It’s always disappointing when summer is finally, truly over. The kids are back in school, and it’s time to put away all those backyard games and the pool toys, too. Yes, it’s time to winterize your yard, and that includes your pool area and artificial grass. The pool will be a lot more work than your grass. That certainly wasn’t the case when you had a natural grass lawn, was it?
You could have your pool service close down your in-ground pool, but you can also save money by doing the work yourself. It’s tedious but not terribly difficult. You will need to:
Give the pool one final cleaning. Skim off leaves or other debris, clear the in-pool skimmer and pump basket.
If you have a removable diving board, steps, or rails, do that now.
Add winterizing chemicals to keep your water in balance as it sits idle over the winter. You’ll probably need Pool Shock, a scale/rust remover or algaecide – talk with your pool service to learn what they recommend for your type of pool. You’ll need to dilute the Pool Shock (3 parts water to 1 part product) but the other products can be added to your pool as is.
Do you plan to cover your pool? This is a smart move to keep out debris and anything else that could blog into your pool over the winter, making spring clean-up much more difficult and potentially causing damage. These simple steps will protect your pool:
Stretch out the cover along one wide of the pool. With a helper, grab a corner and walk the cover across the surface to the other side. Keep it elevated a little, so it doesn’t scoop up water.
Secure it all around with water tubes.
You can then add a leaf net over the top, following the same process, and secure it. This is a great way to capture remaining leaf fall, and you can remove it once all the trees are bare.