Here in Australia, we’re blessed with relatively mild winters (when compared with other parts of the world where their water freezes) so our pool wiinterizing tasks aren’t actually that difficult! In fact, with a good pool heat pump, you can skip closing down the pool during winter and continue on with swimming season all-year-round!
Important do’s for winter pool maintenance
Since we’ve already gone through how to properly winterize your pool here we won’t go through all of the steps, instead we’ll just go through some of the major things that we should keep in mind AFTER we winterize our pools.
Continue Regular Maintenance Tasks
Although much lighter than your regular pool maintenance tasks, maintaining your pool over the winter is something that you should be doing still on a regular basis. Tasks like skimming the pool of leaves and debris, emptying skimmer baskets, scrubbing your pool surfaces, testing and balancing pool water should still be continued over the winter months.
Cover your pool when not in use
If you have a pool cover, then you should already be using it over the winter. If you don’t, then this is an excellent time to consider getting one. Why? Pool covers keep your pool free from leaves and other debris, greatly reducing the need for you to fish out the debris and other stuff from your pool, which in turn will greatly reduce the need for you to balance your pool chemicals.
See our ultimate pool covers guide for more information on fitting for a pool cover!
One of the best things you can for your winter pool maintenance is the judicious use of some long life algaecide! We're all guilty of skipping some pool maintenance tasks during winter and the proper use of algaecide will make those lapses much more forgiveable. By applying some algaecide, even if your pool's chlorine levels drop below the recommended levels, you're still protected from algae blooms, even though it might mean that you'll have to do some shocking when spring/summer rolls by to get rid of other biological contaminants. At the very least you'll be saved from having to deal with green pool water when it's time to open the pool.
Important don’ts for winter pool maintenance
The important do’s were easy to remember right? Now for the things that you should never do when it comes to Australian winter pool maintenance, which is pretty simple to remember as well.
Never drain your pool
While it may sound like the simplest thing to do, just take out all of the water and refill when spring rolls along, it’s not something that anyone should do. Although it may sound logical to start fresh each spring, draining your pool can be one of the worse things that you can do to your pool. Depending on how your pool was built and what materials were used, fully draining your pool can destroy it! Even if you manage to drain your pool safely, the exposure of the pool surface to the elements can cause pitting, corrosion and other damage which wouldn’t happen if the pool is full.
Neglecting to filter your pool water
Even if no one is using your pool, you still should run your pool pump daily so that the water gets filtered and the pool still gets proper circulation to prevent algae growth. Remember, algae doesn’t care if you use the pool or not, it just goes on with its merry ways and grows normally, even during winter.
Not asking for help
Mr Pool Man is open the whole-year-round! So one mistake would be is to not ask for help if something pops up with your pool that you’re not familiar with. Our blog section is chock-full of helpful articles that cover all aspects of pool maintenance, troubleshooting, and pool ideas that you’ll definitely find what you’re looking for. If you can’t find it, you can reach out to us through the form below and we’re more than happy to help!
Other Winter-Specific Pool Posts
We’ve written quite a bit about winterizing your pool for Australian winters and here are some quick links to help you jump around the site.
You can also check our other Seasonal Pool Maintenance guide by clicking here.
Easy Pool Winter Maintenance "Hack"
Would you rather stay inside all warm and toasty instead of maintaining your pool through winter? Then get a robotic pool cleaner would be perfect for you. It takes around five minutes to set up and about another five minutes to fish out of the pool after use and it takes care of all of the winter maintenance tasks (aside from the chemical balancing of course) for you! A robotic pool cleaner will scrub your pool surfaces, vacuum up any debris that has settled on the bottom of your pool, and even filter your pool water!
Do you have any questions about this topic or the featured products? No worries, we're here to help! Drop us a question down below and we'll get back to you ASAP.
Happy swimming :)