Pools are costly investments. Therefore, it makes sense to take care of them throughout. But during winter, most people close down their swimming pools for fear that they can freeze. Freezing has significant consequences, including cracked pipes and bursting equipment. However, by taking some special care, you can keep your pool open even in winter. Here are some tips to prevent swimming pool freeze damage.
How to Prevent Swimming Pool Freeze?
Understand When to Winterize
Winterizing is the most effective way of preventing damage caused by pool freeze. Warm pools mean less freeze damage. Pool owners are therefore advised to keep pools at a constant freezing temperature of 32 degrees. However, lack of heating ability or too expensive costs, among other reasons, can make this impossible. If that’s the case, it’s best that you close your pool. Some things you should consider when deciding whether or not winterizing your pool is a suitable option include:
- Temperatures in your location- south and west coast winters aren’t harsh, and temperatures rarely drop below 40 degrees. However, for those with pools in the northeast, temperatures can, at times, drop below 0 degrees. You should, therefore, think of how hard it will be keeping your pool warm, depending on the location.
- How much it’ll cost to run a pool heater- during cold weather, your heater has to run for long hours to keep your pool warm. Often, individuals invest in a variable low-speed pump since it is a cheaper option. However, if these costs are becoming unmanageable, closing the pool can be an excellent decision.
Invest in a Freeze Protector
From the name, it is a device that protects your pool and pipes from freezing during cold weather. Whenever there is a drop in temperatures, this device automatically powers your pool heater and pump. Therefore, even if you’re not around, one can still be sure that their pools won’t freeze. However, a freeze protector may be costly. And it may not be suitable for those who stay in extremely cold temperatures. In such instances, you can keep the pipes from freezing by running your filter pump 24 hours a day. This ensures that water is always circulated, and temperatures are constant. But, it’s always advisable for pool owners in such instances to use a variable speed pump since one can set it to a low setting, hence save energy.
Lock-In Heat through Covering Your Pool
This is exactly like when one covers their pot of water with a lid: water warms faster, and it also boosts heat retention. Most people use solar covers to do this since it keeps the pool warm and retains heat from the pool heater. Covering will prevent unnecessary heat loss. It’s again advisable that you run the heater 12 or longer hours per day, depending on the location. That will keep your pool water from freezing.
Invest in a Skimmer Bottle
Pool skimmers help prevent unwanted debris and other materials from floating on the surface of your water. However, they’re easily forgotten during winter months. But, since skimmers are made of thin PVC material, cracking is very easy. It’s therefore essential that you protect yours from that by purchasing a skimmer bottle. However, this tip is mostly for pool owners who open their pools bit by bit or close them completely during winter. Remember that water inside your skimmer can freeze hence causing the pipes to expand and can thus crack. But, a skimmer bottle absorbs all expansion caused by freezing, thereby protecting the skimmer from cracking.
Final Thoughts
One essential thing that helps prevent pool freeze damage is keeping the waters warm. Therefore, all these tips are aimed at maintaining your pool warm during winter. Of course, doing that takes some extra effort and money. However, you should be willing to run your heater for more extended hours during this time. Also, for those who choose to close their pools, it’s essential that they understand whether their pool is an above-ground or in-ground swimming pool since closing down these two requires different procedures.
