The Winter Storm Prep I Actually Do on My Own Pool (And on Every Customer’s Before the Ice Hits)

I’ve lived in North Texas my whole life, and I still get nervous every time the forecast flips from 70 to “wintry mix” overnight. Back in 2021, I watched good friends lose entire equipment pads because they figured “it won’t be that bad.” It was. I don’t want that phone call with any of you.

So here’s the honest, no-frills routine I run on my own backyard pool the minute a hard freeze shows up on the radar — the same one my crews have been doing for hundreds of customers every winter since then.

1. The pump has to keep moving. Period.

Water that’s running almost never freezes. Water that’s sitting there waiting on a sensor that might glitch… that’s the stuff that costs you a couple grand.

  • If the low is 32 °F or below (or there’s any mention of ice or sleet), I put the pump on continuous run starting around 3 or 4 p.m. the day before.
  • Automation owners: I drop the freeze-protect trigger down to 38 °F. Yeah, the electric bill goes up $12–$18 for a couple of days. That’s still cheaper than one cracked pipe.
  • No automation? I either leave the breaker on or I plug the pump into a cheap outdoor smart plug that watches the local temperature. Takes five minutes to set up and has saved my own pump twice.

Real life: February 2021, five straight days below freezing. Every single pool we kept running came through with zero damage. The ones that tried to “save power” or trusted a tired old freeze guard… we were cutting PVC for weeks.

2. Check the filter pressure right now

A dirty filter plus a pump running 24–48 hours straight is a recipe for blown lids and cracked tanks.

I walk out, glance at the gauge, and if it’s 8–10 psi above my normal clean reading, I clean it. Cartridges come out and get hosed, sand gets a long backwash, DE grids get soaked and scrubbed. Takes 20 minutes and prevents a $400–$800 disaster.

3. Pull the drain plugs if the power could go out

This is everyone’s least favorite job because it’s cold and you get wet. It’s also the absolute best insurance you’ll ever buy.

When ice or rolling blackouts are in the forecast:

  • Kill every breaker.
  • Pull every single drain plug you can find — pump (both of them), filter, heater, chlorinator, salt cell, anything with water in it.
  • Open every valve wide.
  • Toss the plugs in a Ziploc, label it, and tape it to the pad with giant letters: “DO NOT TURN ON WITHOUT THESE.”

I’ve seen equipment sit through three days of single-digit temps with no power and come out perfect because there was nothing left in it to freeze and expand.

4. Treat the equipment pad like it’s about to flood

Leaves and mulch soak up water like a sponge, then freeze solid against your pipes.

I grab the blower and clear every square inch of the pad. I crack the equipment cabinet doors a few inches so air moves through instead of getting trapped. I move hoses and patio chairs out of the way. Ten minutes of work, thousands of dollars saved.

5. The little things my dad taught me growing up

  • Leave one or two pool lights on. The heat they put off keeps a nice, open circle on the surface.
  • Loosen every union on the pump and filter a quarter turn so if something does shift, it pushes apart instead of cracking.
  • Turn the gas heater down to pilot or shut the valve completely.
  • Snap a quick picture of the whole pad while everything’s running normally. If I ever have to troubleshoot from my phone while I’m out of town, I know exactly what “good” looks like.

Or just let us handle the cold, wet part

Every time the weather guy starts throwing around “Arctic blast,” my phone blows up with the same text: “Can y’all come winterize before this hits?”

We’ve got crews that do nothing but storm prep — run pumps, clean filters, pull plugs when it makes sense, clear pads, and send you a quick video that says “you’re good, stay inside with the fireplace.”

We still have some openings before the next front, but once the sleet starts falling, we’re usually running 18-hour days straight.

If you want it done right and don’t want to crawl around in 28-degree rain yourself, call or text 469-352-9191 and just say “storm prep.” Or jump on the website and book a Freeze Protection Visit. We’ll take it from there.

Stay warm, charge your phones, and don’t let a two-day freeze turn into a five-figure repair bill.

See you on the other side of the storm — hopefully with all your pipes in one piece.

— Your local Pool Scouts crew