How to put your swimming pool in wintering?

When temperatures no longer allow you to take advantage of swimming, it’s time towinter the pool until next year. A little lost when you embark on this important step and necessary for the proper functioning of the swimming pool? The editorial staff asked for advice from an expert in wintering. Basic principles to Passive and active winteringwithout forgetting the keys to Install a tarpaulin or a netfind everything you need to know to winter your swimming pool like a pro!

Ideally the wintering of the swimming pool must be set up when the internal temperature goes below 12-13 ° C. The wintering of the swimming pool is set up at two levels. On the one hand, there is the treatment of the basin part and on the other hand, that of the equipment and filtration part. It is important to note that a wintering made on a swimming pool at more than 13 ° C will be less effective because bacteria proliferate much more. It is therefore better to wait for temperatures to drop significantly and permanently. It is advisable not to completely empty the swimming pool before wintering. Better to keep water, which avoids waste. It is quite possible to keep it in good condition all winter. Leaving the water in the pool allows you to keep the coatings in good condition over time. Two possibilities are then offered: Make a passive or active wintering.

The first step in wintering consists in carrying out in -depth treatment of water. It is essential to have an effective treatment system. The quality of the water depends at 80 % of the hydraulic installation and at 20 % of the treatment products used. The wintering of the swimming pool is an opportunity to carry out a shock treatment of the basin. It may be chlorine-based treatment, non-chlorinated products, a UV system doubled with a remanent product, bromine, ozone or electrolysis disinfection of salt. It will be necessary to keep the pH well of the constant water throughout the treatment stage. We can help an automatic station that analyzes and calculates the pH of the water itself, its balance, as well as its disinfection.

It is essential to clean the basin well. To do this, we use a robot or else a manual cleaning of the swimming pool. It is also necessary to pass the landing net in the water and well check the condition of the skimmers, filters, pumps and clean them as well as the water line. Then we lower the water level and check that the overflow of the basin works well.

L’passive winter consists in completely stopping the functioning of the swimming pool throughout the winter to protect it from the frost. It is a strongly recommended technique in cold areas. Active wintering does not require a total stop in the operation of the swimming pool and can help keep it open in winter. This system is rather applied in temperate areas where it does not freeze in winter. To make a passive wintering:

• We cut the filtration and purge the pump, we unscrew the purge cap and the pump prefilter cover, we grease the joint, and we also purge the filter.
• Then we pour a winter product To limit the formation of tartar in the basin and we have clogged the brooms, the backgrounds and the discharge nozzles.
• It is then necessary to install a row of wintering floats In the basin and put gizmos in the skimmers baskets to limit frost. The role of gizmos are to compensate for the pressure of the ice on the walls of the skimmer. They are essential in cold regions with high risk of frost in winter.

The last step is to install a tarpaulin or a net to prevent dirt from polluting water. These two accessories each have their characteristics.

• There tarpaulin is a coated PVC canvas that lets neither light nor dirt. The absence of light limits the proliferation of algae.
• THE net is lighter to maneuver and put in place but it lets the light pass. For passive wintering it is better to be a coated PVC tarpaulin but it is up to you to decide what type of protection suits you best.

What about the rolling shutter? If you have a roller shutter, you can very well pull it on the swimming pool for the winter. It is solid and makes it possible to secure the swimming pool but also to preserve the quality of the water since it isolates it from bad weather and pollution. On the other hand, it does not protect the dirt basin, it is therefore advisable to install a tarpaulin or a net in winter.

We reproduce the same steps as for passive wintering, only we do not stop filtration. Active wintering can be interesting for aesthetic reasons, when you want to keep your swimming pool visible if you receive guests or family or because you live in a region where winters are not very harsh. To make an active wintering:

• We leave the active filtering system by putting a degreaser and descaling product in the filter, cleaning the cartridges or filter pockets and filtration is programmed on 2 to 4 hours per 24 hours on beaches of 1/2 hours preferably at night to avoid the risk of frost. You must regularly monitor the pH of the water and the condition of the skimmers.
• In order to prevent the frost from setting up, we create a water movement by opening the skimmers or by turning the pump.
• It is possible to cover the pool with a net or a tarpaulin but this is not compulsory, as we said above. It should be noted that this technique can only be applied only to the period of outlet, it cannot be implemented in the very cold areas in winter.

Many above ground pools can be dismantled during the winter season. We will then take care to clean them well and follow the disassembly user manual so as not to damage the equipment. For above -ground pools which cannot be dismantled (wooden or steel swimming pool), wintering must be proceed. As with a buried swimming pool, you will have the choice between an active wintering or a passive wintering, to choose mainly depending on the rigor of the winter of your geographic area. You will then proceed in the same way as for a classic swimming pool.

(The editorial staff thanks François Grillard, president of pool spaces, for his advice.)