Pool Opening - Swim University® https://www.swimuniversity.com/tag/pool-opening/ The Ultimate Guide to Pool & Hot Tub Care Sat, 22 Jan 2022 15:29:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 How to Open an Inground Pool in 13 Steps https://www.swimuniversity.com/open-inground-pool/ https://www.swimuniversity.com/open-inground-pool/#respond Tue, 13 Apr 2021 11:00:59 +0000 http://www.swimuniversity.com/?p=5898 Are you ready to open up your inground pool by yourself this year? Follow this guide and VIDEO on how to open an inground pool. It's easier than you think.

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It’s that time of year again! Pool season has arrived. The sun’s shining. Temperatures are rising. You could really go for a swim.

But there you are, standing on your patio, staring at a dirty pool cover, wondering what kind of horrors await you underneath it. Pool opening seems like so much work, doesn’t it? Don’t worry. Grab a friend and a few other essentials, and you’ll be back to backstroking in no time.

Getting Ready to Open Your Swimming Pool

Before you begin, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got all the tools you need lined up poolside and ready to go. You’ll probably already have some of the items on hand, such as a garden hose, but you may need to pick up a few other things, most importantly, some protective gear.

Every year, thousands of pool owners end up in emergency rooms due to poisoning from pool chemicals. Most of those injuries occurred because people were not wearing protective gear when handling pool chemicals. So when you’re stocking up on all your other supplies, don’t skip the safety gear. It matters.

By the way, if you need a little more help with caring for your pool once it’s open, you’ll find more information in The Pool Care Handbook and Video Course. Don’t maintain your pool without it!

Frustrated by adding chemicals and trying to keep your pool clear all the time?

We cut out all the confusion of pool maintenance in this easy-to-read illustrated ebook and video course. It'll help you save $100 right away on pool care!

Click Here to Learn More
The Pool Care Handbook

NOTE: The following links are affiliate links which means if you click a link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you. It helps us keep the lights on 💡

You’ll need:

Start-Up Chemicals

Depending on the results of your water test, you may need a few pool chemicals in addition to shock to balance your water chemistry.

You may buy a start-up chemical kit that should include everything you need, or you can test your water, then buy only the chemicals your pool requires.

You may also need:

How to Open Your Inground Swimming Pool

You won’t need to wear protective gear through all these steps, so don’t put on your safety goggles just yet. But you might want to slather on a good amount of sweat-proof sunscreen.

1. Get the Gunk Off Your Pool Cover

Use the soft broom to sweep away any dead leaves or other large debris from your winter cover. Next, use your pool cover pump to remove any standing water from your cover.

Some of these pumps can be a bit slow at removing water, while others will suck up debris and just about anything else that gets in their way. Know what your pool cover pump is capable of so you won’t overwork it.

Our Top Pick
WAYNE Automatic Pool Cover Pump (1/4 HP)
$182.33

Set it and forget it! The built-in iSwitch technology turns the pump on and off by sensing the presence of water and includes automatic freeze protection to prevent damage during the winter.

Buy Now
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01/27/2023 11:38 pm GMT

2. Whisk Away the Winter Pool Cover

This when having an extra set of hands will be a big help. You’ll need to lay it flat somewhere to clean it without getting cover cleaner into your pool water, and you’ll have to get it to that flat spot without dragging it over any rough surfaces.

Have your partner stand on the opposite side of the pool from you to help you lift and fold the cover back and forth on itself, like an accordian.

Pool opening is also a good time to inspect your cover to see how it fared over the winter. If it’s damaged, now’s the time to replace your pool cover so you have a new one waiting for you when you close your pool after the season. Not to mention, if it’s beyond help, you can skip the pool cover cleaning and storing. Win-win!

3. Clean and Store Your Pool Cover

With your cover folded up, have your friend help you move it to your yard, and spread it out flat. That small step will help make your pool cover cleaning easier and go much more quickly. Apply pool cover cleaner or car wash soap and use a soft broom to scrub it gently. Avoid using any abrasive or sharp tools or harsh chemical cleaners, which could destroy your pool cover.

Rinse away all the cleaner or soap. Dry the cover with a towel or leaf blower before folding it up again. Store the cover inside a storage bag or heavy-duty container with a lid. And voilà! Your pool cover cleaning is done!

Important: Do not store your pool cover on the ground or the floor of your shed or garage. That’s just an invitation for bugs, rodents, and other pests to make their home in it over the summer. Then, when it comes time to close your pool, you’ll be buying a new cover.

