What happens in winter if you freeze your pool?

In Blog, Maintenance Tips by Timothy Petsch

The preferred way to winterize an outdoor pool in Texas was pretty much the same as it is here in the Pacific Northwest; when it looks like we are going into our colder months we set our pool timers to run 24/7, and the theory that moving water cannot freeze has stood both our regions well.

Until this latest freeze, where in Texas, it got so cold due to the Polar Vortex that moving water did freeze, along with many other more serious locations, and our thoughts went out to all the folks who were negatively impacted by that storm!

So, what happens when pools freeze, or when the water in them freezes; well, you can pretty much imagine that the plumbing pipes can burst; pumps, filters and heaters can be damaged beyond repair, and, at worst, if you get a solid freeze the expansion of the water can wreak major structural damage to the actual body of the pool. Simply put; the damage can be catastrophic.

Other than keeping a sharp eye on the weather forecasts, what can one do?

First, as too many Texas pool owners found out, when in doubt to the seriousness of the cold spell, plan for the worst! Drain your pool water down to below the skimmer and drain the pool water from your plumbing, including your pump, filter, heater and sanitizer; you can manage this by using a compressor, you could add a little anti-freeze if you cannot clear the lines all the way (NOTE that anti-freeze is poisonous to dogs please)

As the saying goes…. “An ounce of prevention……….”