What To Do with Your Pool While Traveling for the Holidays

The holidays are officially upon us! For many, that means traveling out of town to enjoy quality time with loved ones. If you’re a pool owner, this means leaving your pool unattended for a long stretch of time. If you take the time to prep your pool before leaving, your pool will be able to maintain good shape until you’re able to get back. Here are a few tips on how to prepare your pool while you’re out of town during the holidays.

Check the Water Level

Make sure that the pool water is at or even slightly above the typical level so that your pool water doesn’t get too low while you’re away. Since water naturally evaporates, if water gets too low in the pool, there could be circulation problems.

Test and Shock the Water

To avoid coming back to a green pool, it’s important to get your chemicals in check before you leave. Testing pool water to ensure sanitizer and pH levels are correct is key to keeping your pool healthy for a few days unattended. By shocking your pool water, you’re preparing in advance that your pool will have the chemicals it needs to keep clean.

Run the Pump and Filter

Sufficient water circulation is crucial to your pool’s health. Ideally, your pool pump and filter will be on an automatic timer so that they will run for about 12 hours a day. If you don’t have a timer, now might be the perfect time to get one so that the pump and filter don’t have to be manually turned on and off each day! Otherwise, make sure you have someone that can stop by to turn the pump on and off each day. Going days without running the pump and filter can lead to bigger issues, so it’s important to make plans ahead of time for the system to run while you’re away.

Clear the Pool of any Debris

Empty your skimmer baskets, and make sure the filter and pump are debris-free. Also skim debris from the top of the pool just to give it some extra cleanliness before being unattended.

Hire Pool Scouts

If you’re going to be gone for an extended period, preparing your pool ahead of time can only do so much. Pools are best kept healthy with regular pool care and maintenance. If you don’t want the stress of wondering what you’ll be coming back to, give Pool Scouts a call to handle all of your ongoing pool needs so that you can fully enjoy the holidays.

Once you are back home, you’ll want to make sure to take your regular pool care steps to keep your pool’s health a priority. This means testing the water and adding chemicals as needed, running the pool pump and filter to keep that water circulating, and removing debris from the pool surface and skimmer baskets.

With these easy pool maintenance tips, you can relax with family knowing your pool is in good shape. Happy holidays!