Correct Method To Winterize Pool

by Tom
(Lake View, IA, USA)

I have an above ground 21'x42' oval pool and live in NW Iowa. To winterize, I dropped the water below the skimmer and covered the pool. I did not have a balloon under the cover. All appeared fine for the first several months although there was a good bit of ice on top of the cover that I could not remove.

Mid February we got a really strange warm up and I noticed all of a sudden the ice level had dropped, especially in the pool center, the ice also was lopsided, lower on the south end the the north end by at least a foot. I undid the cable on the cover as it was obviously stressing the walls. Several areas the wall at the bottom appeared to be buckling outward.

Now that the snow and ice is gone, I see the liner split the seam about 2' long at the seam between the floor and the wall. The wall in that area has now been pushed out and a few areas are out of the bottom track.

I plan to pull the liner and replace, and to put the wall back in etc. But I'd like to know if this is common and how to prevent it. This is our second year with the pool. The first winter was much harsher and all held up fine.




Hi Tom. I'm pretty sure the correct method to winterize an above ground pool, the one being currently recommended anyway, is to keep the pool as full of water as possible. In order to do that you need to block off the skimmer. It's also a good idea to unhook your filter equipment and store it indoors.



The link below will tell you more about the skimmer guard.

Skimmer Guard