You have a beautiful pool, but maybe you're wondering if you should open it this season. Are you planning on travelling for an extended period of time? Maybe you don’t have as much help at home as you use to or are deciding not to for financial reasons. What should you do if you don’t want to open your pool in the spring?

We have the answers for you!

What If You Don't Open the Pool?

Even when your pool is closed, you still need to maintain it. They are not designed to stay closed in warm weather because covers and surfaces will deteriorate faster. If you don’t open your pool in the spring, you could end up with a major algae problem, smelly water, permanent stains or expensive damage.

The most important part of maintenance is your water balance. We recommend brushing, adding water balancers, stain and scale preventing chemicals, algaecide and a chlorine dispenser. You will also need to remove stagnant rain water from the top of the cover with a pump.

The only time it would be acceptable not to maintain your water and keep the pool closed is if you are planning on doing a pool renovation. In which case, you would be starting from scratch, either way.

Don’t Drain the Pool

Pools are not designed to be empty for long periods of time and draining yours could result in major damage whether it is an inground or above ground pool.

Draining an inground pool can actually cause it to be lifted out of the ground without the weight of water keeping it in place. Above ground pool walls can cave in and destroy your pool without the weight of water, as well. Liners will also rip once refilled as the liner will shrink, harden and slowly deteriorate when dry.

There are so many issues that can arise from having any empty pool, which is why this is not the answer!

What You Should Do

You should always open your pool because if you skip a season, you will end up spending more money on having to repair and maintain issues that were caused during its dormant period.

If you plan on being away from home for a long time, it is a good idea to hire a local pool service to take care of your pool while away, even if it is only for water balancing needs.

The bare minimum pool care would be to partially maintain your pool by keeping it covered and infrequently running the filter. You would want to use a solid pool cover in this instance, to deter any rainfall from overfilling the pool and run the filter only 3-6 hours a day. With this method, decent water balancing, and a bit of chlorine, your water should be acceptable to last until the next full closing.