Tip: If you used water weights, empty them and allow them to dry completely before storing.

4. Skim the Pool

Use your skimmer to grab anything that fell from your cover during removal and any large debris that could clog your filtration system when you turn it back on. You’ll be doing more cleaning later, but getting all the big stuff out now will make all the other cleaning you do easier.

Skimming an Inground Pool

5. Remove Plugs and Ice Compensator

When you closed your inground swimming pool for the winter, you blew out the pipes and installed winterizing plugs to prevent water from getting back into them and freezing. (You did do that, right?) You’ll need to walk around the pool and remove all those plugs.

You should see some bubbles as the pool water flows back into the pipes. This is normal. Whether you used an ice compensator or a soda bottle, you’ll need to remove it and the winterizing plugs from your skimmer.

6. Reinstall the Chutes and Ladders

Do you have a pool ladder, diving board, step rails, slide, or other accessories you removed for the winter? Reinstall all the items you removed at the end of pool season.

Tip: This is a good time to lubricate bolts and grease your diving boards hinges.

7. Just Add Water

You’ve probably lost a few inches of water over the season, even with a winter cover on your pool. While the cover does offer some protection from evaporation, its main purpose it to keep things out of your pool—not really to keep the water in it.

Bring your water level up to normal now to avoid needing to balance your water chemistry twice in this process. Water first, chemicals and filtering after. Be sure to use a hose filter to prevent metals and other contaminants from getting into your pool.

Our Top Pick
Hose Filter with Flexible Hose Protector

Fill your pool or hot tub with this hose filter that'll filter your water so you can have a fresh start with water chemistry.

Buy Now On Amazon
If you click this link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

8. Set up and Run Your Filter and Pump

Reinstall the drain plugs in your pump and filter using thread seal tape. Lubricate any O-rings with pool gasket lubricant to protect them.

Use the same lubricant on your pump housing O-ring. If you see any cracks in that O-ring, replace it immediately to avoid sucking air into your pump. Your pool heater and chlorinator, if you have them, also have drain plugs.

Next, open your return side valves to be sure the water being pulled into your pump has somewhere to go. If you have a multiport valve, turn the handle to waste, and replace the air bleeder, sight glass, and pressure gauge.

Flip your circuit breaker, then turn on your pump. Once water is flowing through, your pump is primed. Take a look at your filter. Wash or replace it, if necessary. Switch your multiport valve to filter.

If you used antifreeze when you closed your pool, this process will expel from the lines. Most of it will come out while the valve is turned to waste, but a little of it may still make it into your pool water. Don’t be concerned. The antifreeze made for pools is non-toxic, and the rest of it will be filtered out in subsequent filtering cycles.

Washing a Pool Filter Cartridge

Tip: If your pressure gauge shows a sudden spike, shut off your pump immediately. Check to make sure nothing is impeding water flow through your system. If necessary, you can prime the pool pump again.

9. Turn That Heavy Metal Down

It might seem counterintuitive, but while your pool water sat stagnant through the winter, metal levels may have increased.

You also probably just topped off your pool with tap water. We hope you used a hose filter to help keep those minerals out of your pool. But to avoid the staining and buildup caused by any metal in your pool water, add a metal sequestrant.

Pool Mate Metal Out Sequestrant and Stain Inhibitor
$25.75 ($0.80 / Fl Oz)

Helps prevent staining by removing iron, calcium, manganese, copper and other metals from your pool water. Also helps protect plumbing and pool walls from rust, stain, and scale. Used for all pool openings and closings.

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01/27/2023 04:34 pm GMT

10. Balance the Water

Though you may use your usual test strips, may want to run a water sample over to your pool supply store when you open your swimming pool for the season. This will give you an accurate baseline to work from for the rest of the season.

Once you know what needs adjusting, start balancing your water. Remember, basic pool chemistry tells you to adjust alkalinity first, then pH, and finally calcium hardness. Avoid adding any chemicals you don’t need.

Test Strip Showing Results

11. Brush and Vacuum the Pool

You don’t have to brush your pool at this point, but it can help to head off algae problems while helping your pool shock be more effective. If you’ve got the time, brush your pool surfaces. Next, vacuum your pool manually to pick up any sediment left on your pool floor.

Manually Vacuuming an Inground Pool

12. Shock That Pool!

To kill algae spores, bacteria, and get your water sparkling clean, you’ll need pool shock. Effectively shocking your system requires you to achieve something called breakpoint chlorination, which you can calculate based on free chlorine levels from your water test.

