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Home > Latest Articles > Closing your outdoor swimming pool for winter? Now is the time to start

Closing your outdoor swimming pool for winter? Now is the time to start

Closing your outdoor swimming pool for winter? Now is the time to start

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As the autumnal weather sets in, outdoor swimming pool owners need to start thinking about preparing for the winter. Guncast engineers suggest that pool owners should be winterising their pools in October. 

Closing down your swimming pool for winter

If you are not planning to use your outdoor pool during the colder months, you will need to close it down properly, with the support of a qualified swimming pool engineer.

As part of the winter close-down process, your swimming pool engineer will reduce the timer settings from 12 hours a day to two hours a day, and isolate the majority of the plant room, from where all the systems (such as the heating, automatic pool cleaner, and UV system) are controlled. This helps to conserve energy, while continuing to maintain your swimming pool, ready for use again in the spring.

Even when you are not using your swimming pool, ongoing service and maintenance is necessary, with winter care visits recommended every 4-6 weeks. Swimming pool winter care visits include various activities such as backwashing and rinsing of the filter, netting the pool, chemical checks, balancing the water, and adding chlorine, as and when required. Your automatic pool cleaner can be used all year round, even operating under a cover for efficient and convenient cleaning.

We recommend covering your pool with a winter debris cover to prevent any debris falling into the pool over the winter period, and shocked with sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine) for the winter months. You can also install a Guncast eco-friendly swimming pool filtration system, which incorporates recycled materials together with water treatment systems to achieve premium water quality for your swimming pool.

Heating your outdoor pool for winter

If you use your heated outdoor pool all year round, a quality pool heater with eco-settings helps maintain a comfortable temperature during the colder months. Insulate your heated pool with an automatic cover. It helps to contain the heat, as well as preventing debris. This conserves energy and reduces heat loss. It also minimises the level of heating required before each use, contributing to lowering energy consumption. As part of the swimming pool winterising process, ask your engineer to check that your pool cover is in good condition, and arrange any repairs, as required.

Slatted covers used during the summer months, can be installed with solar panels. With sufficient sunshine, it can heat the pool from a low temperature to 28°C.

Talk to the Guncast team

Talk to the specialist Service and Maintenance team at Guncast about preparing your swimming pool for winter. Contact us to find out more about our maintenance packages to support your swimming pool, all year round.