4Jan
Proper Winter Care and Maintenance is the Key to Dodging Swimming Pool Repairs in Ottawa
Swimming pools are great investments. The freedom to enjoy nice, cool water in your own backyard whenever you want is absolutely priceless—and good thing too, since pool ownership is expensive! There is maintenance, chemicals, parts, covers, accessories, and more to take into account. But not all of the costs are financial. It also costs you time, and demands of you responsibility—and in no time is that more apparent than the winter months. The amount of swimming pool repairs in Ottawa related to winter damage can be curbed by responsible winterization and constant vigilance throughout the season.
For both inground and above-ground pools, it is important to prepare the pool by lowering the water level by the appropriate amount. However, you should never drain the pool entirely. This is because, with the exception of concrete inground pools, the presence of water in the pool is integral to maintaining its structure and shape. However, if the water level is left too high, then it presents two distinct problems. The first is that as it freezes, it will expand, causing damage. Vinyl liners and above-ground structures in particular are at great risk of rupturing if ice is allowed to form to this intense degree. Secondly, water that is allowed to freeze inside the skimmer will wreak absolute havoc on it—this should never be allowed to happen, so always drain the water level to just below the skimmer if you want to avoid paying for extensive swimming pool repairs in Ottawa’s spring, whenever it rolls around.
You can add an additional layer of protection by investing in an air pillow or equalizer. This accessory sits between the water and the pool’s protective cover, and it works to prevent damage by giving expanding ice a place to go without forcing its way outwards.
Simply winterizing your pool is not enough to keep it safe all winter—in other words, you can’t just set it and forget it. After every snowfall, you should be going out into the yard and clearing snow and other debris from on top of the pool cover to prevent too much weight from accumulating. If too much weight is applied, the cover will fall into the pool, and the results could be dire. In an above-ground pool, the tension on the cover could warp the walls of the pool beyond repair, until replacement is the only option. For a vinyl-lined inground pool, which is becoming the prevailing choice for new pools, a collapsed cover can tear at the lining, allowing water to flood out and get into the supports, a cost repair project in its own right.
The best defence against a big springtime bill for swimming pool repairs in Ottawa is to take proper care to protect your investment from the harsh elements.