Published by Brooke Sardella on 09/17/2022
9 Steps to Close Your Pool
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1. Clean
Vacuum up all the debris you see on your pools floor and walls.
2. Test Water
After vacuuming, test your water with a test kit or bring it to your local pool store, such as E-Z Test Pools!
You want to make sure your water levels are properly balanced to prevent pool damage while it is closed.
3. Add Winterizing Kit
Adding a winterizing kit to your pool is the easiest way to close your pool. If you skip this step, you could end up uncovering an algae and bacteria-filled pool in the spring!
Thankfully, we carry many prepackaged closing kits with everything you need to make this process easy such as Enjoy, OnGuard, SeaKlear, and more!
4. Shock
Shock your pool a night or two before you close and run the pump overnight to distribute the product throughout the system. Make sure you do this at night, otherwise the sun could take away all of the chlorine before it has time to work!
5. Lower Water Level
Lowering the water level will prevent freeze damage and overflow. Your water level should be below the skimmer in most cases.
Make sure you drain your pool water responsibly. This would usually be into the nearest city sanitary sewage, but make sure to check with your city's guidelines.
6. Backwash the Filter and Pump
Clean and backwash your filter according to the type of filter you have such as a sand, D.E., or cartridge model. You don’t want all of the dirt to sit inside of it all winter!
7. Line Blow Out
If you live in a warm climate you can substitute blowing out your lines by using antifreeze instead.
If you decide to blow out your lines, you need to remove every bit of water to prevent freeze damage. Blowing out your lines can be a tough job and if you’re not sure how to do it properly, make sure to call a pool professional and save yourself the cost of needing repairs from an accident.
8. Put Away Accessories
Ladders, rails, and diving boards can rust and get damaged during the winter, so make sure to uninstall those.
9. Install Winter Cover
You can opt to install a regular cover, which will protect your pool from filling with snow, and debris and keep it clean. You can also upgrade to a winter safety cover. Safety covers will protect your pool from objects and animals falling into the pool and harming themselves and the pool. The great part about a safety cover is it can be custom-fit to your exact pool shape as well as allow water to drain through so you don’t have to pump your cover in the spring!
At this point, your pool should be closed and ready for winter! If you want specific instructions on how to close an above ground pool make sure to read our blog here. When spring rolls around, you can also refer to our blog 10 Step Pool Opening Guide.
