How To Winterize Your Pool

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The winter months are a beautiful time. As the cold weather settles and the leaves fall down, we break out our sweaters and start brewing our hot chocolates. But if you’re a pool owner, this seasonal transition is one of the most important of the whole year.

If you plan to use your pool next swim season, then you already know it’s essential to properly winterize your pool when you close it.

Why Winterize Your Pool?

how to winterize swimming pool winterize inground pool — Don’t let your swimming pool freeze like this one!

A swimming pool is essentially a giant box of water, so by no means is it immune to the laws of nature.On that note, let’s revisit a fun concept in science.

Water has a freezing point of about 32 degrees Fahrenheit. And when water freezes it expands within the container it’s in.

Remember when you tried to put a can of soda in the fridge as a kid?

Remember what happened?

Just like that soda can, most of the components within your pool system (including the pool itself) can expand too much and experience serious damage.

Bursted pipes, malfunctioning pumps, and cracked walls — the whole nine yards.

Luckily, all of these unfortunate situations can be avoided by taking the time to winterize your swimming pool.

This guide will walk you through the process of winterizing your swimming pool in an easy-to-follow way.

For above ground pool owners: How To Winterize Your Above Ground Pool In 7 Simple Steps

Clean the pool

To winterize your pool the right way, start with a little housekeeping. If you’ve been using a Pool Care Schedule to make pool maintenance easier, then you might be able to skip this step.

But for the purpose of this guide, we’ll assume the pool needs a cleaning.

Skim out all surface debris (leaves, insects, twigs, etc.)
Scrub and clean the pool wall and tiles
Empty out the skimmer and pump baskets
Vacuum the pool

Get the right chemistry

Balancing your water is worth every minute of time you spend.

Why?

Because unbalanced chemicals, combined with months of stagnant water and frigid temperatures can result in corrosion and buildup — neither of which spell out good things for your pool system or wallet.

To avoid that messy situation, grab your pool water testing kit and test for:

Chlorine level (between 1.0-3.0ppm | 1.5ppm ideal)
pH level (between 7.2-7.6)
Total Alkalinity (between 80-120ppm)
Calcium Hardness (at least 180ppm | 225ppm ideal)

*Take caution not to add any chlorine tablets to the pool at this time.

Once you’ve added the appropriate chemicals to balance and sanitize the water, run the pool pump for at least one full cycle (4 -8 hours).

[Want to learn a bit more about pool chemistry? Check out this Pool Chemistry Guide]

You may also want to use a pool winterizing kit. This extra line of defense ensures that your pool water stays nice and clear during its hibernation.

Pool winterizing kits usually include a bottle of algae control, anti-stain/scale, and a pack of chlorine-free shock. Be sure to follow any manufacturer instructions included with the kit, as some may call for running your pool pump during the process.

Related: How To Remove Pool Algae

Freeze Prevention

Although unbalanced water can cause trouble, nothing wreaks havoc on your pool quite like freeze damage. During temperatures below 32 degress Fahrenheit, water left in a pool system freezes and expands, which we already know is not a good thing.

So logically, the best course of action is to prevent freezing altogether.

Swimming Pool Freeze Prevention

Drain the pool slightly below the mouth of the skimmer
(Do NOT drain the pool completely! The pressure of expanding soil around the pool can cause shifts and cracks in the structure)
Remove all PVC fittings
Remove pool hardware and non-permanent fixtures
(ladders, slides, hoses)

But that just covers the swimming pool.

To properly winterize your entire swimming pool system and avoid headaches, follow the simple steps listed below to prepare your pool equipment:

How To Winterize Your Pool Pump

Disconnect the pump
Drain any remaining water from pump
Remove drain plugs
Briefly turn on pump (2 seconds max) to empty remaining water
Store drain plugs in pump basket
Disconnect electrical power

How To Winterize Your Pool Heater

Without a reliable source of heat your swimming pool is essentially an ice box, so follow these steps to ensure your pool heater’s survival during the winter months.

Disconnect electrical power
Unscrew/detach inlet and outlet unions
- Remove drain plug ( Most pool heat pumps do not have a drain plug)
Flush out the heater with a garden hose (water should enter through inlet and flow out of outlet)
Clear remaining water with an air compressor (placed in inlet) until water stops flowing out
Loosely reconnect unions and plug

How To Winterize Your Pool Heat Pump

Follow the same steps listed above, but be sure to cover up the unit with a small tarp to prevent any debris from entering in through the fan grill.

[Having pool heating problems? Troubleshoot your pool heater and reclaim that heat!]

Blow Out The Pool Lines

More than halfway done! Now it’s time to remove the remaining pool water from your pipes. This is a step you definitely don’t want to skip over, as burst pipes are absolutely no fun to deal with when opening your pool for the season.

Follow these steps to properly blow your pool lines/pipes:

First, unscrew any fittings attached to your pump.
Next, grab your air compressor (or Shop Vac) and attach it to the skimmer line opening near your pump and filter.
Turn on the air compressor to blow out any excess water in the pipes (water should begin flowing out of the pool skimmer)
Continue blowing out the line until you can see air bubbles.
Turn off the compressor and plug the line

Main and Return Line

Follow the same steps for the return line, plugging any exposed return jets once the pipe has been blown out.

Once you’ve blown out the main line, be sure to plug it (at the filter end) and seal the gate valve. This will prevent any water from entering the line and doing damage.

In case that was a little tough to visualize, here’s a helpful instructional video from Monkeysee explaining the process.

Winterizing The Pool Filter

One of the easier steps of the process, here’s how to winterize your pool filter:

Remove the filter hoses
Spray the cartridge filter elements/media with Filter Cleaner
Rinse off with garden hose
- for DE Filters: drain filter tank and leave backwash valve open
- for Sand filters: backwash
Open drain at bottom of filter to release trapped water
Open air-release valve (if included)
Set multiport valve to “Closed” position and remove pressure gauge
(Not sure how to read your gauge? Check out this Pressure Gauge Guidebook)

Getting Ready To Cover Your Pool

Before you put on your pool cover, you’ll need to place a floatation device in the center of the water. This floatation device is essential to balancing any ice and rain that forms on the pool cover and also relieves pressure off of the pool walls.

Most pool stores carry “pillows” for this exact purpose, but anything as simple as a large inner tube should do the trick.

Putting On The Winter Pool Cover

Winter pool covers are different from regular pool covers. They’re specially designed to handle snow and ice buildup, and prevent anyone/anything from accidentally falling into the water.

Typically, applying a pool cover is a two-person job, so it’s best to have a friend help out.

Starting from one end, grab the cover and begin stretching it over the pool. The cover needs to be as tight as possible once secured, so be sure to fully spread it.

Once you’ve draped the cover over the pool, you’ll want to refer to the included instructions to properly fasten it down. Most winter pool covers require a wire to be run through the metal openings along the perimeter of the cover, but yours may be different.

Congratulations, you’re finished! Give yourself a pat on the back

If you liked this post, you might also like:

The Pool Filter Pressure Gauge Guidebook

11 Simple Ways To Automate Pool Maintenance

Pool Heat Pumps vs Gas Heaters