How To Winterize Your Pool and Accessories

There’s nothing quite like having your own pool in your own backyard. Whether it’s an above-ground pool or an in-ground pool, large or small, with a hot tub or not, a pool is almost necessary when you live in Texas. Because the weather gets so hot for the majority of the year, you can get a lot of use out of a pool, especially in Lubbock. However, once winter rolls around, your pool requires a new kind of attention.

When the temperature starts to drop, and you and your family no longer take regular dips in the pool, it’s probably time to think about winterizing your pool and accessories. If you’re new to owning a pool, or even if you’re a seasoned pool owner, this process might seem a little overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! If you want to properly winterize your pool for the cooler months, it does require some hard work. Fortunately, one thing you don’t have to worry about is where to store your pool accessories and equipment. That’s where we come in.

Clean the Pool and Adjust the Water Chemistry

The first thing you need to do when you get ready to winterize your pool is to give it a good cleaning. This shouldn’t be too hard for most pool owners, as regular pool maintenance requires a good cleaning anyway. Use your vacuum to clean the bottom of the pool, and a skimmer to remove any debris in the pool as well.

Then things get a little more complicated. Before you close up your pool for the winter, you want to make sure the water chemistry is balanced. You should be sure the alkalinity of your pool water is somewhere in the range of 80 and 150 parts per million, that the calcium hardness is between 175 and 225 parts per million, the pH is between 7.2 and 7.6, and last but certainly not least, that the chlorine level is between just 1 and 3 parts per million. Once everything is in the correct range, you can move on to the next step, but test it again before closing the pool for good, as these levels might have changed.

Shock Your Pool & Drain or Lower the Water Level

After your pool is all balanced, the next step is to shock it. When you shock your pool, you’re basically delivering a ton of chemicals into your pool water to kill any remaining bacteria and other unsightly debris. After you shock your pool, you can then lower the water level to ensure that the water doesn’t freeze and expand during the winter. This step isn’t always necessary, but if you want to be extra sure that your pool will be ready to go for summer, lowering the water level is a good idea.

Cover Your Pool & Store Your Equipment

Finally, once your pool is cleaned, vacuumed, shocked, and lowered, you can get ready to cover it for the winter season. If you already have a cover for your pool, then you’re all set! If not, you’ll need to pick out a pool cover that fits properly.

Obviously, you need to remove any equipment and accessories before you put the cover on. Once your cover is on and secure and your pool is ready to face the winter weather, you can grab all your pool accessories and equipment and put them in a storage unit for the winter months. A-Plus Super Storage has a large variety of storage unit sizes to choose from, so you know you’re getting exactly what you need for exactly as long as you need it. What’s more, we also regularly offer discounts for our storage units, so you get to save some money, too!

It’s crucial to winterize your pool once the weather cools down. Even though the process might seem overwhelming at first, it’s an important part of pool ownership. After all, pools are expensive, so you want to do your best to maintain them. Never fear, though—A-Plus Super Storage is here to ensure your accessories and equipment stay in tip-top shape—and out of your way—until you’re ready to open the pool back up next season.