Do you know what that means? That it's almost time to get your pool up and running again! If you've been a good student and followed our November tips for winterizing your pool correctly, then you shouldn't have any nasty surprises!
Restarting your pool after wintering is an important step in ensuring a pleasant summer and a good swimming season. First and foremost, you can only start restarting your pool once the water temperature has reached 12°C, otherwise you'll have to wait a little longer! But be careful not to wait too long: don't let your pool get above 15°C before restarting, or you'll soon be spending a lot of money on chemicals.
8 steps to take before restarting your pool
First step: remove your equipment
First of all, you need to put all your equipment back in its place: remove the winter cover and all the items that were placed in the water during the winter, such as winter floats, gizmos or plugs. You'll also need to re-install all the equipment you stored for the winter: skimmers, outlet nozzles, cleaned filters.
Step 2: clean your pool
Despite the liner, which will have prevented a certain amount of debris from scattering into your pond, you'll still find a few leaves or insects on the surface of the water. Use a landing net to do a first, basic clean-up.
Step 3: take care of the technical room
After an active winter
If you've opted for active winterizing, restarting your pool is quick and easy: all you have to do now is readjust the filtration time. You can also opt for a temperature-controlled panel like the tild VP, for automated filtration all year round!
- After passive wintering
If you've opted for passive winterization, getting your pool up and running again is a longer and more complicated process. First of all, you'll need to refurbish the pump and filters. Then open all the valves and take care of the pump's electronic control unit, i.e. switch it on and program a new filtration time.
Also check that the filter pressure gauge is balanced. If it is, all's well! Otherwise, if the pressure is too low, the pump may be seized up (loosen it with a screwdriver), or clogged (clean it).
On the other hand, if the pressure is too high, it's possible that not all the valves are open (check them), or that the filter hasn't been cleaned properly.
Step 4: Thoroughly clean your pond
Once these first steps have been completed, it's time to give your pond a thorough cleaning. Your robot vacuum cleaner will clean the bottom and sides of your pond.
Step 5: Adjust the water level
When you winterized your pool, you probably lowered the water level by at least 10cm below the outlet nozzles to prevent the pipes from freezing. Now it's time to readjust the water line by filling the pool to skimmer level.
Step 6: Analyze and treat water if necessary
Once you've cleaned your pool, you can move on to water analysis: you can check the pH level, the stabilizer level for a chlorine pool, the TAC (alkalinity) and the TH (hydrotimetric titre). It's advisable to make adjustments if the results are not good.
To simplify your life, we recommend installing our Ofix VP connected analyzer, which analyzes your water's essential elements (pH, RedOx and water temperature) in real time, to guarantee total peace of mind. You can also opt to install Daisy VP automatic dosing pumps, which automatically regulate water pH and/or chlorine (if 2 Daisy VPs are installed).
Step seven: Shock treatment
If you haven't done so before wintering, we recommend that you shock-treat your pool with chlorine or bromine, depending on your pool's usual treatment.
If your pool is treated by salt electrolysis, certain devices such as the Zelia ZLT or Limpido offer you the option of setting up a SHOCK program with boosted chlorine production for 24 hours.
Step eight: let the filtration system run
Your pool's return to service is almost complete! All that remains is to let the filtration system run continuously for 24 to 48 hours to purify the pool water.
