Guide To Home Improvement - Pools North and South

Maintaining your swimming pool depends greatly on the climate where you live. For example, pool owners in NJ must keep up an entirely different schedule from pool owners in Texas.

A Pool in NJ

The primary difference between pool maintenance in colder and warmer climates is whether or not you must winterize your swimming pool. Let us consider a standard swimming pool in New Jersey. Typically by September or October it is too cold to swim, and you must begin the winterization process that is necessary in order to make sure you have a functional pool again come spring.

Winterizing consists primarily of lowering the water level in the swimming pool, followed by draining the filter, pump, and chlorination equipment. If any water freezes within your pump or filter, you may have to replace the entire system in the spring. The same goes for the plumbing that runs to and from your pool. After emptying all the pipes, or adding swimming pool antifreeze, the pool is then covered tightly to prevent debris from getting into the water. In the spring, you will simply have to reverse this process and balance the water in the pool, and you are ready to swim.

A Pool in TX

If you live in a climate that is relatively warm all year long, like Texas, you may not even have to invest in a swimming pool cover. In order to avoid a frozen pool, the pump and filter can be set to switch on if the temperature drops below a certain point.

Although uncovered swimming pools tend to accumulate debris, you can solve this by running an automatic pool cleaner for 2 or 3 hours per day, keeping the water clear of insects, leaves, and algae. An added bonus of this technique is that you can take a swim whenever you have the urge hits you, even in the dead of winter.

Source:
Pool Wizard: Pool Water Maintenance