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What To Do With Your Pool When Going on Vacation
Caring for your swimming pool is a year-long process, especially if you want to make the most of your pool. Experienced pool owners will have daily and weekly routines for when it’s in season, but regular maintenance is just as necessary when not it's in use and you've rolled out the simming pool cover.
So, what do you do when you’ve got a holiday planned? If you don’t want to return after a week or two away to a green swimming pool, make sure you prepare it for your time off duty!
It helps to have a basic checklist you can cross off when leaving your pool to its own devices for several weeks. Here are some of the things we recommend doing before jetting off.
Before you go on vacation, the first thing you should do is check that every aspect of your pool is functioning as expected. Make sure the chemical balance of your water is current, and all the pumps and filters are working. The last thing you want is for anything to breakdown while you’re away!
While this might upset the chemical balance of your pool, chlorine is by far the most effective way of keeping your pool free of bacteria.
Before you go on holiday, perform a heavy chlorine shock treatment on your swimming pool. A regular shock treatment might be good enough for a week’s holiday, but consider doubling or tripling the dose if you’re away for longer. Allow your pump system to run for a few hours afterwards to help the chlorine circulate.
It goes without saying, but high levels of chlorine can be dangerous, so nobody should swim in the water following this process. Even when you return from holiday, make sure you test the chlorine level of the pool before anyone enters, as chlorine levels may still be high.
Once you’ve performed your chlorine shock and given it a few hours to run through, you’ll want to cover your swimming pool. Not only will this protect the pool from debris while you’re away, but also further limits the growth of algae, helping the chlorine do its job.
There are many types of pool covers available, but for going on holiday, you may want to look beyond the inexpensive bubble and solar covers. These covers are designed for more short-term use and don’t provide the same level of protection.
Ideally, you should consider using a winter pool cover or a safety cover, as these offer a great degree of protection. If you need help finding the right one for you, why not check out our winter pool cover calculator?
While you’re away, you’ll want your pool’s pump and filters working to keep your water clean and fresh. However, you don’t want to leave your pump on indefinitely, unless you’re okay with a huge electricity bill.
For holidays, consider investing in a timer. These extensions are widely available and relatively easy to set up and will ensure your pool pump is only on for as long as is needed. Generally, around eight hours a day is enough to keep your pool ticking over.
If you’re away for an extended period, you may also want someone you trust to pop around and check on your pool every week, to make sure everything’s working as it should. This test will often just be a case of:
If they know what they’re doing with swimming pools, you could ask them to perform more regular pool maintenance, which could mean you don’t need to close your pool. However, in most cases, these quick checks are enough.
We hope that this guide answers some of your questions when it comes to closing your pool before a vacation. If you would like more personalised advice, why not give our friendly team a call? We offer a wide range of swimming pool supplies, and our professionals are on hand to help you make the right decision for your needs.
