The warmer weather usually means that storm season is in full swing and while most of us prepare our homes for wild weather, the humble swimming pool often gets forgotten about. It's important to put in precautionary measures for when storms hit to prevent your pool and its equipment from getting damaged. Here's how you can prepare your pool for this years summer storm season if you haven't already.
Pre-Storm Pool Prep
Remove any unsecured items from the pool area
It’s not uncommon to accumulate a variety of items in the pool area, whether they are to stay there permanently or they are just random things the kids have brought to the pool in their travels. Some common ones include:
- Loungers
- Pot plants
- Umbrellas
- Pool toys
- Cleaning equipment, accessories, and tools
- Chairs
- Tables
These should be stored away in a garage or securely tied down. This can stop them from becoming airborne in high winds and destroying their surroundings. It also protects your belongings from preventable damage.
Turn of all electrical pool equipment
Ensure you turn off and remove any electric equipment associated with your pool. This includes automatic cleaners, your pool pump, filtration system, pool heating, pool lights. The reason for this is that the extra water may short circuit your equipment and cause it to burn out. Large falling tree branches can obliterate your equipment. As a pool owner, you’d know how expensive these are, so you want to be sure they are protected when storm season arrives.
Prune any overhanging tree branches or overgrown greenery
Falling tree branches can cause a breadth of issues for your pool, especially if they are large and heavy. When they fall, they crush and scratch everything in its path, and this is bad news for your pool. These can potentially damage fencing, hardscaping and the interior of your pool. Not to mention all the leaves and debris that end up in the water after a storm. By trimming and tidying up potentially hazardous tree branches and overgrown greenery, you can limit the amount of organic matter that makes its way into your pool area. This also makes cleaning up after a storm much easier too.
Put away your pool cover
If it’s just a bit of rain, there’s no need to pack up your pool cover, in fact, this can help to prevent chemical imbalances by limiting the amount of rainwater that enters the water. However, if severe weather events are forecast, it’s a good idea to store it away. Hail and strong winds can damage your cover. It’s not unheard of for a pool cover to go flying off the pool, and large hail can rip holes in it. If you have an automatic cover, retract it to protect it from the wrath of the storm.
Don't empty your pool to accommodate extra water from rain
Pools are designed to be filled with water, and keeping it filled when a significant storm is on the horizon, ensures that your pool maintains its structural integrity. When the water level is too low, it can cause issues with the durability of your pool. You can, however, lower the water level slightly to make room for the extra rainwater and to stop your pool from overflowing and flooding the area surrounding it.
You can lower your pools water level by:
- Turning the pump off
- Turning the handle on the pump to the waste setting
- Open valves on the waste line if any
- Turn the pump back on
- Wait until the water has receded. Ensure it doesn’t go lower than the bottom of the skimmer mouth
- Switch the pump back off
- Turn the lever back to the filter setting
- Turn pump on again
Add an algaecide, chlorine, and balancer to the pool
As mentioned above, the number of debris that ends up in the pool after a storm is usually excessive and to help contend with the additional contaminants, it pays to add an algaecide, chlorine, and a balancer to the water. These help to rectify imbalances that are often caused by a combination of rainwater and excessive debris. Leaving a pool without any attention before a storm can result in green and unsanitary water. When the weather is warm, this happens quite rapidly. You will likely still need to rebalance the pool post-storm, but the chances of it being exceptionally dirty are minimised.
Post-Storm Pool Tips
Once the storm has passed, it’s a good idea to inspect your pool equipment for any damage before turning it back on. Turning on equipment that has been compromised, can lead to serious injury. If you do notice signs of damage, be sure to contact an electrical professional before attempting to use it. All electrical type work should be left to an expert as DIY electrical repairs can be dangerous if you have no prior experience in this area.
If your equipment is in good working order, you can then grab your trusty pool scoop and skim the water to remove any leaves and debris that may be floating around. Remove any large sticks or branches from the water. if any. Once you’ve removed as much of the visible contaminants from the water as you can, you should then run your pool vacuum to pick up any smaller fragments remaining in the water.
Once your automatic cleaner has done its job, remove your skimmer basket and empty the contents before replacing it into position.
If your pool is starting to look a touch murky, adding pool shock to the water is an effective way to help clear it up. Test your water and readjust any chemicals if needed.
You can now replace all items that you removed in the lead up to the storm.
Prevention is Better Than A Cure
We get some wild storms here in Australia, and as the old saying goes, prevention is better than a cure. By putting some pre-storm measures in place for your pool, you can prevent a lot of avoidable damage and money. If you have any questions about preparing your pool for the storm season or if you don’t have a pool just yet but would love one, contact us here at Barrier Reef Pools Perth. We design, fit, and install stunning fibreglass pools right across Perth.
