| Before I owned a pool I always thought that pool | | | | uncovered pool), we have a Polaris automatic pool |
| maintenance was going to be a real pain and | | | | cleaner which runs at least 2 to 3 hours a day. |
| troublesome. I had heard many horror stories | | | | This keeps the pool clean of leaves, worms, bugs, |
| from friends and acquaintances about all the | | | | and other similar yuck. |
| problems they had in keeping their pools clean and | | | | By not covering the pool but running the pump all |
| balanced | | | | winter long, you don't have to contend with the |
| Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that | | | | stagnant green algae infested water that |
| after our inground pool was installed, that | | | | develops when it sits idle for months at a time. |
| maintenance of it really wasn't a problem. How did | | | | Thankfully this is not a problem when you run the |
| I achieve this? I don't know -- but this is what I | | | | pump throughout the winter. |
| do. | | | | By not covering the pool, you can take a quick |
| First we never invested in a pool cover. Since we | | | | dip anytime you please since the water is always |
| live in SC we have a few months of 'cold' | | | | pretty darn clean. While few people would ever |
| temperatures but the remainder of the winter | | | | take a quick dip in the winter, the point here is |
| isn't too bad. We don't swim much from October | | | | that the cleanliness and clarity of the pool stays |
| to March but we don't cover it either. We simply | | | | so good that you could swim in it, but more |
| leave the pump and filter running. If the | | | | importantly, getting it balanced is as simple as |
| temperature drops below about 40 deg F, the | | | | taking a sample to be tested and learning what |
| pump automatically comes on to keep things | | | | chemicals to add. In other words you can be |
| from freezing. So, the first thing we don't have to | | | | swimming in a day without any serious effort or |
| do is to cover the pool. | | | | exhaustion. |
| By not covering the pool, you save hundreds of | | | | The only other things that I do are 1.) Keep the |
| dollars by not having to buy a pool cover every | | | | chlorine reservoir full (or nearly full) with chlorine |
| couple of years. But, in the long run, you might | | | | sticks and 2.) Clean the Polaris and filter trap |
| potentially pay more for electricity to run the | | | | every week. 3.) Watch the water level. If it gets |
| pump all year than a new cover would have cost. | | | | too high, the skimmer does not work properly |
| By not covering the pool you also save the hassle | | | | Please keep in mind that we live in South Carolina. |
| of 'opening the pool' every spring. First, you don't | | | | This type of pool care may not be appropriate |
| have to mess with the debris of leaves and the | | | | for much colder climates. If you live in the north |
| murky water that accumulates on the top of the | | | | and have an inground pool, please contact your |
| cover. (On the flip side, if you do cover the pool, | | | | local pool company and they will be able to |
| do yourself a favor and skim the debris off the | | | | recommend something appropriate for your |
| cover every so often.) | | | | colder climate. |
| To combat the problem of debris (in an | | | | |