It is finally Spring and time to jump into your pool! Here are some steps to take when opening your pool in New Jersey.
Clean the Pool Deck
Clear the area around your pool of any leaves or debris that may have built up during the fall and winter months.. It is important to remove any unwanted items on the pool deck so that they do not fall into the pool when you remove the cover.
Clean the Pool cover
Many pool owners are unaware that they should also clean off the pool cover. It should only take a few minutes to clean the cover. As you fold it, use a hose and brush on solid covers, or a leaf blower for mesh covers. Also, be careful of the location that you store your cover. The last thing you want is to find your pool cover with holes chewed up by rodents. To protect your cover, hang a safety cover bag in your garage or inside your house.
Raise Water Level
Refill your pool water level to its normal level. Make sure that the water is at a level suitable for your pool skimmer to work, or about halfway up the pool tile.
Clean Cover Water Bags
If you have water bags to hold down a solid pool cover, they can be gross and slimy after months of unuse during the off-season. To make sure that they last for a few more seasons, lay the cover water bags on a sloped surface, hose them down with water and then scrub them clean. Allow them to air dry before rolling them back up in storage.
Reconnect Pool Equipment
Reconnect anything that you removed during winter, including pool filter, pump, heater, etc.
Remove Winter Plugs & Re-attach Drain Plugs
Don’t forget to pull out any winter freeze plugs in the pump, heater, pool cleaners and filter. Also reinstall each normal drain plug.
Turn System On
Now that you have removed and replaced all necessary pool equipment, it is time to turn on the circulation and filtration system. Also, prime the pump, to allow it to get rid of antifreeze, worms, dirt and other debris.
Test the Pool’s pH and Alkalinity
After you’ve let the circulation system run for several hours, test the pool’s pH level, alkalinity and chlorine. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control recommends setting the pH level to 7.2–7.8. Check your pool test kit so that it measures the free chlorine level, which is how much chlorine is available in pool water to destroy germs. For a healthy pool, the free chlorine level should be between 1.0 and 3.0 parts per million (ppm). An acceptable range of alkalinity is 80 to 120 ppm.