We recommend double shocking at pool opening. To double shock, you’ll use two pounds of chlorine shock (for chlorine systems) per 10,000 gallons of water.

Our Top Pick
Calcium Hypochlorite Pool Shock (Cal-Hypo Shock)

This fast-acting, quick-dissolving swimming pool shock from DryTec kills bacteria, controls algae, and destroys organic contaminants in pools. It comes in easy-to-use 1-pound bags.


Use the entire contents of the bag when opened. If any granules settle to the bottom of the pool use brush to disperse them. Add the right dosage of this product during evening hours while the filter pump is running.

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Before you add chlorine to your pool, you’ll want to don your safety goggles and chemical-resistant gloves. Avoid pouring shock into your filter basket as it may cause damage.

You can pour shock straight into your pool water, slowly, as you walk around the perimeter of your pool. You may also put some water into a 5-gallon bucket, then dissolve the shock in the water. Pour the solution straight into your pool.

Warning: Putting different types of shock into the same bucket, even if you’ve rinsed it between uses may be explosively dangerous—literally. If you use the bucket method, never use the same bucket for other chemicals.

13. Filter, Filter, and Filter Some More

All your hard work is done! Just leave your filtration system running for at least 24 hours to mix up the shock and filter remaining debris, dead algae spores, and any other gunk.

By the next day, your pool should be crystal clear and ready for swimmers. If it looks a little cloudy, that may be from the shock. You can either wait a little longer for it to dissipate, or add a dose of pool water clarifier to clear it more quickly.

Our Top Pick
Pool Water Clarifier by Swim University

Clears cloudy pool water by combining particles making it easier for your filter to remove. Let your filter do all the work! This fast-acting formula improves filter efficiency for the more effective removal of dead algae and organic debris. Apply clarifier directly to the pool. Great for all pools including inground, above ground, concrete, plaster, vinyl liner, and fiberglass. It's also compatible with salt water, mineral, ozone, and non-chlorine pool water. 

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Safety First and Always

To ensure everyone’s safety in and around your pool, take a few more steps before using your inground pool for the first time after you’ve opened it.

  • Spray your pool deck down thoroughly with a hose to rinse away any chemicals that may have spilled where swimmers could step in them.
  • Test your water again to ensure chlorine levels are appropriate and water chemistry is balanced. Swimmers could get sick or develop rashes if your water chemistry and sanitizer levels are wrong.
  • Just like you should test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors regularly, be sure to test all the safeguards around your pool area, such as gate locks and door alarms. If anything isn’t working properly, fix it as soon as possible.
  • Put your winter cover somewhere animals or children cannot climb in and get trapped. Storing it in a strong container and out of sunlight will ensure it works effectively next winter, too.
  • Store your chemicals safely, and out of reach of children and pets so they won’t become a health hazard. Keep them in a cool, dry place in their original packaging. Be sure the containers are closed properly.

The Pool is Open!

When you’re standing next to your pool wishing the debris and water on the pool cover would magically disappear, remember that with just a little work, by this time tomorrow, you could be swimming in crystal-clear water.

Open your swimming pool the right way, and you’ll set the stage for easy maintenance throughout the rest of the season.

Happy Swimming!

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How to Open an Above Ground Pool in 11 Steps https://www.swimuniversity.com/open-above-ground-pool/ https://www.swimuniversity.com/open-above-ground-pool/#respond Sun, 11 Apr 2021 11:00:42 +0000 http://www.swimuniversity.com/?p=5908 Learning how to open an above ground pool is easy with this 10-step guide. Find out what you need and grab and friend to get your pool open quickly.

The post How to Open an Above Ground Pool in 11 Steps appeared first on Swim University®.

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If you own an above ground pool, your thoughts are probably never far from the sun and fun of pool season. But before you can enjoy your pool, you’ll need to open and prep it. You could pay someone to do it for you, of course. But why P-A-Y when you can DIY?

Once you learn how to open an above ground pool, the process will become easier every year. All you need is a friend, the right supplies, and a little elbow grease, and you’ll be swimming again in no time.

Why You Need to Know How to Open an Above Ground Pool

Your pool’s been covered all winter. As convenient as it would be to just pull the cover off and dive right in, think for a minute—that water’s been sitting there, stagnant, all winter long. Do you really want to submerge yourself in that? Didn’t think so.

