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How to Deal with Freeze Damage
It has been a rough few days for pool owners. With temperatures getting as low as they did, combined with the number of consecutive hours below freezing, there were some pools that experienced freeze damage. Most of the damage that occurred was limited to the pool equipment pad area—pumps, filters, heaters, pipes, etc.
There are two extreme weather events that can cause freeze damage to pool components, and we had them both over the past few days:
- Long periods of time with temperatures at or below freezing—For approximately 60 consecutive hours beginning late in the day on Friday (January 23rd) through Monday afternoon (January 26th), temperatures remained at or below 32 degrees.
- Note: Officially, the record for the DFW area for most consecutive hours below freezing is 295 hours (December 18-30, 1983). February of 2021 was brutal as well, when we had approximately 10 days where it did not get much above freezing. During that February of 2021 freezing weather, officially, we were only at approximately 89 consecutive hours below freezing, but we were right at 33/34 on several afternoons, not allowing any thaw to take place. That might best be remembered as when we had the electrical grid failure in Texas.
- Extremely low temperatures—The lowest temperature over the past few days occurred on Sunday night, when it got down to 11 degrees. This temperature was recorded at the Denton Airport, yet I heard of several others in the area who recorded temperatures in the single digits.
- Note: The last time that it got colder than this was in February 2021—when we reached -2 (February 16, 2021).
What pool owners need to do now:
As you are probably already aware of, water expands by approximately 9% when it is frozen, therefore anything that is full of water and freezes can potentially be damaged. Therefore, it would probably be a good idea to check to see if you have experienced freeze damage. Following is a course of action for checking for freeze damage and then taking the necessary steps to get the problem solved:
- Once it warms up and everything thaws out, turn on all of the pumps and visually inspect to see if you have any leaks.
- If you see leaks, turn the pumps off and give us a call at (940) 384-7665 to schedule repairs. Do not wait until the weather warms up to get repairs made, as we are very busy and it doesn’t look like it will slow down anytime soon.
- Most underground pipes are deep enough that they do not experience freeze damage in this region, but, just in case, check the yard for wet spots. If you have a wet spot in the yard, you could have an underground leak, which needs to be repaired.
After the winter that you had to go thru in 2020/2021, we are hopeful that you did not experience any freeze damage this time around. But if you did and need help with repairs, please give us a call at (940) 384-7665.
NOTE: Most of the freeze damage that we experienced in February 2021 was due to the power outages. Most pools that remained in operation sustained minimal, if any, freeze damage.
Matt has been around the pool business since he was born. When he graduated college in 1984, he joined the family business working for Gohlke Pool Supply. The following year Matt and his father formed a partnership, Gohlke Custom Pools, and started offering pool construction.
