When Is the Right Time to Open Your Pool?

You’re eager and ready to open your pool for the season — but is now the right time or should you wait? In this blog post, we’ll explain when you should open your pool and the necessary steps to ensure it’s ready for your first dip of the year!

Wait for the Right Conditions

Weather is unpredictable. It might seem strange to consider opening a pool as early as spring, but since there’s no set date to open your pool back up, you’ll need to keep an eye on the forecast to know the right time.

Water Temperature

Check the temperature in your pool. You should open your pool before the water temp consistently reaches roughly 60 degrees. Any later than that and you could be inviting algae growth.

Even if you don’t have a pool heater, your cover still insulates your pool and can act as a solar heater. The sun will warm the pool cover, eventually leading the cover to raise the temperature in your pool. Once you’ve reached this magic number, don’t forget to add a sanitizer to further reduce the chances of developing algae growth.

Weather

No one thinks about opening their pool when snow’s still on the ground. But once the weather gets more variable in the spring, it’s challenging to know if you’re free to uncover the pool and start the opening steps.

Keep an eye on the weather for a few weeks. You don’t want to go through all the effort of opening your pool just to have inclement weather literally rain on your parade in the coming weeks. Weather matters much less if you have a heated pool. But regardless, it’s unwise to open your pool if there’s only one day above 70 degrees on the radar.

Opening Your Pool

If you feel confident that now’s the time for the swimming season, you’ll still want to take the appropriate steps before anyone dips a toe in your pool.

Clear Out the Edges

Spring is when greenery sprouts, so once things bloom, you might be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of leaves and organic matter that falls into your pool. Trimming any greenery around your pool before you open it makes it much easier when spring is in full swing.

Shock Your Pool

While your pool likely hasn’t seen much attention over the past few months, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things happening beneath the surface. It’s vital to chemically treat your pool before you reopen. Using shock can help get your pool’s chemistry back to basics.

Test Frequently

If you haven’t been testing throughout the winter, now’s the time to start back up again! Test your pool’s chemical levels before and after treatments to confirm that the chemicals work well. Adjust accordingly, and don’t consider your pool ready for swimming until it is at the proper levels.

Double Check Winterizing Elements

Homeowners who winterize their pool might have freeze plugs or antifreeze to keep their plumbing lines safe. Remove these winterizing elements before you open your pool. If you disconnected filters, pumps, or heaters, reconnect them, ensure they’re working.

Pay Attention to the Cover

Your pool cover has protected your pool all winter long. Now is the perfect time to ensure there are no rips or tears in your cover so that you aren’t blindsided by needing a new one when you close your pool for the season. You should also dry your cover entirely before you put it away.

Contact Professional Pool Services

You can make your life easier by outsourcing these tasks to professionals; knowing your pool reopening is in good hands and that nothing gets missed is well worth it. Not only that but if you’re unsure about how to proceed with your opening, it’s much better to have an expert assist you with your pool maintenance than try to go it alone.

Call Performance Pools for the Right Service at the Right Time

Make pool care easier on yourself by calling in the professionals at Performance Pool and Spa | Poolwerx! We offer pool opening services and expert water care to keep your pool healthy throughout the summer!