What to Do When You Reopen Your Pool

Updated June 2021

As the days lengthen and the weather warms, homeowners who are lucky enough to own a pool have the itch to reopen it for the summer season. Some homeowners, especially new ones, may have limited knowledge of home swimming pool maintenance, but reopening a pool is a manageable task for most to accomplish by themselves. Whether you want to learn how to open an above-ground pool or an inground pool, this article will provide you with the information you need.

How to Reopen a Swimming Pool

The first question a pool owner may have is: When is the best time to open my swimming pool? The appropriate time depends on where you live. If you open your pool too early in the spring, you may have a problem with frost damage when temperatures drop at night. There is also the risk of excessive accumulation of pollen. If you open your pool too late in the season, you may find that algae have begun to bloom in the water. The best time to open your pool is when the daytime temperature is reliably above 70 degrees.

Once you have decided it’s appropriate to open your pool for the season, your next question likely is: How do I bring my pool back to life? You’ll need to follow these steps.

• Clean, remove, and store your pool cover. Precipitation and debris accumulate on a pool cover over the months of disuse. It’s a hassle to clean this up if it gets into your pool. Use a pump to remove excess water on top of the cover and a blower or broom to get rid of debris. Thoroughly scrub your pool cover after you’ve removed it. Allow it to fully dry to discourage mildew before folding. You can also add some talcum powder or an alkalinity increase.
• Top off the water level and reconnect equipment. Use a hose to replace water that may have evaporated from the pool. Then reconnect any pumps, filters, heaters, plumbing lines, and other equipment.
• Replace winterizing plugs, reset the pool system, and remove metal stains. If you used winterizing drain plugs, you’ll need to swap them for summer plugs. Then you can turn back on the pool pump and filtration system. Now you can apply a metal stain remover to remove or prevent discoloration caused by trace metals in the water. Run your filtration system for a couple hours after application.
• Test and rebalance the pool’s water chemistry. Test for total alkalinity, pH, and chlorine levels. You will then need to adjust the chemistry to make the water safe for swimming. Apply chemicals as necessary, starting with adjusting for alkalinity before testing the pH level and calcium hardness.
• Brush, vacuum, and shock the pool. Remove any remaining debris that has gathered in the pool. You can make your job easier by using one of the best automatic pool cleaners on the market. Then you can use a chlorine shock in the pool kill any lingering bacteria.

Protecting Your Pool With a Home Warranty

If you’ve followed the steps above, you’re aware of the complexity of your pool and the expensive devices and systems that keep it functioning. To spare yourself the financial trouble when something in your pool needs to be repaired or replaced, considering a home warranty with pool coverage from Liberty Home Guard.

Call us today at (866) 699-4589 or reach us online. We have a wide variety of affordable plans available so you can find the exact plan that works for you.