Why Early Spring is the Best Time to Open Your Swimming Pool

If visions of sitting by the pool with the sun shining on your face and the smell of chlorine in the air makes you excited, you’re in luck. Winter is almost a thing of the past, and the summer will be make an appearance soon enough. To get ready for the late spring and summer, many people start debating on whether or not they should open their swimming pools. When is too late? When is too early?

There’s no set date that a pool has to be open; instead it goes by the temperatures outside. In Mississippi, the warmer weather graces us earlier than in other parts of the country, so once we see temperatures consistently in the upper 60s, it’s time to open the pool. This generally happens in March or April, depending on the spring we have.

Why Open a Pool in Early Spring?

For some people, this may sound too early, but there are benefits to opening your pool in early spring. First, when the temperatures start warming up, they create the perfect breeding ground for algae. If you have a pool cover on your pool that lets sunlight through, you can expect an algae invasion if you wait to open it. Pulling off the cover soon will provide you with cleaner, clearer water.

The same is true for pollen. Pollen counts get high in the spring, and they can create problems for uncirculated water. Uncirculated water is the perfect place for pollen to stick, making it harder to clean when you do open the pool. If the water is running, the pollen will be sucked up the skimmer and cleared through the filter, keeping your pool water clean.

Tips for Opening Your Pool

Here are a few tips for a smooth pool opening this spring.

• Drain and remove the pool cover
• Raise the water level back to normal
• Reconnect your pool equipment
• Remove winter plugs and reattach drain plugs
• Remove winter plugs from skimmer and return lines
• urn equipment back on
• Test the pool chemistry and adjust as needed
• Test and adjust calcium hardness
• Brush and vacuum the pool
• Run the circulation and filtration systems overnight
• Shock the pool

To avoid having your pool water turn green overnight without warning, be sure that all parts are thoroughly cleaned, and the water is balanced and sanitized. When you wake up in the morning and see crystal clear pool water glistening in the sun, there’s no doubt that summer will be calling your name. Luckily, pool season is just around the corner!