These suggestions for your pool. They are guidelines only and Poolmart accepts no responsibility for damage caused by inclement weather or normal deterioration of products. WINTERIZING YOUR POOL Proper winterizing of your pool should save you hours of problems and headaches next spring if you take the time to do it right! There is no 100 % guarantee absolute perfect way to do it because we have no way to know what mother nature is going to throw at us in the next seven months. All we can really do is give it our best shot, which historically has worked out pretty well. Basically, the whole process is mostly common sense and a little water chemistry by your favorite pool store (we hope is Poolmart!) STEP 1: WATER BALANCE Cold water absorbs minerals! SO, if your water’s calcium hardness and total alkalinity were a little low over the summer, you should really get it up before the water really chills down. Remember, the only thing your water has to dissolve over winter is your liner! The three things that must be done are 1. Get the Total Alkalinity to at least 150 ppm 2. Get the pH as close to 7.5 as you can; 3. Get the calcium hardness to at least 200 ppm. Of course, our lab is available to help you with these adjustments. STEP 2: HOUSEKEEPING CHORES Go to bed dirty, and you’ll wake up in even worse shape. You want the pool as clean as possible before you put on the cover. Brush the walls, clean the “bathtub ring” with PROTEAM TILE & VINYL CLEANER or NATURAL CHEMISTRY POOL FIRST AID. These are special formula’s that cut grease and oils. DO NOT (I repeat) DO NOT use household products such as “409”, “Fantastic”, “Soft Scrub”, or “Comet” cleaners, as they contain solvents and or abrasives that are not compatible with either your liner or your pool water chemistry. Next, brush the walls and after everything has settles, vacuum the pool. STEP 3: PROTEAM WINTERIZING KIT With the filter running, sprinkle the “WINTER SHOCK” around the pool surface. Let this circulate a couple hours; then, to protect the pool from algae, pour the “WINTER ALGAECIDE” around the edges of your pool. Let the pool circulate for a couple more hours before going to step 4. If you have a sand filter you should clean the sand bed at this point with PROTEAM FILTER MAGIC. Follow label instructions carefully. STEP 4: DRAIN AND BACKWASH Drain your pool down to about an inch or two below the skimmer/ vacuum opening. You may do this with the filter on backwash until you start to pull air, then shut off the filter. DO NOT leave the pool unattended during this procedure as you may burn out your pump if it runs dry. You can siphon water out by using a garden hose. Simply put a garden hose in your pool as if you were going to refill. Turn on the water until all the air is out of the hose and disconnect from the spigot. You will see water come out of the hose. You are now siphoning your pool. Just don’t forget to pull out the hose when the level is where you want or you may empty the whole pool, at which point you go back to “Step 1”. STEP 5: EQUIPMENT Thoroughly clean the skimmer basket and housing. Get out the pool goop by using PROTEAM TILE & VINYL CLEANER. Do the same with the pump strainer basket. Remove the eye fitting from the return line and insert the winter disk or plug (follow the manufacturers instruction for winterizing you brand pool). We don’t recommend removing the skimmer unless you have a “Winterizing Skimmer Plate”. The reason why is that your liner might slip and moisture will get between the wall and liner causing possible deterioration to the wall. Next, disconnect the hoses from the filter, leaving them attached to the pool. This will help take the overflow away from the pool. Do not plug the skimmer as it will fill with water, freeze and crack. Remove the weir (that is the door that bobs up and down) and the vacuum port cover assembly. If you don’t remove these, ice may sheer them of. It is a good idea to put an empty half-gallon milk jug upside down into the skimmer, then replace the skimmer lid to take up any ice expansion into the skimmer from overflow and keep snow out.. Now let’s work on the filter. All filters, regardless of the type, should be taken apart and cleaned. IF you put it away dirty, you will have a real big problem come spring. If you have a cartridge, remove filter and soak in PROTEAM FILTER MAGIC overnight and rinse thoroughly before storing for the winter. If you have a DE filter, Soak the grids in PROTEAM FILTER MAGIC over night and rinse thoroughly before reassembling. Lubricate all gaskets and o-rings with “MAGIC LUBE”. If you have calcium or iron build-up, call Poolmart for more instructions. Sand filters inspect your sand bed. Clean out debris and carefully dig down into the sand bed. If it’s a mess, don’t aggravate yourself, dump it and replace the sand in the spring. The cost of sand is a lot less than a divorce attorney just because the pool won’t clear up. Sand should be changed every 2 to 3 years for good filtration. Make sure that you store all the little parts like drain plugs, eyeballs, skimmer baskets, etc… in a safe place where nobody will ever find them again, so Poolmart can sell you new ones next season. Get the idea?! Now, store your filter and pump inside, if possible, except sand filter tanks full of sand. Don’t try and move them. You’ll only hurt something. Leave the drain plug, at the bottom of the tank off all winter so water and moisture don’t accumulate and crack the tank. STEP 6: THE COVER Quite simply, place the cover over the pool. Pull the cable tight, hope for a short winter. DO NOT USE A PILLOW UNDER THE COVER. This does nothing except shorten the life of your cover. If you are in a windy area and your cover is flapping, call us about our special “WIND STABALIZER KITS” If you have an IN-GROUND POOL or ABOVE GROUND POOL WITH A MAIN DRAIN GO TO STEP 2 Page for Winterizing Instructions! ©2006 Poolmart & Spas