With temperatures dropping and swimming season has passed, many homeowners make the mistake of simply ignoring their pool until summer returns. Unfortunately, neglecting a pool during winter can lead to costly problems including outbreaks of algae, damaged pumps, and wasted electricity and chemicals.
Winter is actually one of the most important times to care for your swimming pool properly. With the right approach and the right pool cover one can dramatically reduce maintenance costs with minimal effort.
Here are three of the most common and costly winter pool maintenance mistakes homeowners make.
1. Leaving the pool open and exposed
One of the biggest mistakes pool owners make is leaving the pool uncovered throughout winter.
An uncovered pool continues to lose water through evaporation, collects leaves and debris, and allows sunlight to penetrate the water. This creates the perfect environment for algae growth.
The EnergyGuard GeoBubble cover is specifically designed to block out sunlight, helping to prevent algae growth naturally. Less algae means reduced filtration, reduced backwashing and lower chemical consumption throughout winter.
Pool covers also reduce evaporation by over 98%, helping homeowners save significant amounts of water during the off-season.
Ignoring your pool during winter can easily cost far more in summer restoration than simple preventative care would have in the first place.
2. Running the pool pump unnecessarily
Throughout winter many pool owners continue running their pool systems at their settings for summer, even when nobody is swimming. This quietly drives up electricity bills month after month.
The pool pump is responsible for a substantial portion of household electricity usage, largely because of the pump operating unnecessarily. During winter, when debris and algae are controlled properly with a pool cover, filtration times can often be reduced by as much as 50%.
Using a cover such as EnergyGuard allows pool owners to cut filtration times by half while still maintaining water hygiene.
It’s much like leaving lights on in empty rooms for months! By winterising your pool effectively, you are not only saving money but also reducing your environmental footprint.
3. Waiting until summer to fix problems
Another costly mistake is postponing pool maintenance issues until spring or summer.
It’s not a good idea!
Small winter problems quickly escalate when ignored for months. Even minor water imbalances can damage surfaces and pumps. Any leaves left to decay in the water will affect pH levels and increase chemical demand. Dirty filters and old sand also shorten the lifespan of expensive pool equipment.
The smarter approach is preventative maintenance during winter.
A pool cover keeps debris out of the water and reduces pool maintenance dramatically. Instead of removing leaves from the water, one simply brushes them off the cover’s surface. Water chemistry stays more stable and reopening the pool for summer becomes far easier and less expensive.
Pools that have been correctly covered in winter can be swim-ready with minimal effort once temperatures rise again.
A smarter, more sustainable winter pool
Today’s homeowners are increasingly looking for ways to reduce water waste, electricity consumption and chemical use, and pool covers play an important role in achieving that.
Winter pool maintenance does not need to be difficult or expensive. Preventative measures can save homeowners considerable money in the long term.
Rather than ignoring your pool this winter, cover it and let it work smarter in the off season.