Knowing the above ground pool opening process will ensure that when you do finally get back into the pool, it’s in clean, clear, non-swampy water.

What You Need to Open Your Above Ground Pool

The basic supplies for opening your pool are probably already at hand in your pool shed. Except your friend, of course. Please don’t store friends in your pool shed if you plan on keeping them as friends.

NOTE: The following links are affiliate links which means if you click a link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you. It helps us keep the lights on 💡

You’ll need:

Pool Chemical Spring Start-Up Kit - Up To 15,000 gal. (more sizes available)
$39.96
Buy Now
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01/27/2023 05:33 pm GMT

1. Clear Your Winter Pool Cover

Whether you have a pool safety cover or a winterized cover, your first priority is removing a winter’s worth of water, leaves and debris. A submersible pool cover pump makes short work of any excess water. You can also use a regular sump pump if you don’t have a pool cover pump.

To remove leaves and other debris, use a Soft broom or skimmer net. Use a gentle touch. Sharp equipment or overly enthusiastic sweeping can damage your cover.

Try to remove as much of the debris as you can. The more crud you remove now, the less you have to worry about falling into the water when you remove the cover.

Our Top Pick
WAYNE Automatic Pool Cover Pump (1/4 HP)
$182.33

Set it and forget it! The built-in iSwitch technology turns the pump on and off by sensing the presence of water and includes automatic freeze protection to prevent damage during the winter.

Buy Now
If you click this link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
01/27/2023 11:38 pm GMT

2. Remove Your Winter Pool Cover

Once you’ve tidied things up, with your friend’s help, carefully remove the cover. Don’t drag it, and take care to keep any lingering debris from falling into the pool.

A little dirt and debris falling into the water isn’t the end of the world. But thinking ahead can save you headaches later when you break out your chemicals and tools in pursuit of a truly clean pool.

If you’ve installed a pool air pillow with your cover, be sure to remove it along with your cover. You can deflate the air pillow once it’s safely out of your pool.

Winter Pool Cover Air Pillow For Above Ground Pools
$18.02

Made from 16 gauge vinyl, this air pillow absorbs pressure caused by ice expansion, protecting the swimming pool walls from damage during the winter months.

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01/27/2023 10:37 pm GMT

3. Clean and Store Your Winter Pool Cover

Find a large, easily accessible area like your lawn, deck, or driveway, and spread the cover flat. Make sure the area’s clear of sharp objects and other potentially damaging items.

Wash your cover with water, cover cleaner (or car wash soap), and a scrub brush or rubber broom.

Scrub it thoroughly, but gently. You’ll ensure a longer life for your pool cover, which can save you quite a bit of money since you won’t have to replace it. Make sure you allow your cover to dry thoroughly before storing it to avoid damage from moisture and mold.

Stash your winter cover in a durable, tightly sealed plastic tub or other large storage container during the off season. This will keep rats and other critters from making a nest in your expensive cover or, worse yet, chomping it into tiny bits.

4. Remove Winter Pool Plugs and Ice Compensators

With the cover safely stashed or drying in a sunny place, you can start removing winterizing pool plugs. Carefully check all around your pool, and remove the plugs from all openings, including the return jets (also called eyeball fittings) and skimmer bucket.

If you use an ice compensator in your skimmer bucket, be sure to remove that, too.

Reinstall all your skimmer baskets and return jets into the return line. If you used a skimmer plate (also called a skimmer cover) over the winter, make sure you remove it.

A skimmer plate is designed to keep water out of your skimmer during the winter while allowing you to keep your pool filled. Once it’s gone, water can flow easily when you reactivate your pool’s filter system.

Our Top Pick
Aquador Pool Skimmer Cover For Winterization
$26.17

We recommend using a skimmer plate when winterizing your pool to prevent water from entering your plastic skimmer, freezing, and cracking. This is a Tupperware-like cover that's easy to take on and off when needed.

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01/28/2023 01:19 am GMT

Skimmers and filters and plugs, oh my! You can get more details about all these things and much more in The Pool Care Handbook and Video Course.

Frustrated by adding chemicals and trying to keep your pool clear all the time?

We cut out all the confusion of pool maintenance in this easy-to-read illustrated ebook and video course. It'll help you save $100 right away on pool care!

Click Here to Learn More
The Pool Care Handbook

5. Add Water To Your Pool

Depending on how you closed your pool, you may need to add water to reach the proper level. When you add water, use a hose filter to screen out impurities, and make sure your pool is filled to the halfway mark of your skimmer’s opening.

