When the temperature starts to drop and it’s staying cool during the daylight hours this usually means that pool closing season is fast approaching. Closing a pool by using the suggested method can certainly be a bit of a process, but just like anything, becomes easier after a few times of doing it. One of the main ideas behind working through a specific set of closing steps is to preserve your pool water as best as possible so that when spring rolls around again and that winter cover comes off, that pool water is as close as ready to go as is can be.

A great way to help this to happen is to put your pool to sleep with optimal water quality but also use specially formulated chemicals that work to maintain and sustain throughout the winter months. Something that has become very popular in helping with this is the use of what is called a “ Winter Closing Kit” or “Winterization Kit”. These kits take some of the guess work out of closing a pool by including all of the needed chemicals in one box for one price. They are designed to save you money, time, and effort and accelerate the pool closing process.

“What’s in a winter kit?” you may ask. While different brands have different components there is typically some kind of pool shock that is designed to not bleach your internal pool components while being formulated to work well with things like algaecides and other winter chemicals. An algaecide built to last for an extended amount of time as well as a chemical floater designed for a slow release of important sanitizing chemicals. Stain and scale preventer is another typical component that works hard to prevent minerals and metals from building up and depositing on the surfaces of the pool this type of chemical is usually also really good at preventing build-up at the waterline or what is sometimes called, “bathtub ring”.

Now, maybe there are some doubters out there who say, “Couldn’t I just consult a pool specialist, shop, and purchase all of the chemicals myself?” and you would most definitely be correct with this statement as individual chemicals are always available “a la carte” but just think of the effort you would need to go through to research, consult, purchase in the correct amounts, and possible portion out for use. You’ll end up spending more money and expelling more effort when you could have just purchased a  winter kit to start.If you chose to go the “a la carte” way, another thing to mention would be that certain conflicts between chemicals can occur when you are arbitrarily adding a but of this and a bunch of that. These conflicts also have the potential to reduce effectiveness possibly negating the whole effort overall. By utilizing a winter kit, all of the components are specifically designed to complement each other when you follow the directions for their use.

Let’s think about what the alternative is to not using chemicals at pool closing. If you do not use a special blend of chemicals and you open the pool up in the spring, it is most likely going to look like a messy green swamp. Something like this will require treatment that is usually very expensive and sometimes you even have to change out all of the pool water which is an additional expense that isn’t needed. If you add all of the chemicals that are needed in the fall then they go to work for you over the winter ensuring that the opening process is not chock full of hidden expenses.

During the winter months your pool is closed up, the pump is not running, the filter is not filtering and no water is cycling through. These conditions are the perfect breeding ground for algae and are the conditions that you work to avoid all summer long.  Winter kits are intended to prevent bothersome algae from taking advantage of these conditions and having a field day. They are formulated to work toward a “pain-free” pool opening next spring.

Winter kits usually are available in several different sizes per brand or product line. All you would need to know is the gallon size of your pool and use this as a guide in selecting the appropriate kit for yours. It is very beneficial to you to make sure that you choose the correct kit because it eliminates any portion control you would need to do. Just follow any instructions and steps and most kits would call for all of the contents to be used.We sell more than 30 different winter closing kits on our website and offer many selections in our 3 retail stores as well. These kits take a great deal of worry and expense out of the closing and opening processes that a pool goes through. Our staff would be happy to make suggestions, answer questions, and advise as is needed. Contact us today or take a look at our  entire inventory of winter closing kits at the link or button below.