Properly winterizing your swimming pool is crucial to maintaining your swimming pool during the colder, winter months. Not winterizing properly can lead to damage such as a cracked pool, broken water pipes, and staining of the pool surface. We’ve put together a checklist of the proper steps for winterizing your in ground pool.

1. Check chemical levels

You need to do a complete chemical test kit to evaluate chlorine, bromine, pH and alkalinity. The information that came with your swimming pool will outline what levels each of the chemicals should be at when the pool isn’t in use. This varies depending on whether you have a concrete pool, pool with a vinyl liner, or a gunite pool. If you’re unsure, check with the installer, who can give you valuable guidance.

2. Purchase and use a winterization kit

There are complete winterization kits you can buy from your swimming pool supplies store. These will keep your swimming pool water clean and clear so you don’t have to use as much, if any, of a shock treatment when you open the pool in the spring.

3. Avoid floating dispensers

Although floating chlorine and bromine dispensers can be very handy, they aren’t recommended for use while your pool is inactive or winterized. Floating dispensers are meant to drift around the surface of the water. If you leave one in your pool when the water isn’t circulating or the surface is covered, the chemicals will accumulate in one spot, staining or damaging pool surfaces.

4. Lower the water level

You’ll want to partially drain your pool so that the water level is below the skimmer. This prohibits water circulation and prevents burst water pipes in your pool’s water circulation system. Water expands when it freezes, so having water in the lines can lead to burst pipes and an expensive repair.

5. Use a shop vac to clear all plumbing lines

Reversing a shop vac will allow you to blow water out of the plumbing lines. Once you’ve done this, be sure to properly plug the ends of every line. You can get threaded plugs or plugs with rubber o-rings or gaskets at your pool supplies shop or through your pool manufacturer or installer.

6. Drain the filter equipment, including the pump

Once again, getting water flushed out of the lines prevents freezing and/or stagnation of the water. This will make it easier to clean and open your pool in the spring.

7. Take down and store accessories

This includes removing any ladders, taking down the diving board, and cleaning and storing the solar cover if you use one. Don’t put away any of your accessories, including games or flotation devices, without cleaning them first. Dirt or dampness can promote mold and mildew that will be hard to clean next spring.

8. Use the right swimming pool cover

If you have a winter cover for your pool, be sure to use it to cover the entire surface of the swimming pool to keep debris out of the water. Depending on they type of pool cover you have, you may need to add a few pool pillows to the surface of the water in order to keep the pool cover afloat. You don’t want it drifting below the water’s surface, which would defeat the purpose of covering the pool.

9. Keep tabs during the winter months

Don’t assume your pool cover will be fine for months on end without checking it periodically. By simply checking to see that the cover is firmly in place and that the water level is correct once a week, you can avoid costly problems down the line.

Proper swimming pool winterization will ensure that opening up your pool in the spring will be easy and problem free. It also protects you against swimming pool damage that could be costly, so take the time to do it right. You can prolong the life of your pool considerably with proper winterization.

Vern Marker is a writer for a Houston Pool Builder as well as other home improvement companies. When Vern is not blogging or writing, he loves to travel the world. Follow him on Twitter@VernMarker.

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