Our Top Pick
Hose Filter with Flexible Hose Protector

Fill your pool or hot tub with this hose filter that'll filter your water so you can have a fresh start with water chemistry.

Buy Now On Amazon
If you click this link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

6. Reinstall Your Deck Equipment

This might seem like a page from How to Open an Above Ground Pool 101, but you’ll need to reinstall your deck gear to use your pool. This includes ladders, steps, or lifts.

Double-check each component for rust or other damage. If anything seems flimsy, damaged, or worn out, now’s the perfect time to replace it.

Above Ground Pool Ladder

7. Set Up Your Pump, Filter and Other Equipment

You’ll need to bring your pool’s hardware back to life after a long winter’s slumber. The mad scientist goggles and lab coat are optional.

First, put back all the plugs to the drains and pressure gauges to your pool filter system, pump, and other equipment.

Next, attach your system’s hoses to your equipment, and double-check the connections.

  1. Connect the skimmer to the pool pump.
  2. Connect the pump to the filter.
  3. Connect the filter to the heater, chlorinator, and any other extra filter equipment. If you don’t have any, attach the hose directly to the return inlet.

If you have a multiport valve, make sure it’s turned to the filter position.

8. Start Your Pump and Filter

Fire it up! Make sure the system starts, and check for any leaks or drips. Don’t forget to make sure the ground wires are properly connected to the pump.

If you find your system is running dry, you may need to prime the pool pump. You can do this by shutting off your filter system, removing the pump lid, and adding water from your garden hose or a bucket of pool water.

This will give the pump the boost it needs to start pulling water. Put the pump lid back on, tighten it up, and restart the system.

Whether your filter uses sand or the tiny fossilized organisms known as diatomaceous earth (DE), backwash it after you start your filter system up. The differences in technique between how to backwash a sand filter and how to backwash a DE filter are small but important. The biggest difference is adding DE after you backwash filters that use it.

Always follow your manufacturer’s instructions when backwashing any filter.

Our Top Pick
Diatomaceous Earth Powder (for D.E. Filters)

Filter media for backwashing and cleaning D.E. pool filters.

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9. Clean Up Your Pool

If you’ve reached this stage and you have a pristine, sparkling pool, you can proceed with opening it. But, since you probably don’t have magic elves helping you in their spare time, you’ll probably need to get your hands dirty.

Your pool must be clean before you can add any start-up chemicals. Brush your pool, including the walls and any hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. While you’re at it, vacuum the pool, too. The floors need love and scrubbing after a long winter.

If the friend you recruited is still around, they’ll probably be happy to help in exchange for a free pool pass during the summer.

Once you’ve finished cleaning the pool, skim the surface of the water to collect any floating leaves, bugs, or other debris that may have snuck in while you’ve been busy doing everything else.

Skimming Above Ground Pool

10. Add Start-Up Chemicals

Having brushed your pool, it’s time to brush up on your chemistry. Break out your test strips or liquid test kit, and test your pool water to make sure all the chemicals are properly balanced.

If you’d rather not do it yourself, or if you just want to establish a baseline reading to follow through the rest of pool season, you can take a sample of your pool water to your nearest pool dealer and have them test it for you.

How to Shock Your Pool

Once you’ve got your water balanced, you’ll want to shock your pool.

Use 2 pounds of pool shock for every 10,000 gallons of pool water, or 5 gallons of liquid shock for every 20,000 gallons of pool water. This is a double shock, using twice the normal amount. This will give your pool a sanitizing whammy to make sure the water’s ready for swimming.

Important: Don’t forget to shock at night or at dusk to keep sunlight from burning off the shock too quickly.

Our Top Pick
Calcium Hypochlorite Pool Shock (Cal-Hypo Shock)

This fast-acting, quick-dissolving swimming pool shock from DryTec kills bacteria, controls algae, and destroys organic contaminants in pools. It comes in easy-to-use 1-pound bags.


Use the entire contents of the bag when opened. If any granules settle to the bottom of the pool use brush to disperse them. Add the right dosage of this product during evening hours while the filter pump is running.

Buy Now On Amazon Buy on InTheSwim.com
If you click this link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

11. Get Your Pump Running

After you’ve got everything ready, let your pool pump run for at least 24 hours. Vacuum out any debris that appears. Retest your pool water, and if the results are where you want them to be, grab your swimsuit and jump in!

