How to Winterise Your Pool
UPDATED: July 2025
Winterising your pool is a great way to reduce your costs & maintenance. However, it does not mean you can neglect it over winter; you still need to keep an eye on it.
Here are a few very important steps to consider so you can confidently move the pool down your list of things to do for a few months and ensure you don’t end up with a soupy mess when the weather warms up again.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR POOL IN WINTER.
- You still need chlorine – however, as it’s not being used, and the water is much colder, your chlorine will last a little bit longer in the water.
- You still need to filter your water every day – You can reduce your running time to about half your summer running hours.
- The pool will still get leaves & dirt in it – You will still need to keep it clean if you don’t have a pool cleaner, we suggest a robotic cleaner to make this super easy, but we would! alternatively,y scooping and manually vacuuming as required.
- The water balance will be more consistent, but it’s a good idea to get your water tested with us every month.
HOW TO ‘WINTERISE’ YOUR POOL.
SCOOP, VAC & BRUSH THE WHOLE POOL
Remove all debris from the water, skimmer basket & pump basket. Any organic matter left for long periods in the water uses more chlorine than necessary, it also increases the phosphate levels, which feed algae growth & they can also stain the surface of your pool.
CHECK & CLEAN ALL YOUR EQUIPMENT
Ensure the pump is working well, with no loud noises or leaks. Check the salt cell for calcium build-up and clean with 10 parts water and 1 part acid solution. Then clean out the cartridge filter or backwash the media filter.
BOOK A WINTER SERVICE WITH US
HOW TO BACKWASH YOUR FILTER PROPERLY
To clean contaminants from the filter, you’ll need to backwash the filter. Follow these basic steps to backwash your filter properly:
- Turn the pump OFF
- Move the Multiport Valve handle to ‘Backwash’ & open any valves on your waste line
- Turn the pump ON & run for ~1 minute or until the sight glass is clear.
- Turn the pump OFF
- Move the Multiport Valve handle to ‘Rinse’
- Turn the pump ON & run for up to 30 seconds or until the sight glass is clear.
- Turn the pump OFF
- Move the Multiport Valve handle to ‘Filter’
- Turn the pump ON and set the timer to automatic.
It’s best to soak cartridges in a cleaner suitable for pool & spa filters to remove body fats and other oils, such as sunscreen, that have built up over the summer. We recommend either Spa Pro Filter Cleaner & Degreaser or Poppits Filter Cartridge Cleaner.
TEST & BALANCE YOUR WATER
Bring in a water sample to us for a full water balance; this gives your pool water the best possible starting point for the winter. This has 2 benefits: more efficient sanitising power, whilst running shorter filtration times, & extending the life of your pool equipment.
We also suggest oxidising your water, this will help your chlorine do its job more effectively over the next few months, as well as kill more algae & bacteria.
IMPORTANT: We can’t emphasise enough how important it is to keep on top of chlorine levels over winter, as it is very easy to overproduce, which you might think is beneficial as it stops anything living in there. But chlorine is very corrosive in high quantities; therefore, if your chlorine levels get too high, it can damage everything it comes into contact with eg, your pool surface, pool cleaners and your pool cover.
It will shorten the life of your equipment as it corrodes the internal parts, and this is more likely to happen over winter, so reducing the chlorine output on your chlorinator or manual dose amount will be required due to the fluctuating weather patterns.
It’s best to check it regularly, as it will need fine-tuning as we slowly slide into winter. If the levels are too high, we recommend adding a chlorine neutraliser to minimise damage. This is because while turning down your chlorinator will reduce future output, it won’t do anything to reduce the level of chlorine already in the pool. Only a chlorine neutraliser can do that in the absence of some decent sunshine.
Learn more about your water balance here
POOL COVERS
If you don’t have a pool cover, now is a great time to invest in one. A pool cover does a few things. It protects your pool from debris, elements and evaporation as well as keeps your chlorine in the water longer, helping keep the water free of algae.
Read more about the benefits of pool covers here
ADD A LONG-TERM ALGAECIDE
A long-lasting copper-based algaecide like Winteriser will kill algae & continue to remain active in the water for up to 3 months. This adds extra protection against algal blooms over the coldest months that could create a costly clean-up when you’re ready to start swimming again.
Read more about the different algaecides here
CHECK ON THE POOL OCCASIONALLY
Visually check the water every week or so to ensure that it remains clear, backwash the filter or clean the cartridges once a month. We also suggest bringing a water sample to us each month to test the water chemistry or you can check at home with test strips, adjusting where necessary.
That’s pretty much it, keeping your pool clean & clear will always be much more cost & time effective than trying to fix a neglected pool when you’re ready to swim again.
If you’d like us to ‘winterise’ your pool, you can request a service online below or call our shop on (03) 9758 3777.
Service Request
Use this form to request a service with our professional and friendly team.
"*" indicates required fields
