Lucas Firmin Blog

Baton Rouge Pool Maintenance: Keeping Your Pool in Shape this Winter

Posted by Lucas Firmin on Jan 24, 2023 9:40:55 AM

The best summer pool parties rely on significant upkeep during the winter. In Baton Rouge, cooler winter temperatures make it essential to maintain your pool before spring arrives--including keeping an eye on the pool pump, pool filter, pool or hot tub heater, and more. You may not be using your pool as often as you do during the warmer months, but it’s still important to keep an eye on the equipment, helping to ward off time-consuming and expensive repairs. 

You can protect your expensive pool equipment through simple, regular check-ups that ensure varied pool tech types remain in place and won’t need replacement. Follow these tips to keep your pool running smoothly during the wintertime. 


Prepare Your Pool for Cold Weather


When it’s time to retire your pool for the winter, make sure you have a checklist in place to remain aware of your equipment. The most significant precautions to keep in mind are a covering system for the surface of your pool and a freeze guard for your pipes. Even mostly hands-off machinery--like your heating or cooling systems, filter, plumbing, and equipment--can be affected by unexpectedly cold temperatures. Rather than pulling a cover over the pool and leaving it, try to make a full examination of your pool equipment so you can be aware of any issues, cracks, or exposed areas. Some newer construction pools have a pool panel that has freeze protection. This means the pool will automatically know to run 24/7 during freezing temperatures. During freezing temperatures, it is recommended to run the equipment 24/7 to ensure the water is constantly moving. Just like when they tell you to let your faucet drip, helping the water not freeze in the pool lines.


Clean Your Pool Regularly


When you’re not using your pool often, cleaning is less intensive than it may be during the summer. However, leaving your pool alone for too long can cause debris and dirt to build up--meaning that you’ll have a big cleaning problem to deal with in the spring.
 
To prevent encrusted dirt and to keep your pool easy to maintain, add some winter cleaning sessions to your schedule. Check the areas around your pool, the sides of the pool, and the surface itself. You can use a brush or vacuum, as well as an automated pool cleaner, to keep pool water clean and clear. Don’t forget other equipment that can fill with debris--including skimmer baskets, pump baskets, cleaner bags and containers for floor cleaners. 


Maintain Your Pool’s Water Level and Chemistry


Even when you’re not swimming in the water, it’s important to check in on your pool’s depth and pH levels during the winter so that you don’t have a significant and unforeseen problem on your hands come springtime. Because freezing isn’t too much of a concern in Baton Rouge, it’s generally okay to fill your pool close to the top during the winter. When it comes to balancing water chemistry, use a kit to check your water’s acidity, alkalinity, and calcium hardness. If measurements are out of the standard range for your pool, contact a professional to help you correct the balance and prevent your equipment from being damaged by acidic water. It’s also recommended to use an algaecide during winter to nip new blooms before they become problematic.

By taking these simple steps during the wintertime, you can ensure that your pool remains in great shape for the spring and summer. While pool maintenance changes when the temperatures drop and you’re using your pool less, having a different game plan in the colder months provides year-round pool health.  The experts at Lucas Firmin Pools offer year-round and seasonal pool maintenance, care, and repair services.

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Topics: Pool Maintenance