How To Prevent Freeze Damage This Weekend

It has been a fairly mild winter thus far, but it appears that will change this weekend, with lows expected to be as low as the single digits on Monday night. What can really be difficult on pool equipment is consecutive number of hours below freezing—which we are expecting from Friday night until Wednesday (over 100 hours). It has been 25 years (January 30-February 5, 1996) since we have had that many consecutive hours of below freezing, when we had 136 hours.

FOLLOWING ARE A FEW GENERAL MAINTENANCE TIPS THAT WILL HELP WHEN IT COMES TO PREVENTING PROBLEMS DUE TO FREEZING TEMPERATURES:

Fill the pool—Since water hoses typically freeze, we suggest that you fill up your pool prior to the arrival of freezing weather.

Empty the baskets—Since any restriction in flow can lead to freeze damage, we suggest that you empty the skimmer and pump baskets.

Clean the filter—Be sure to clean or backwash the filter prior to the freezing weather arriving. The reason for this is that good flow helps prevent freeze damage, and a dirty filter limits the flow.

MOST POOL EQUIPMENT IN THE DENTON AREA HAS BEEN PROGRAMMED SO THAT THE PUMPS ARE SWITCHED ON BY A FREEZE SENSOR WHEN THE AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE APPROACHES FREEZING, BUT IT IS STILL IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE. FOLLOWING IS WHAT YOU NEED TO BE LOOKING FOR:

Main pump—The main pump should definitely be operating when the temperature is freezing. This helps prevent damage to other components as well—such as the filter, heater, etc.

Booster pump (for automatic cleaners)—The booster pump does not need to be operating, since water from the main pump is circulating thru the booster pump.

Pumps for waterfalls, fountains, spa jets, etc.—Pumps for waterfalls, fountains, spa jets, etc. should either be operating or should be drained. Some might be on a freeze sensor, therefore if these pumps are drained, the freeze sensors need to be deprogrammed.

Stay warm!