It’s finally starting to warm up in Michigan – and that means summer is on the mind. If you’re one of the many homeowners that open their pool by Memorial Day weekend, don’t forget we are rapidly approaching the holiday. With a little guidance from the below opening day steps or professional helping hands, you’re well on your way to summertime fun in your inground pool:
Clean the Deck and Uncover Your Pool
You’ve probably accumulated debris on your pool deck and cover from the fall and winter seasons. Before you take off the inground pool cover, make sure to clear off leaves, sticks, and other debris from the deck and cover. We also recommend siphoning any stagnant water on top of your pool cover and checking it for holes before properly storing for the summer season.
Top It Off
Part of the winterization process included draining a small amount of water from your inground pool. For optimal summertime fun, fill the pool back to its normal level using your garden hose. Prior to topping off your pool, ensure all winterizing equipment is removed and turn on the filtration system, so you don’t have any mishaps.
Clean and Balance the Water
It’s no surprise – water that’s been sitting for six months should be cleaned! The next step in the process includes adjusting your pool’s chemical levels – including pH, chlorine, and alkalinity. You can check your water quality using an at-home kit and adding the suggested materials based on its results. In general, your chemical levels should be in the following ranges:
- pH – 7.4 to 7.6
- Alkalinity – 80 to 120 ppm
- Chlorine – 2.0 to 4.0 ppm
Brush and Vacuum
Even with adding the perfect amount of chemicals to balance the water, it’s a best practice to brush and vacuum your pool on a semi-regular basis. It’s not uncommon for algae to accumulate during the fall and winter seasons; and unfortunately, added chemicals will have minimal effect on this. A good pool vacuum will eliminate existing algae and debris in your pool.
Shock Your Pool
After you let your pool sit overnight with the filtration system running, it’s time to shock your pool. “Shocking” your pool will get rid of any contaminants that happened to survive initial chemical treatment and vacuuming.
Opening your pool can be a rather lengthy process – and there are some common pitfalls that are overseen when making it a DIY project. If you’re looking for some helping hands to open your pool, contact us at BlockCo Pools. We’ll do all the work, so you can avoid the hassle.