Tulsa Pools : Clean The Pool
Cody A.: Hello and welcome to the Dive Time Show. I’m your host, Cody Albright, and with me is my lovely, beautiful wife.
Rachel A.: Rachel Albright.
Cody A.: Together we’re the owners of Sierra Pools and Spas of Tulsa. You can find us online at sierrapoolsandspas.com or give us a call at 9188848427. Again, that’s sierrapoolsandspas.com or give us a phone call at 9188848427. You can find us on Facebook, give us a like, and we would appreciate that. Today, we’re going to talk about closing your Tulsa pools for the season. So, let’s just get right into that for closing your pool.
So, season’s done, it’s getting cold, it’s getting winter time, it’s getting nippy. There’s some snowflakes. Maybe not, but it’s just getting too cold and it’s time to close for the season. So, the first thing you want to do is remove the deck and skimmer equipment. Now, how would you do that Rachel Tulsa Pools?
Rachel A.: So, this is going to be everything from your diving board and your ladders and your safety ropes and anything else you might have in and around the pool and then also removing the eyeball fittings from all the return lines and removing the skimmer baskets from the skimmers. So, you want to make sure all of these things are taken off. All the stuff around the pool will need to be taken off because your pool cover will have to go over the top of the pool and it’s not going to fit if you have ladders and rails and all kinds of stuff like that. Then, we just want to make sure the skimmers are all sealed up and ready to go for the winter. Then, if you have a dedicated line for an automatic cleaner, you’ll need to remove the plastic adapter. So, just keep that in mind Tulsa Pools.
Cody A.: Yeah, so that’s great. Great, great, great. So, Tulsa Pools next, after that, is to test and clean the pool water. You want to make sure that your pool is properly balanced before you shut her down for the season. So, what you can do, you can take, just get a little vial or a little bottle sample of your pool water, and take that to your pool dealer or whoever you take it to, to get your water thoroughly checked and balanced to see if it’s good. See if it’s well balanced and what I mean by balanced and I mean the pH scale. And you can also do this at your home. You can get those test strips that come in the little bottle that’s real cheap and inexpensive, that shows different colors for what the pH balance is and you want your balance to be between 7.4 and 7.6. so, yeah.
Rachel A.: Yeah, and you also want to check the alkalinity. You want to make sure that’s properly balanced. Your chemical ranges can be on the high side when you close your pool because it’s going to drop during the winter because your pool’s not being used. So, it’s okay if they’re high. You just don’t want them to be low. Before adding the winter chemicals, you want to make sure your pool is the cleanest it can possibly be. That means, you’re going to need to vacuum the floor with an automatic cleaner or manually need to brush down the walls and steps and you need to skim the surface of the water. You want to make sure that before you put the cover on, there’s not any debris or bacteria that’s just going to sit in there over the winter season. So, that’s what you’re going to want to do to test and clean the pool water.
Then, after that, step number three is to go ahead and add the winter chemicals. So, once the pool is balanced and cleaned you can add the winterizing chemicals and you’re going to get these at a pool supply store. If you buy a chemical kit, some will not require you to run your pump and filter, while adding the chemicals. If this is the case, then you can save this step until right before you put the cover on. Otherwise, you’ll have to add the chemicals now while your filter and pump is still operational. So, make sure you check the directions on your winter chemicals or kit before proceeding. Then, also it’s recommended to use a winter pill earlier. It’s not necessary, but it adds a little bit of insurance. This product will just insure that you open up to a cleaner pool in the spring and it’s super easy to use. You just pop a whole in it, toss it in the water, and you’re done.
Cody A.: Yep. Then, after that, you want to backwash and clean the filter and the pump. You don’t want to leave all that stuff sitting around all winter and getting crusty and nasty and disgusting and who knows what it can do to your equipment. So, before you blow the lines, you need to make sure that the filter and pumps are well cleaned. Then, once your, depending on your different filter type, you backwash it. So, once your filter’s back washed, you can open the pump lid and remove any debris that is in the basket. So, you want to make sure the basket is back in when you’re done and put the lid back on and, what else for that step, Rachel?
