Why Chemicals? I'm not using the pool??

When the weather starts to cool off at night a bit, you're right, we don't use the swimming pool quite as much. (Unless you are heating the water) It's not as much fun to get into the pool when the water gets a little cool.

There is always small amounts of algae in the water - even when we can not see it. If we do not continue to treat the swimming pool water, even though we are not using it as much, it will start to look like the neighbor's pond - yes, it'll even grow floating algae............no fun to clean up! And, if that pool turns into a pond and you want to use the pool....oh well, party down the tubes!

The bonus of the weather cooling off a little is that we do not need to use as many chemicals to keep the water crystal clear. We can back down that chlorinator - or you might actually be using too much and run the chlorine level high. If you have a chlorine generator - or salt system, you can back down the percentage of time that you have the unit operate. If you use a biguanide, you will likely use less shock.

Remember to have your water tested by a swimming pool professional to make sure that your pool is in balance. This also helps you to use the least amount of products to maintain that pristine blue swimming pool!

When Should I Close My Swimming Pool?

The goal is to winterize the swimming pool before freezing weather and hopefully have a clear pool in the spring when it is opened. In order to achieve that goal, it often works best to wait as long as possible to close - here in Kansas, that's typically the first of October.

The water is cold in my pool, can I just shut the pump off?

Even though the water is getting cool, like the weather, the water needs to be filtered and treated with a sanitizer in order for it to stay clear. Yes, the pool will still turn green. There might not be any swimmers in the pool with kids going back to school, but resist the urge to turn that pump and filter off - you'll have the lagoon in your back yard.