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How to Close an Above-Ground Pool (Without Losing Your Mind or Your Liner)

This entry was posted on by mpsblog.

Let's be honest: your above-ground pool has been the star of the backyard all summer. Now the leaves are falling, the water's getting chilly, and nobody has cannonballed in weeks. It's time to put it to bed for the winter.

Closing an above-ground pool isn't hard. It's mostly a checklist with a little bit of hose-wrangling. Do it right, and freezing water won't crack your pump, filter, skimmer or plumbing. Skip it, and spring might greet you with a green swamp and a shopping list. (Ask us how we know.)

Here's the step-by-step, based on guidance from the big equipment makers.

Quick heads-up: Hayward recommends having a reputable pool professional close your pool. If you'd rather do it yourself, follow these steps and the manuals for your own pump, filter, skimmer and cover. Your manuals always win.

Step-by-step: closing your above-ground pool

1. Balance the water

The week you close, test the water and get it into these ranges (Hayward):

  1. pH: 7.2–7.8
  2. Total alkalinity: 80–120 ppm
  3. Calcium hardness: 180–220 ppm

Balanced water helps prevent stains, scale and algae while the pool sits all winter. A good Taylor test kit makes this easy, and alkalinity increaser helps if your numbers are low.

2. Shock first, algaecide second

  1. Shock the pool following the shock's package directions. GLB Supersonic Shock works well here.
  2. Wait until chlorine drops to 1.0–3.0 ppm.
  3. Then add a winter algaecide, like Omega Winter Aid.

Never add shock and algaecide at the same time (Hayward). They don't get along, and you'll just waste both.

Want it all in one box? A closing kit like the Natural Chemistry HassleFree Start-Up & Closing Kit keeps things simple. Just follow the label.

3. Clean it like company's coming

  1. Skim out the leaves and bugs.
  2. Brush the walls and vacuum the floor. A Hayward vacuum head made for vinyl pools is a great helper.
  3. Really dirty? Hayward says to vacuum to waste (set the filter valve to waste/drain) so the gunk skips the filter.

Anything you leave in the pool spends the winter turning into "spring science project." Get it out now.

4. Pull out the accessories

Remove the ladder or steps, the skimmer basket, any automatic cleaner, and anything else living in the pool. Clean them, dry them, and store them out of the weather.

5. Lower the water (a little!)

Hayward and Pentair both say to lower the water below the skimmer opening. Drop it a few inches below the skimmer and the return fitting, using the filter's waste setting or a submersible pump.

Do NOT drain the pool completely. An above-ground pool needs that water to hold its shape and keep the liner in place. We're closing it, not evicting it.

Shortcut: a skimmer winterizing cover plate snaps over the skimmer opening and seals it. With a plate in place, you usually don't have to drop the water below the skimmer. Follow the plate's instructions for the right water level. Pick the one that fits your skimmer:

6. Plug the return

Remove the return fitting (the "eyeball") and put a winter plug in its place so water stays out of the line. Store the small parts in your skimmer or pump basket so you can find them in spring (that's a Pentair tip, and a marriage-saver). For 1-1/2" fittings, a #8 winter plug is a common choice. Measure first.

If you have hard plumbing that stays outside, blow the water out of the lines with a shop vac or air compressor, plug them, and add non-toxic pool antifreeze if your area gets a hard freeze. Never use car antifreeze in a pool.

7. Drain and store the pump and filter

  1. Turn off the power and disconnect the hoses.
  2. Remove the drain plugs from the pump and filter so all the water runs out. Pentair says to store those plugs in the pump basket.
  3. Clean the filter. Backwash a sand filter, or hose off cartridges and soak them in a cleaner like GLB Filter Rinse.
  4. Give the O-rings a little O-ring lube.
  5. If you can, bring the pump and filter inside a garage or shed for the winter. Hayward says to get all the water out of the equipment to prevent freeze damage.

8. Add an air pillow

Pentair recommends an air pillow in the middle of an above-ground pool. It takes the pressure from rain, snow and ice so they push on the pillow instead of your walls and liner. Blow it up about two-thirds full, tie it loosely in the center (on an oval pool, use one at each end), and let it float.

9. Put on the winter cover

  1. Check the cover for holes first (Pentair).
  2. Lay it over the pool so it rests on the water and drapes evenly over the sides.
  3. Thread the cable around the pool and tighten it with the winch. Lost your winch? Here's a replacement winch.
  4. Windy yard? Add cover clips to hold the cover to the top rail, and wrap the edge with winter cover wrap.

Pick the cover size that matches your pool size:

Lots of trees? A leaf net on top of the winter cover makes spring cleanup way easier. Try the 24', 28' or 30' round leaf nets. Just empty the leaves before they pile up.

Winter babysitting (it's quick, we promise)

  1. Pump rainwater off the cover so it doesn't get heavy. A Swimline cover pump does the work while you stay warm.
  2. Keep kids, pets and adventurous relatives off the cover and off the ice. A pool is not a skating rink, no matter what your cousin says.
  3. Peek at the cover after big storms and tighten the cable if it loosens.

Live where it barely freezes?

Lots of folks in warm states keep their pools open all winter. Even so, Pentair warns that pool owners in the South have learned the hard way that freezing temperatures are always a risk. Moving water is much less likely to freeze, so if you keep your pool open, run the pump on freezing nights (some automation systems have a freeze-protection setting that does it for you) and keep an eye on the forecast.

Your above-ground closing shopping list

Water care

Plugs, skimmer and equipment care

Cover and cover care

See you in spring

That's it. Your above-ground pool is tucked in, and you've earned a hot chocolate. Have an in-ground pool too? Check out our in-ground winterizing guide. Need covers, plugs or chemicals? Shop online at majorpoolsupplies.com or send us a message. We ship right to your door, with 30-day returns.

This article is general information based on published manufacturer guidance and is not a substitute for your equipment's instructions.

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