For most of the United States, the winter of 2010 - 2011 has been downright AWFUL! Unless of course you're an outdoor winter sports fan...
Since just after Christmas, our family pool has been covered by 2 feet or more of ice and snow. Now as warmer spring weather comes in, we have to figure out what to do with all of that water.
For most inground pool owners, this is not a serious issue. As long as the pool was properly winterized, the ice and snow will melt and it's only a matter of pumping the excess water off of the cover.
DO NOT try to break up the accumulated ice and snow. Odds are, you will damage the cover and patio.
Be sure to drain it away from yours or your neighbor's home.
Aboveground pools, however, are another issue. As with inground pool, DO NOT try to break up the accumulated ice and snow. Not only will you damage the cover, but there is a very good chance that the pool structure itself will be damaged.
As I drive into work, I pass by many pools. Some inground, some aboveground. The ingrounds appear to be fine. An unseen problem may be a raised or heightened ground water level that could lead to a "floating" liner. That's probably the worst scenario.
What I see with some of the aboveground pools is some "caving-in" of the cover. The weight of the ice and snow on top of the cover pushes down and pulls the cover in. I don't care how well you have the cover wrapped and cabled, there's just a tremendous amount of stress that COULD lead to more damage.
Slow and gradual melting and draining is the best and safest thing to do. Carefully remove exposed leaves and debris from off of the cover. Take your time. A couple of hours per weekend & your pool will be ready in no time.
NEVER go on top off the pool and ice and snow pack. You can be seriously injured!
As I answer phone calls from frantic local customers, my answer to all of them is this: consider cutting or removing the cable and let the cover fall into the pool. Especially if you're seeing ANY buckling of the pool wall. It may be a hassle to deal with the cover and whatever autumn debris was on top after everything melts, but that's much better than a damaged pool or liner.
This is one of the reasons why we have been recommending that our customers leave the pool water level at close to normal swimming level. This is true for vinyl liner pools.
Concrete pools or pools with tile lines should bring the water level down to prevent damage to that tile.
Please keep in mind that this has been an EXTRAORDINARY winter. Snow and ice records have been set all over.
One further recommendation: as soon as things begin melting, start looking at the pool to check for any damage. Take pictures. Take notes.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or me mail me. 203-377-0100.
Techhelp@parpools.com
Don't worry, swimming season will be here soon!
Comments