Starting up your pool for spring? Here's how
Winter has lasted long enough, it's time for sun, warmer temperatures and … swimming! And so it's also time to bring your pool out of hibernation. If you roll up your sleeves at the start of spring to start up your pool again, you're guaranteed a whole summer of carefree swimming enjoyment. Ready for the new swimming season? Let's get started!
A successful start-up doesn't just consist of putting away the winter equipment. The pool itself, the water and the technical systems must also be thoroughly checked, cleaned and set up properly. We'll take you step by step through the process.
Goodbye winter
The first step is removing and storing the winter equipment. Remove the winter cover and fixings, clean them and store them carefully. Then also remove all winter plugs, gizmos and ice compensators. We won't see those again until after summer!
Big clean-up
And then it's time to scrub. Remove all leaves and coarse debris from the water with a skimmer net and then clean the waterline with a cleaner. Rinse thoroughly. Then it's the roller shutter's turn. You clean that too, along with the shutter box. You can clean the coping stone and adjoining terraces with a pressure washer.
A manual vacuuming session ensures that the rest of the visible dirt disappears from the pool as well.
Please note: do not use the automatic vacuum cleaner if the temperature of your water is still below 15°C!
Time for technology
Once everything is clean, it's time to start up the technical systems again.
You start with the filter system. Start by backwashing and then also rinse the filter medium, so that dirt is optimally captured.
Thoroughly check that everything is still working properly:
- Is the filter medium still usable, or is it too old and does it need to be replaced?
- Is the filter pump working properly? Tighten all couplings by hand to prevent leaks.
- Is the automatic top-up working correctly?
You can now also start up the heating. Here too, depending on the type of heating, there are points to consider:
- Heat exchanger, connected to the central heating boiler: check that the circulation pump is not stuck
- Solar collectors: open the pipes correctly and check that there are no leaks
- Heat pump: clean the pump before starting it up
Water quality
The water quality must be checked and adjusted based on 3 parameters. Always do this in the correct order, otherwise the measurements may be incorrect!
Step 1: alkalinity
First test the alkalinity of your water. This ensures that the acidity level in your pool remains as stable as possible. The alkalinity must be at least 80. Is it lower? Then adjust it with AlkaPlus.
Step 2: the acidity level
Then you can test the acidity level or pH value of your water test and correct with pH minus or pH plus. An ideal pH value is between 7.0 and 7.2.
Step 3: chlorine
Once the acidity level is OK, you can start working with chlorine. Chlorine disinfects your water and kills algae. Carry out a chlorine shock to kill all organic dirt (algae, for example).
Step 4: flocculant
Once the algae have turned brown, they die off and can, with the help of flocculant, be vacuumed up with the pool vacuum cleaner.
Please note: also check regularly that there is no excessively high level of stabilisers in your water. You can do this with a test strip. If the value becomes too high, the chlorine cannot work. In that case, we recommend emptying, cleaning and refilling your pool.
Your pool is ready for spring!
There you go, your pool is now ready for a whole season of swimming fun. Take a look in your storage cupboard to check whether you have the necessary maintenance products to hand, regularly check the water quality and make sure you handle the products correctly at all times. And then summer can begin!
Enjoy your swim!
If you're not sure what to do, please let us know and we'll be happy to help you further! If your technical equipment or other pool components need replacing, you can also come to us for that.
