Do I need to have my pool serviced in the winter months?

If you live in a climate zone that gets a lot of snow the answer is NO. But if you live in the Sun Belt, the answer is YES. You should keep your pool serviced.

A lot of people equate pool usage with pool care. If they are not using the pool, they cannot justify servicing it.

Here is what you need to know.

First of all, your pool is in the backyard of your home. You should want to keep things looking great in your home and take pride in ownership. Your home is most likely your biggest investment. While you are most likely not swimming in your pool when the water temperature is in the 50’s, the pool still needs some basic care. While the pool may not be using tons of chemicals like in the hot summer months, we do get all those winter storms and rain. This is when you get a lot of debris in your pool like dirt and leaves. You want to get this stuff out of your pool to avoid other problems.

When you get organic material in your pool and it stays there, you can develop stains in your pool plaster, or start to breed algae. Organic material also brings with it something called phosphates. When phosphates get into your pool, they provide a food source for algae and then the battle begins. You will be fighting your pool for months to come.

Often times, when your pool gets out of control, it is best to just drain and refill your pool and just start over. That is a big waste of our precious resource, water.

We have found that the cost to maintain your pool in the winter months is a little less than trying to bring it back from the dead in the spring time. Especially when every pool tech in town is busy and rates start to go up.

Also you want to keep up with any other pool equipment repairs and maintenance to keep small problems from turning into big problems. Big problems can get expensive.