Pool Closing - Above Ground

Expert Advice

As summer comes to an end, all swimming pools must be prepared for the winter season. When closing your pool for the year, a number of precautions must be taken to ensure the clarity of the water and the safety of the pool and its equipment. Since all pools are different, it would be impossible to cover everything in this space. However, we can provide you with some helpful guidelines.

The first tasks are simple housekeeping chores. To properly close your pool for the season, it should be first skimmed, brushed and vacuumed. The cleaner your pool is at closing, the cleaner it should be in the spring!

Next, you'll need to add special winterizing chemicals to help ensure the water clarity during the coming months. Add these chemicals the night before you close your pool and let the filter run overnight to circulate them.

Add the appropriate Winterizing Chemicals to the pool the night before closing it.
The Robelle Winter Kit appropriate to your pool has all the chemicals you will need. Run the filter overnight to circulate. Backwash the filter thoroughly in the morning.
Close off the skimmer and return fittings.
We recommend the use of a skimmer face plate to avoid having to lower the water level. Plug the return fitting. If the opening is threaded it usually takes a 11/2" plug . If it is not threaded, #9 or #10 rubber expansion plugs would be the most common sizes used.
Disconnect the filter system and remove all drain plugs from the pump and filter.
If you have a sand filter you should empty the sand from the tank then take the filter system inside. If you have a D.E. Filter you should disassemble it, chemically clean the filter elements and rinse them off with a high pressure washer. Put the filter back together and bring it inside. We recommend always storing the filter inside for the winter season.
Install Ice Equalizer Air Pillow(s).
This is an inflatable pillow designed to help absorb pressure from ice expansion and assist in preventing possible damage to the pool structure and wall. Pillows also allow the cover to funnel water to the sides of the pool, making it easier to remove the water periodically throughout the winter and in preparation for the spring pool opening. Pillows should be inflated half to three-quarters full, allowing room for expansion. They should then be positioned and anchored in the center of the pool. Gallon jugs full of sand, tied to the pillows with twine usually works best.

PLEASE NOTE: If a pillow breaks it means there is TOO MUCH STRESS on the cover! If this should happen, pump the water off the cover immediately and replace the pillow with two or three smaller pillows. We recommend using more smaller pillows than fewer larger pillows, so that if you should lose one, the stress on the cover will be less, preventing a possible tear in your cover.
Pull the winter cover onto the pool.
For round or oval pools you should start by folding the winter cover in half so that the top is on the inside. Then with one person at each side of the folded cover, pull it half way onto the pool. With the cover half on, gradually pull the folded portion of the cover into place allowing the cover to rest on the pool water.
Secure the cover with the cable or rope provided.
Weave the cable through the grommets around the edge of the cover. Once you have the cable in place, pull it snug under the top rails. Attach it to the winch or turnbuckle and tighten. If you have a partial or full deck around the pool, you may need to use water tubes, as described in the inground section, to hold the cover securely in place. We do not recommend tying the cover to anything or weighing it down by hanging bottles or other objects from the grommets. These procedures usually damage the cover, and will void its warranty.
Your above ground pool should now be ready for winter.
Remember, it is very important to pump or siphon any water off the cover as soon as possible when it rains or when the snow melts. Damage to the cover caused by excessive weight on top is not covered by warranty.

CHLORINE / BROMINE POOLS

• Add double the normal dosage of Robelle Shock (2 lbs. Granular/2 gal. Liquid per 10,000 gallons).

• Add an appropriate size
Robelle Winter Kit.

Robelle Shock
(2 pkgs. per 10,000 gallons)
Robelle Winter Chemical Kit
Skimmer Plate
Appropriate Winter Cover
Cable and Turnbuckle
Ice Equalizer Pillows
(Two or three medium pillows or one or two large pillows.)
String or Twine
(to secure air pillows)
Pool Cover Pump or Siphon
Leaf Master or Leaf Rake