Pool Winterization

Winterization or pool preservation is an important stage of preparing an artificial water body for the cold season. It should be carried out in autumn, before the first frosts, considering the climatic features of your region. In some cases, preparation begins as early as September.

For seasonal pools such as inflatable or frame pools, winterization is quite simple: the water is drained, the shell is thoroughly cleaned and dried, and equipment is dismantled and stored in a room with positive temperature. In spring, these actions are performed in reverse order.

Winterization of permanent pools — polypropylene, concrete, or overflow — is significantly more complex. The shell cannot be moved, so part of the water remains in the reservoir throughout the winter. This requires proper preparation of all systems to avoid damage from freezing.

Stages of winterizing a permanent pool:

• Cleaning the shell and treating residual water with special chemicals;
• Dismantling removable equipment;
• Lowering the water level to the technically permissible mark;
• Blowing out and sealing pipelines and nozzles;
• Installing compensation floats to protect against ice loads;
• Installing a winter cover to protect the shell from debris, snow, and precipitation.

Cleaning and treating pool water before winterization

First, all debris is removed from the water surface using nets. Special brushes and a hydro-vacuum are used to clean the walls and bottom. It is important to measure the water’s pH level with a simple tester — this is a key indicator for further treatment.

The optimal pH range is 7.2–7.6. If within this range, standard pool chemicals are sufficient. For deviations, special agents are used to stabilize acidity. If necessary, shock treatment with special disinfectants is performed.

After adding disinfectants, the filtration system pump must run for at least 6 hours to evenly distribute reagents. Finally, winter preservation chemicals are added to stop harmful microorganisms from multiplying during the winter period.

Removing attached equipment before pool winterization

Attached equipment must be carefully dismantled and stored in a dry, ventilated room. This includes:

• counter-current and other hydraulic equipment;
• lighting systems;
• waterfalls;
• ladders.

During dismantling, each element is thoroughly cleaned, dried, and carefully packed for safe storage until the next season. After lowering the water level, filters and pumps are removed. The sequence of actions is: disconnect equipment from power, seal openings with special plugs, dry, pack, and store.

Preservation also applies to water heating systems, pumps, counter-current systems, filtering and dosing systems — all are disconnected, dried, packed, and stored until the new season. Non-removable pool elements must be thoroughly dried, excess water removed, preserved, and all existing openings sealed with special plugs.

Lowering the water level in the pool

Before preservation, the water level in the pool is lowered approximately 15 cm below the level of the nozzles using a drainage pump or drainage system.

After lowering, all nozzles, main drains, and other water supply openings are carefully sealed with special plugs — this is essential to prevent system damage from water freezing.

The next step is adding special winter chemicals for water preservation. These chemicals maintain water clarity and cleanliness, and prevent the growth of bacteria, fungi, and mold during winter.

Protecting the water surface: compensation floats and proper covering

Protecting the water surface is the final and one of the most important stages of preparing the pool for winter. Before installing the cover, special compensation floats must be placed. Their task is to reduce pressure on the pool walls during freezing and thawing.

We recommend using professional winter compensators in the form of sealed sandbags. They have several important advantages:

• Reusable for several seasons;
• Resistant to temperature and humidity changes;
• Ability to securely connect multiple compensators together.

We do not recommend using plastic bottles or jugs, as some pool owners sometimes do. Food-grade plastic is brittle in frost, cracks, sand spills out, and spring de-winterization becomes problematic. Moreover, they are difficult to fix securely in the pool.

Compensators are placed in the center of the pool shell, on the water surface. Metal parts should not be used for fastening as they cause corrosion and oxidation that negatively affect the water and pool shell.