Winterising your pool in Garraf: active or passive?

Once the water drops below about 15 °C, swimming is over and the pool goes into winter mode. In Garraf that usually happens between late October and November. Winterising properly now decides whether you open a clean pool in spring or a green pond.

Active or passive winterising: which suits you?

Active winterising. The pool keeps running at a minimum: the pump filters for a few hours a day and pH and a little sanitiser are maintained. This is the usual choice on the coast, because it hardly ever freezes here and water doesn't freeze in the pipes.

Passive winterising. Filtration is switched off all winter: the water level is lowered below the skimmers and return jets, pipes are drained and equipment disconnected. It makes sense for holiday homes left empty until summer, or inland where it freezes.

For a home lived in all year round, active winterising usually works better: the water stays more stable and opening the pool in spring is easier and cheaper.

Steps for a good winterisation

1. Deep clean. Floor, walls and waterline. Anything left inside (leaves, sand) rots over winter.
2. Clean filter. Backwash and rinse the filter before setting it to minimum.
3. Test and balance the water. pH between 7.2 and 7.6 and correct alkalinity. It's also the time to check stabiliser: if it's high, winter is a good moment to replace part of the water.
4. Shock and winteriser. A chlorine shock to start from clean water, then a winterising product at the dose the manufacturer gives for your volume.
5. Adjust filtration. With active winterising, just a few hours a day. Our filtration calculator gives you a guide based on volume and temperature.
6. Check your salt chlorinator. Many salt systems reduce output or stop in cold water. Check your unit's manual and top up with product if needed.
7. Fit the cover. It keeps out leaves, light and dirt. See which winter cover to choose.

Don't empty the pool

It's a common mistake. An empty pool loses the water pressure that supports it, the lining dries out and can be damaged, and where there's groundwater the structure can suffer. It's also a lot of wasted water. Well-treated water gets through winter perfectly well.

A check once a month

Even with the cover on, check it monthly: water level, pH, that the pump is working and that no rainwater has pooled on the cover. Ten minutes now saves you rescuing green water in March.

If you'd rather we took care of it, we winterise and do winter checks in Cubelles, Vilanova, Sitges, Cunit and Calafell. Call us on +34 938 950 581.