If your luxury hotel, spa, or private health club includes an outdoor swimming pool, now is the time to get it ready for the coming cold weather. The Guncast Swimming Pool Service and Maintenance engineers are experts in ‘winterising’ outdoor swimming pools and explain the steps you can take to prepare.

Implement a winter maintenance programme for your outdoor swimming pool

If you are keeping your outdoor swimming pool open throughout winter, regular maintenance is very important for the operational performance, and to ensure your luxury facilities continue to impress your guests.

Guncast’s service team helps to ensure your pool is fit for use with regular checks throughout the winter, helping you to give your guests an exceptional, luxury experience all year round. An automatic pool cleaner can be operated in between uses.

The cold outside air or higher pool temperatures in the heated pool can affect any chemical filtration systems. Be sure that the water pH and chemistry is regularly tested. This can be supported by a Guncast eco-friendly swimming pool filtration system. The Guncast Smart, Guncast Premium, and Guncast Sustainable filtration packages, incorporate recycled materials together with water treatment systems to achieve premium water quality for your swimming pool. The eco-friendly design and function benefit your pool, the health of your pool users, and the environment.

Heating your outdoor pool throughout winter

A quality pool heater helps maintain a comfortable temperature during the colder months for your guests. It can also be set up to perform economically, giving you full control over energy consumption. Investing in a quality swimming pool heating system can make all the difference to your guests’ luxury bathing experience, giving them pool access, whatever the weather.

Insulating Swimming Pool Covers

Use an automatic swimming pool cover to protect the pool and keep it clear of debris, which is often more problematic during autumn and winter. Automatic swimming pool covers help to retain heat and maintain the desired pool temperature. This not only makes for a more pleasurable swimming experience for your guests, it also reduces the level of heating required, which helps to reduce energy consumption. Part of the swimming pool winterising process includes checking that your pool cover is in good condition, and making any repairs in advance, as required.

Closing your outdoor pool for winter

You may decide to close down your outdoor pool for the winter, which usually begins in September/October. 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 the swimming pool.

It is important to deep clean the swimming pool before closing up, and while it remains closed. An automatic pool cleaner is an effective and convenient way to keep your swimming pool clean. It can even be operated under the pool cover for efficient and discreet cleaning.

Ongoing service and maintenance is still necessary while your swimming pool is out of use for the winter, to ensure its longevity. Swimming pool winter care visits should take place every 4-6 weeks. This will include activities such as backwashing and rinsing of the filter, netting the pool, chemical checks, balancing the water, and adding chlorine, as and when required.

The swimming pool is also covered 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. Closing your pool down over the winter can help to save on energy and associated costs which is a growing concern for many businesses in the current uncertain times.

Talk to Guncast today

Talk to the specialist Guncast Pools and Wellness team about winterising your outdoor swimming pool. Contact us to find out more about our commercial service and maintenance packages.