Understanding how to open an above ground pool makes jumpstarting your pool season a lot easier. As you’re going through the opening steps, take a little time to create a pool maintenance schedule to keep things running smoothly all season.

Just be sure to make some time to enjoy all your hard work. Or what’s a pool for?

Happy Swimming!

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When Is The Right Time To Open Your Pool? https://www.swimuniversity.com/when-to-open-pool/ https://www.swimuniversity.com/when-to-open-pool/#respond Fri, 09 Apr 2021 01:19:45 +0000 https://www.swimuniversity.com/?p=34895 Maybe you’re wondering: when is the right time to open up my swimming pool? Well, it’s better to open sooner rather than later. Otherwise, algae could start growing underneath your winter cover. So here’s how to watch for the right pool-opening weather in your area. Before we dive in if you’re looking for help keeping […]

The post When Is The Right Time To Open Your Pool? appeared first on Swim University®.

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Maybe you’re wondering: when is the right time to open up my swimming pool? Well, it’s better to open sooner rather than later. Otherwise, algae could start growing underneath your winter cover.

So here’s how to watch for the right pool-opening weather in your area.

Before we dive in if you’re looking for help keeping your pool clean and clear throughout the season, check out our FREE Pool Care Cheat Sheet. It’s a totally free, easy-to-use guide to help you keep track of taking care of your pool.

Frustrated by adding chemicals and trying to keep your pool clear all the time?

We cut out all the confusion of pool maintenance in this easy-to-read illustrated ebook and video course. It'll help you save $100 right away on pool care!

Click Here to Learn More
The Pool Care Handbook

When should you open your pool?

As a general rule of thumb, you should open your pool when the outside daytime temperature stays consistently above 70 degrees (or 21 degrees celsius). 70 degrees is still a little too cold to go swimming, but it’s not too cold for algae.

As the weather starts to warm up, algae can start to grow in your pool water – especially if you use a mesh pool cover and the water is exposed to sunlight.

Springtime is also “pollen season,” and that can start collecting in your pool (here’s a guide on getting rid of pollen in your pool). So to help prevent algae and stop pollen from collecting in your water, open your pool and run your filter and pump when daytime temps are a steady 70 degrees.

What month should you open your pool?

We surveyed 1,900 pool owners and found a majority of pool owners open their swimming pools between May 1st and May 15th.

In the U.S. pool industry, the unofficial start of the pool season is Memorial Day Weekend (end of May). That’s when pool stores are the busiest (at least in the northeast part of the country). It’s a good idea to open your pool before that to get a headstart on the season and to beat the crowds in the pool stores.

What if you have a heated pool?

The same rule applies: you’ll still want to wait for consistent 70-degree weather. You just may not be able to swim in your pool if it isn’t heated.

Whether your pool is heated or not, plan on opening up your pool 2-3 weeks before you plan on using it. That’ll give you enough time to troubleshoot equipment and clear up any water chemistry issues.

If you don’t have a heated pool and want to learn more about how to keep your pool heated so you can open it earlier, check out our pool heating guide here.

What happens if you open your pool too early?

If your area experiences a surprising drop in temperatures after you’ve already started up your pool again, just leave the pump running and reinstall your pool cover until the weather warms up.

What is the first thing you do when you open your pool?

If you closed your pool correctly and opened it earlier in the season, then hopefully you’ll have clear water. The opening process is very easy.

  1. Fill up the water to the middle of the skimmer.
  2. Get your pump and filter system circulating again.
  3. Test the water.
  4. Add any chemicals needed.
  5. Swim!

If you want a more detailed explanation of what you need to do to open your pool, check out our guides on how to open an inground pool or above ground pool.

On the other hand, if you opened your pool and it’s either green or cloudy, you’ll need to check out our guides on how to get rid of algae and how to clear a cloudy pool.

How do you know if the weather will stay above 70 degrees?

Start by checking out the historical weather averages in your area. Depending on where you live, you may hit the 70-degree sweet spot sooner than you think.

In the U.S., people tend to think about opening their pool around the middle to end of May. While this feels like a good time to start swimming, it actually might be too late to open your pool.

Remember, if the temperature has stayed consistently above 70 degrees, you could be opening up your pool to an algae nightmare. And if EVERYONE opens their pool at the same time, pool chemicals and equipment might be out of stock, and pool service companies might already be booked solid.

So, when it comes to opening up your pool, the sooner the better!

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