Rachel A.: Yeah, make sure you turn your filter back to filter on the multi port valve before blowing out the lines and then, if you’re not using a winter skimmer plate, you should drain the pool six inches below the skimmer. So, the reason why you want to do this is it’s possible that if you leave the water level in the middle of the skimmer, it could freeze and crack the skimmer. So, it’s kind of a debate among pool maintenance people, but just to be safe. Just go ahead and drain it six inches below the skimmer. It’s just going to insure that’s not going to happen. So, in an in ground pool, you have to blow out the pipes. If you don’t want to do it yourself, you can hire somebody to do it for you. Then, you want to make sure you properly unplug the return jets and install a gizmo in your skimmer to protect it from cracking. Now, if you do these things, if you install the gizmo, unplug the jets, you don’t have to drain your pool, but if you have a tile border, you should drain it at least four inches below the tile to prevent the tile from cracking or freezing. So, just keep that in mind.
Step number five is going to be, to blow out the lines. If you’re unsure about how to do this, even after we explained it a little bit, it’s best to just hire a company that you trust and know will get the job done, to do it for you because if you don’t do this step correctly, you run the risks of your pipes cracking underground and this can be a really expensive problem to fix come spring time. So, also if you don’t have a good air compressor, you’ll need to buy one or hire somebody to do this for you. So, this step, not everybody’s going to be able to do this, and that’s okay. You just want to make sure that it’s properly done. So, you’re going to start by making sure your valves are turned so that the skimmers and the main drain are open. If you don’t have a main drain at the bottom of your pool, which you will because with our company, this would be if you have an above ground pool or something like that. You’re going to hook up the air compressor to your pump by unscrewing the drain plug that’s on the pump housing and then you’re going to thread your air compressor into the drain plug opening Tulsa Pools.
You might have to purchase an adapter for your air compressor if you don’t have the proper threading. Then, you’re going to start blowing air into the lines until you see bubbles coming from the return lines and the skimmers and then you’re going to let it run for about two minutes. You’re going to look for whichever line is blowing first. You’ll see bubbles coming from the return lines or the skimmers and then you’re going to take your gizmo or rubber plug and plug up the hole in the bottom of the skimmer where the air coming from. If you’re using a gizmo, you’re just going to thread the gizmo in the hole. A gizmo is a long, hollow, plastic tube that threads into the skimmer opening and prevents your skimmer from cracking in the winter. Tulsa Pools It’s an ice compensator so if water gets into your skimmer and freezes during the winter, when the ice expands, the gizmo’s going to absorb the expansion rather than the skimmer absorbing that expansion, which will protect it from cracking. If you don’t have a gizmo or you’re just using a rubber plug, make sure you throw in a plastic soda bottle with a cap on to act as your ice compensator. Make sure you do this in all your skimmers.
Next, you’re going to walk around your pool and plug up all the return lines, the ones that are blowing air bubbles and you’re going to use rubber plugs that are nice and tight. You don’t want to see anymore bubbles coming out after you’ve put the plugs in, that means it’s not tight enough. The main drain will be the last to blow, but you don’t have to swim to the bottom and plug it up. Just turn off the air compressor. Lastly, if you have a heater, you’re going to need to blow the water out of it. Tulsa Pools Again, if you’re unsure how to do this, just hire a professional. It’s the easiest thing to do rather than risking not doing it properly. So, to do this you’re going to remove the drain plugs from the heater and then you’re going to turn the air compressor back on. You now want to direct all the air into your heater, so close off all the valves except the one on the heater, and you should start to see water coming out of the heater drains. Keep the air compressor running until you see no more water. Then, replace the drain plugs on your heater and remove the drain plugs from the filter and chlorinator if you have one. Then, you can turn off the air compressor and remove it from the pump and make sure you store all the drain plugs in the pump housing for sake keeping.
And the last step.
Cody A.: You want to put the cover on.
Rachel A.: Yes. So, this is the final step. Everything’s clean, everything’s plugged up for the winter, and you’re ready to put your winter cover on. So, you’re going to place the cover over your pool. If you use a safety cover, just consult your manual on how to put this on. If you’re using just a simple plastic cover, just maker sure there are no rips or tears. If there are, you can patch them by placing duct tape on both sides of the cover. You can always rely on duct tape to fix any problem you have Tulsa Pools.
Cody A.: Gorilla tape these days. Duct tape’s not that good anymore.
Rachel A.: So, make sure you plug up any holes. Then use water tubes to secure. Then, when filling the water tubes, make sure you only fill them about 85% of the way to allow for expansion when they freeze. Then, you want to make sure the tubes are not leaking before putting them on. So, that’s it. That’s how you close up your pool for the winter season and I hope that this gave you some helpful information and good luck closing your pool.
Cody A.: Yep, so that’s all the time we have for the day. Thanks for joining us on the Dive Time Show. Remember, I’m Cody Tulsa Pools.
Rachel A.: And I’m Rachel.
Cody A.: And we’ll talk to you next time.