. “When we close a pool, we basically add a specially formulated blend of chemicals designed to promote the best possible opening in the spring,” said Cline. “Shock and algaecide alone do not properly prepare a pool for the winter, because those two chemicals only give a short term treatment of the water. What a pool owner needs is something to last the six months that the pool is closed.”
“The best way to keep the pool water clean and clear would be to use one of our closing kits,” said Cline. “These chemicals are specially formulated to work during the colder months, and are designed to give the homeowner the best possible opening conditions come spring. The chemicals remove phosphates, which acts as food for algae, from the water. They prevent any staining that may come from leaves or other organic materials that get into the pool once the cover is on, and they also prevent the nasty scum line every homeowner hates having to scrub off before they open their pool.”
A pool closing from Cline Pools also includes winterizing the pool equipment, such as the pump, and putting a cover over the pool.
According to Cline, the same procedures to close a pool are used in an in ground pool and an above ground pool. “The easiest thing to do in an above ground pool is to close it,” said Cline. “You will still need winter chemicals and basically follow the same process you would for an in ground pool.”
The winterization Cline Pools provides also works with both salt and chlorine pool systems. “At 56 degrees, the salt generator doesn’t work, so essentially, a salt pool would have to supplement with chlorine anyways,” said Cline.
Cline stresses that spending a little extra time and money closing the pool properly saves a pool owner more money and time come spring. “The average clean up runs a few hundred dollars and may take weeks to clear up a ‘swamp’ pool. It would be easier to take the cover off to a clear pool that has been winterized,” said Cline. “The only maintenance that comes after a winterized pool is opened is to add water, vacuum and go about balancing chemicals.”
Cline Pools has winter hours of 10 a. m. until 5 p. m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a. m. until 2 p. m. on Saturday. In addition to helping keep pools clear all winter, the store also serves Italian Ice and Soft Pretzels year round. According to their website, clinepools. com, in addition to selling chemicals, Cline Pools also offers pool building, maintenance and repairs. Cline Pools is located at 1326- B Highway 41 South in Calhoun, and can be reached by calling 706- 625- 8812.