With fall right around the corner it will soon be time to winterizing your pool! Depending on what part of the country you live in will determine when this will need to be done; however, here in the upstate of South Carolina that typically means around October when your water temperature is consistently below 60 degrees. By the way, we've got professionals that can handle all of this for you so you never have to worry about it. If you're interested in us handling your pool winterization just let us know. For those of you who want to handle it yourself we've comprised a list of steps for you below!

Step 1: Clean the pool very well.

1. Skim, brush, vacuum & thoroughly clean your pool!

Step 2: Test the water. Better yet let us test it!

1. You can bring in a water sample and let us professionally test your pool water!
2. pH should be between 7.4 and 7.6
3. Alkalinity between 100 parts per million (ppm) and 150 ppm. 125 ppm is perfect.
4. Calcium hardness is best between 175 ppm to 225 ppm
5. Chlorine should be between 2 ppm and 4 ppm.
6. Pro TIP: Generally speaking it is better to be on the higher side of all of these ranges since they will decrease naturally over time.
7. Pro Pro Pro TIP: We sell all of the above chemicals at great prices! Get the highest quality of each with knowledge from our pool experts on each.

Step 3: Drain the pool water below the skimmer.

1. Add your winter chemicals!!! We have winter kits for pools of all sizes! Come see us at the store and we will handpick exactly what you need to get squared away.
2. Turn off the pump
3. Set filter to "waste"
4.Set valves to the main drain
5.Turn the pump on.
6.Leave it on for roughly 1 minute. Sight glass should show clear water
7.Set pump back to off
8.Set multi-port valve to "waste" and let it run until a few inches below the skimmer

Step 4: After draining, blow out the lines.

1.Remove all of the return fittings & skimmer baskets
2.Remove all drain plugs from your filter, pump, chlorinator ... basically anything that has a plug should be removed!
3.Remove salt system if you have one. Clean it (we can help with that too) and store it for the winter months.
4.Set multiport valve to "recirculate"
5.Set pump valve to the skimmer line
6. Attach an air compressor to the pump and turn it on.
7. Use a shop vac to remove water from skimmer
8. Then plug the skimmer and all return jets
9.Turn the pump valve to main drain line (you should see bubbles come up from the deep end. Let that run for about a minute)
10.Turn the pump valve back to the skimmer line and turn off the air compressor
11. Pro Tip: plug the inside of the pump too! Just in case the valve leaks.
12. At this point, your pool lines should be totally free of water!

Congratulations, you did it! Your pool is now ready for the winter and more importantly ready for the next summer! Remember, if you have any questions or prefer a professional do your pool closing we are happy to help just give us a call or send us an email ( http://thepoolhousesc.com/contact.php )or send us a message on Facebook or Instagram @ThePoolHouseKnows!