WINTERIZING ABOVE GROUND VINYL POOLS IN OHIO

[tfeltner84]

How do we winterize an above ground pool I OHIO? WHERE WE HAVE MANY DAYS OF BELOW FREEZING WEATHER? POOL HEATER? POOL PILLOW? COVER OR TARP? I SEEN PEOPLE USE THAT PLASTIC WRAP LIKE U USE FOR FOOD LOL DOES THAT WORK IN OHIO?
I KNOW THE WINTERIZING KIT WITH CHEMICALS ARE REQUIRED BUT THATS FOR PLACES WITH OUT FREEZING WEATHER SO I KNOW WE NEED THAT BUT SO MUCH MORE. BUT WHAT? I HAVE AN 18FT BY 48IN POOL AND I CANT AFFORD TO FILL IT OR REPLACE IT EVER SUMMER WHAT DO I DO? PLEASE ONLY RESPOND IF UR FAMILIAR WOTH THIS IN STATES THAT NEED THIS KIND OF WINTERIZING. TELLING PEOPLE HOW TO WINTERIZE LIKE WE ARE IN TEXAS DOESN'T woRK FOR OHIO LOL.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!

Closing Pool for Winter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[toolerb50]

Living in an area of northeast Ohio area lots of snow, I winterize and tear down all my pool pad equipment by bringing it inside except for my heater usually sometime in October before the leaves drop. After cleaning and dry, I store my pump and filter in my basement. As far as the plastic pool wrap, I do use this because the wind can rip through my area and I've found the wrap helps keep the cover at bay. I don't buy the pool wrap brand and you can buy a roll of moving wrap off amazon for far cheaper and it's the same thickness as "pool wrap". Check your pool heater manual for winterization tips, I dismantle the water piping and take a leaf blower to the inlet to blow out excess water. My heater also has a pressure switch that needs disconnected and taken inside the house for winter. I don't cover the heater and leave gas/electric connected but turn the unit off and shut the gas off.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

Here in NJ I put a winter cover on, lower the water to just under the return, put a plate on the skimmer and plug up the return on the inside of the pool. I don't use a pool pillow under the winter cover. I also remove all the piping to the filter, drain the filter and in the past when I had a DE filter break it apart, clean that and store it inside my garage. Last winter was my first time with a SWG and I stored the cell in the basement as I figured it was safest there. I also take the steps out of the pool, wrap it in a tarp to keep it somewhat clean.

Before winterizing I usually add bleach/liquid chlorine to get the water "super clean", run the filter 24 hours and put the cover on a day later.

As for the pool wrap, I've used it in the past with limited success. It would usually bunch up around the top rail. I do use it to wrap the tarp around the ladder and it works great for that. I bought some 18" wide food wrap last year from BJs to try and we didn't put it on, maybe this year.

 

[Pauls234]

Because I'm getting sick of my 10 year old stairs, last fall I just tossed them into the pool to see if they could survive the freeze and then I wouldn't have to worry about storing, keeping clean, etc. And if they cracked, who cares, I can finally get new ones. They survived perfectly fine.

Because they float, they looked like Han Solo frozen in ice where they were pushing the cover above waterline

 

[mariane]

We get a hard freeze every year. Had pool up since 2007.
For our AGP, we keep the pump running until the water temp gets below 60 deg. Usually this is in late October or early November. Then we SLAM, vacuum and then lower the water level ~6 inches below the skimmer opening. We used to cover it but the last two winters it was not covered.
Ours is hard plumbed so we blow out the plumbing lines, remove the "junction" of the two lines and cap off the skimmer pipe going into the ground, the return opening in the pool wall and the return pipe going into the ground.
We drain the sand filter, make sure it's pretty dry, and cover it for the winter. We drain the pump and store it inside our house in the basement. Ladder gets pulled out, covered with a tarp and stored next to the pool outside.

 

[CT-Steven]

I disconnect the plumbing bringing in the pump and pipes. Drain the sand filter, plug the holes winterize like any other pool. I use a pool tree system and an oversized cover. I saran wrap it and wait till spring. If I get motivated I'll siphon off the water from the cover from time to time. Never drained the water. No issues 4 years later.

 

[Salbailey]

We are in central Ohio and wait until the water is at 60* or less to close - in years past it has been mid-October but last year was earlier. We get the water pretty clean and to SHOCK level that is recommended in the "Closing (Winterizing) your Above Ground Pool" article here on TFP in Pool School. Remove the stairs and store them nearby - we don't cover ours, we just tuck them into a corner of our deck and secure with some bungees. Drain the pool to under the skimmer as directed in the instructions/article, cover the skimmer, plug the jet, and remove skimmer basket/close up that area. We then add the algaecide that is recommended in the instructions/article and swish it around. Next we put the pillow in, attach it, and cover the pool. (We have a deck that goes all the way around so we stretch the cover over everything and attach it on the deck so it looks like an inground pool cover. The wind doesn't get under it as much!) Then drain your filter and cover that with a garbage bag or tarp, make sure all your pipes/hoses are clear (ours are permanent so we can't take them down for the winter), and store your pump in the garage. The article says to store all of the little "gizmos" in the skimmer basket - great idea!