{"id":160976,"date":"2026-02-12T21:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T21:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/poolscouts.com\/mckinney\/?post_type=local-post&#038;p=160976"},"modified":"2026-02-12T21:51:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T21:51:30","slug":"the-winter-storm-prep-i-actually-do-on-my-own-pool-and-on-every-customers-before-the-ice-hits","status":"publish","type":"local-post","link":"https:\/\/poolscouts.com\/mckinney\/local-post\/the-winter-storm-prep-i-actually-do-on-my-own-pool-and-on-every-customers-before-the-ice-hits\/","title":{"rendered":"The Winter Storm Prep I Actually Do on My Own Pool (And on Every Customer\u2019s Before the Ice Hits)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">I\u2019ve lived in North Texas my whole life, and I still get nervous every time the forecast flips from 70 to \u201cwintry mix\u201d overnight. Back in 2021, I watched good friends lose entire equipment pads because they figured \u201cit won\u2019t be that bad.\u201d It was. I don\u2019t want that phone call with any of you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">So here\u2019s the honest, no-frills routine I run on my own backyard pool the minute a hard freeze shows up on the radar \u2014 the same one my crews have been doing for hundreds of customers every winter since then.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><b>1. The pump has to keep moving. Period.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Water that\u2019s running almost never freezes. Water that\u2019s sitting there waiting on a sensor that might glitch\u2026 that\u2019s the stuff that costs you a couple grand.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li4\">If the low is 32 \u00b0F or below (or there\u2019s any mention of ice or sleet), I put the pump on continuous run starting around 3 or 4 p.m. the day before.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">Automation owners: I drop the freeze-protect trigger down to 38 \u00b0F. Yeah, the electric bill goes up $12\u2013$18 for a couple of days. That\u2019s still cheaper than one cracked pipe.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\">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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p2\">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 \u201csave power\u201d or trusted a tired old freeze guard\u2026 we were cutting PVC for weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><b>2. Check the filter pressure right now<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A dirty filter plus a pump running 24\u201348 hours straight is a recipe for blown lids and cracked tanks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">I walk out, glance at the gauge, and if it\u2019s 8\u201310 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\u2013$800 disaster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><b>3. Pull the drain plugs if the power could go out<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">This is everyone\u2019s least favorite job because it\u2019s cold and you get wet. It\u2019s also the absolute best insurance you\u2019ll ever buy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">When ice or rolling blackouts are in the forecast:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li4\">Kill every breaker.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">Pull every single drain plug you can find \u2014 pump (both of them), filter, heater, chlorinator, salt cell, anything with water in it.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">Open every valve wide.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\">Toss the plugs in a Ziploc, label it, and tape it to the pad with giant letters: \u201cDO NOT TURN ON WITHOUT THESE.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p2\">I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><b>4. Treat the equipment pad like it\u2019s about to flood<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Leaves and mulch soak up water like a sponge, then freeze solid against your pipes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><b>5. The little things my dad taught me growing up<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li4\">Leave one or two pool lights on. The heat they put off keeps a nice, open circle on the surface.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">Loosen every union on the pump and filter a quarter turn so if something does shift, it pushes apart instead of cracking.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">Turn the gas heater down to pilot or shut the valve completely.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li2\">Snap a quick picture of the whole pad while everything\u2019s running normally. If I ever have to troubleshoot from my phone while I\u2019m out of town, I know exactly what \u201cgood\u201d looks like.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\"><b>Or just let us handle the cold, wet part<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Every time the weather guy starts throwing around \u201cArctic blast,\u201d my phone blows up with the same text: \u201cCan y\u2019all come winterize before this hits?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">We\u2019ve got crews that do nothing but storm prep \u2014 run pumps, clean filters, pull plugs when it makes sense, clear pads, and send you a quick video that says \u201cyou\u2019re good, stay inside with the fireplace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">We still have some openings before the next front, but once the sleet starts falling, we\u2019re usually running 18-hour days straight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">If you want it done right and don\u2019t want to crawl around in 28-degree rain yourself, call or text <a href=\"tel:469-352-9191\">469-352-9191<\/a> and just say \u201cstorm prep.\u201d Or jump on the <a href=\"https:\/\/poolscouts.com\/mckinney\/\">website<\/a> and book a Freeze Protection Visit. We\u2019ll take it from there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Stay warm, charge your phones, and don\u2019t let a two-day freeze turn into a five-figure repair bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">See you on the other side of the storm \u2014 hopefully with all your pipes in one piece.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 Your local Pool Scouts crew<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":160977,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-160976","local-post","type-local-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Winter Storm Prep I Actually Do on My Own Pool (And on Every Customer\u2019s Before the Ice Hits) - Pool Scouts of McKinney<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/poolscouts.com\/mckinney\/local-post\/the-winter-storm-prep-i-actually-do-on-my-own-pool-and-on-every-customers-before-the-ice-hits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Winter Storm Prep I Actually Do on My Own Pool (And on Every Customer\u2019s Before the Ice Hits) - 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