Opening & Closing Your Pool For Season

Dive into our Summer Opening guide

It's that time again, the mornings are getting brighter and the evening staying lighter for longer! It can only mean one thing...

Summer is coming

As the weather gets warmer, there's no doubt our minds drift to summer days chilling by the pool. But if your pool daydreams are clouded by the dread of how to get your swimming pool swimmer ready, the Pool and Spa Centre have got you covered.

Preparing you for success

What Tools do you need?

1. Certikin Telescopic Pole
2. Vacuum Head
3. Pool Hoses
4. Leaf nets
5. Pool Brush
6. Leaf Trap (where required)

The Chemicals you'll need

• Water Balancers (pH,pH- & total alkalinity)
• Chlorine Shock
• Chlorine
• Algaecide
• Clarifier & Flocculant
• Test Strips or Kit

Step 1

Before you treat the water, you must check all your pool’s core equipment is in full working order and everything is clear of debris.

Removing the pool cover

Clean the top side of your safety pool cover to remove any dirt and debris. Remove the pool cover by folding it into small sections (you’ll probably want someone to help you with this) and ensure any winter grime is cleaned off before storing it away for the summer.

Clearing debris

Particularly if you use a mesh pool cover, debris build-up can be considerable over winter. Remove any debris from the water and make sure the filter, pump, skimmers and drains are also clear of dirt and leaves.

Removing winter plugs

If you have any winterising plugs installed, remove them and reinstall your drain plugs to the pump, filter and heater.

Filling the pool

Fill your pool to its normal level, which should be the midpoint of your skimmer openings. You may need to add water where necessary to maintain the correct level throughout the opening process. If your pool has a water leveller/autofill, ensure it’s working properly.

How to set up a swimming pool pump and filter

There are a few steps to getting your pump and filter ready for operation:
Add water to the suction lines via a garden hose to ensure any air is eliminated from the plumbing lines.
Open the filter gauge pressure relief, taking note of the starting PSI.
Ensure your controller is set to the correct time, operational hours and programs as per your needs.
Once the system is up and running, do a check for any issues – primarily any leaks.
Open all suction and return lines, and make sure any debris is clear from the system.

Step 2

Once your pool filter has been running for around three to four hours, it’s time to get your water back to its normal state. The amount of work involved in treating the water when opening your pool for the summer will largely boil down to the state it was left in upon closure. For example, if your water is in bad condition and is heavily contaminated by algae, you’ll need to introduce a more considerable shocking process.

How to test and treat pool water

The first thing you’ll want to do is check the pH and alkalinity levels of the water using a Test kit, then use the appropriate water balancers to regulate your pool chemistry accordingly. If your water’s pH is too low (below pH 7.2), use pH plus to raise the level. If your water’s pH is too high (above pH 7.4), use pH minus to bring it down. The correct acidity level for your pool is between pH 7.2-7.4.

If you live in a soft water area, it’s likely you’ll also need to use alkalinity builder and Calcium builder to help stabilise pH levels, raise total alkalinity and boost calcium levels.

Shocking the pool

To boost the free chlorine level in your pool, use Cal-hypo chlorine shock . The amount of shocking you’ll have to do will depend on the condition of your water. If your pool has algae, you’ll want to brush it away from the pool walls before shocking. If, after the first course of cal-hypo, algae is still present, you’ll need to repeat the process.

Make sure you circulate the system during the process to assist in removing any debris. Once you’ve finished, a final scrub and vacuum should help get rid of any remaining contaminants.

Step 3

Once you’ve completed the shocking process and boosted the chlorine level sufficiently, you’ll want to leave the pool for a few days to allow the chlorine level to drop and debris to filter away. Once this process has finished, you can take on the final steps to open your pool for the summer. There are three remaining chemicals to add:

Add stabilising chlorine via your skimmer or Floating dispenser . For soft water areas, add Chlorine Granules . For hard water areas, add Chlorine Tablets
Add Polyquat Algaecide to help prevent any future build-up of algae. If your pool is suffering from severe algae build-up, you may need to use polyquat algaecide alongside a chlorine shock.
Add Water clarifier to boost water clarity. If you’re looking to improve the water clarity of a larger pool, you may need to use either our Granular flocculant or Jolly Gel flocculant.

Your One-Stop Shop

Now you know how to open your pool for the summer, it’s time to get the right chemicals on board. You’ll find everything you’ve read about above available at great prices in our pool shop, plus plenty more items that can help make maintaining a swimming pool an easy and cost-effective process.

But if you need any assistance our Technical Team are here to help!

Lights out Covers on!

As the temperatures dip and light nights fade to a distant memory, it's time to consider closing your pool...

Winter is coming

It's important to close your pool properly, to allow a smooth and uncomplicated summer re-open! Don't worry we've put a guide together to help you through the process.

10 Steps to Success

• Backwash the filter and clean the strainer.
• Check the pH is between 7.2 and 7.6 and use sodium bisulphate(to lower pH) and sodium carbonate (to increase the pH) to adjust if necessary.
• Using Calcium Hypochlorite, boost the chlorine level to remove any algae that maybe present in the pool.
• To prevent algae from growing addwinterising algaecide.
• Turn on the circulation to disperse the solution through the water for a period of 24 hours.
• Reduce the water level to just below the skimmers. This is to allow for any extra water that enters the pool, ie rainfall, therefore preventing it from overflowing.
• WARNING: Do not lower the level too much especially if the water table is high as this could cause structural damage to the pool shell.
• To protect any exposed metal surfaces, drain the water from the pump(s), filter(s), heater and pipework.
• Leave any valves above the water level open. Any below should be closed to protect from frost damage.
• Switch off the electricity supply to the system.
• Cover the pool with a heavy-duty winter pool cover.

Bikini Off Blanket On

Now you've completed the above steps, you're pool is closed for winter, but this does not mean it should be forgotten about. We would recommend checking the appearance of the water, along with the chlorine and pH levels at least once per month during the winter months.

Do you have an above-ground pool?

This guide is specific for in-ground or hard sided above-ground swimming pools, if you have an above-ground pool, it is often easiest to empty and pop away for the winter. When choosing the best storage for your pool, ensure it is dry and packed away in a dry location to avoid unwanted algae.