Pool Opening

Getting Your Pool Ready For Its Summer Opening

As a pool owner in Northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan, you may not be thinking about opening your swimming pool for the 2019 swim season yet, but you can bet that we are. Believe it or not, your friends and neighbors have likely been calling to get on the pool opening schedule for spring already! Why? Because once spring rolls around, and it will come more quickly than you’d imagine, our schedules quickly fill up and it will be harder for you to find a time slot to get your pool ready for that first wonderful day of swimming.

Here’s seven steps we will take to get your pool looking crystal clear:

  1. Clean the pool cover. Because the cover could have been littered with dirty water and debris over the winter months, he will clean it off before he removes it so none of the dirt falls into the water. If necessary, he will pump off any standing water, so it doesn’t fall into the pool.
  2. The cover will be removed and cleaned and laid in a sunny spot to dry off and air out for the season. If you use that cover during the summer, it will be put into an area that is easily accessible. If you use a different cover in the summer, the winter cover will be packed away once it is dry.
  3. The pool will be refilled to its normal levels. The filters will be checked, cleaned and replaced.
  4. Any items that were removed for storage during the winter will be cleaned, checked and replaced as well. Your pool contractor will check plumbing and electrical connections to assure they weren’t damaged during the winter months or that no rodents or insects set up housekeeping inside any of the pool or hot tub areas or decking.
  5. The pool itself will be inspected for any cracks or structural issues. Any accessories, such as a diving board or slide or fountain will be checked for structural integrity before being reattached to the pool.
  6. The pool will be cleaned and vacuumed, and chemicals will be added, and the filters run to circulate the chemicals throughout the pool.
  7. Your pool contractor will recommend that the water be “shocked” aka super-chlorinated and will advise that the pump be run for at least 24 hours to circulate everything. He will then come back and reevaluate the chemical levels before deeming it open for swim season.

While we are concentrating on getting the pool in summer shape, you can clean and set up the outdoor living area and pull the furniture from storage.

Of course, we believe the best option is for you, as a swimming pool owner, is to have our professionals handle your pool opening. However, if you are the type that likes to do it yourself, here’s a list of tips and tricks for you:

  • The swimming pool cover shouldn’t be removed until it is cleaned and cleared of standing water, leaves and other debris that has collected during the winter months. Once the cover has been removed, take time to give it a thorough cleaning on both sides.
  • Before the swimming pool cleaning for the season opening starts your swimming pool contractor will fill it then give it a thorough vacuuming.
  • A shock treatment will typically be performed on the pool, again letting it sit undisturbed overnight. Algaecides will also be added to the water as will chlorine.
  • Accessories that were removed during the winter months will be reinstalled. These include slides and diving boards and ladders.
  • The items used to hold the cover in place during the winter should be removed, cleaned and stored for use next season.

We recommend that our service professionals come out and check your equipment. Items like the pump, filter and skimmer should be checked to ensure they are in good working order.

They will also shock and monitor the chemicals in your pool. The filter will need to be turned on and run for a complete 24-hour cycle and the water will be tested following that cycle. The pH levels of the water will be checked and monitored to bring them back within proper levels of between 7.4 and 7.6.

Take time now to contact us at Hawaiian Pool Builders to get on the schedule for a summer swimming pool opening before all of the available spaces fill up.

Pool & Hot Tub Alliance - Certified Advanced Pool Builder Professional
Pool Financing
Pentair
Pool & Hot Tub Alliance - PHTA Member Anniversary 15 to 19 years