Why prepare for a tropical storm / hurricane

Preparing your pool and backyard for tropical storm / hurricane season is essential to keeping your pool safe and prevent damage.  Your swimming pool was an investment and preparing it for any possible storms can save you a lot of time and money in the future.

Before the Storm

• High winds, heavy rain and flying debris can damage your pool and equipment.  Remove or tie down any loose items in the yard – patio furniture, umbrellas, even barbeques and toys.  You should also consider pruning any tree branches in the yard and removing any free standing potted plants.
• Turn off the power to all pool equipment, from the circuit breaker is best.  This will help to prevent any damage to the equipment due to power surges.  If you are planning to cover the equipment for further protection, please make sure you wait until the units have cooled off.
• Do not drain your pool down before the storm.  Contrary to popular belief, draining your swimming pool is possibly the worst thing you could do. Most people believe that draining prevents overflow and your backyard from flooding. Surprisingly, this rarely happens unless your pool’s overflow feature is not working. Pool water helps keep your vinyl-lined pool in position.
• Remove your solar blanket, usually we advise you to leave the blanket on the pool to prevent dirt and debris from contaminating the pool water, however the solar blanket is inefficient in these types of storms, and you likely would find the blanket won’t stay in place due to the high winds anyway.  If you use a solar roller, be sure to tie the blanket and roller to the fence to keep it from falling into the pool.
• It sounds silly, but before the storm occurs, check your pool maintenance equipment.  If your deep leaf net, leaf bagger or telescopic need replacing, this is the time to do it.  Once the storm is over, you may see shortages at the pool professionals for these hot commodities as others have also found the number of leaves in the pool daunting.  Checking over your equipment while you’re thinking about it, won’t see you stuck trying to borrow your neighbours equipment because the stores are sold out.
• Keep updated on the weather conditions.  Knowing when a storm is expected to arrive provides you with the time to prepare the pool and yard without rushing around during the first drops of rain to get things done.

Once the storm has passed:

• Remove any leaves and debris from the pool.
• Turn on the circuit breaker.
• Test the pool water and balance accordingly.
• Shock the pool.

Overall, it is best to keep yourself updated on weather conditions and possible storm dates and set a plan to prepare the pool and yard before they hit so you can protect your investment.   The team at R&R pools offers comprehensive pool services for both inground and above ground pools. To find out about our storm preparation and recovery services, visit our site or call us at 902-876-2773.