6 Tips to Make Your Above Ground Pool Safe All Year

Having a pool in your yard is great for cooling off. These 6 tips will keep your pool safe and ship shape all year.

Being a pool owner is a responsibility. You basically have something on your property that is fun but can also be dangerous. Where you live, you may even be required by law to set up security around your pool. In order to prevent tragic accidents, do the following:

• Install a safety cover. They are made of thick plastic that is strong enough to walk on but the aim is to stop someone from falling in.
• A fence acts as a strong deterrent against anyone entering your pool without you knowing. It should be high enough to keep kids out and low enough to stop them from crawling underneath. Its gate should have self-closing hinges. You need to make sure that the fence is made of material that you can see through to keep your eye on things.
• Using non-skid material around your pool will prevent nasty slips.

As a pool owner, you’ll know that it isn’t just a matter of covering it up when the winter comes and forgetting about it until summer. So that your pool is in good shape when the summer rolls round again, these winter time tips will help.

• Leave most of the water in the pool over winter. Ice expands upward, so frozen pool water exerts little pressure on the sides and it helps to protect the pool from ground freezes, which can buckle it. However, any water seeping under the pool can wreak havoc so repair linear leaks before you winterise the pool.
• Clean dirt and debris from the pool. Turn off the filter pump and scrub the sides with a liner brush then clean the bottom with a pool vacuum. Lower the water level so it is slightly below the pool's built-in skimmer and add winterising chemicals as directed on the label of a kit, which you can buy at a pool store.
• Remove the catch basket of the skimmer and fill it with a styrofoam plug. Then remove the pump and its filter and store them indoors. Drain the plumbing lines and blow them dry with an air compressor. Plug the pump inlet hole with a stopper, which is available at pool stores.

Having an overground pool for a quick dip in the summer is a pleasure. Make sure it stays that way by following these seasonal safety tips.