How to Winterize an Above Ground Pool Skimmer

Winterize your pool skimmer.

Winterizing an above ground pool has several important steps that will help to protect your investment. When winter comes and the temperature drops, water freezes and expands. Any small part containing water faces the risk of cracking. To prevent major damage to your pool's skimmer, winterize it so that you can use it for several swimming seasons to come.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdrivers
• Insulated waterproof cover

Instructions

1. Drain the pool water before the weather gets too cold. This will prevent the water from having a chance to freeze in the skimmer, making it hard to remove the basket and the hoses. Winterizing your pool before winter sets in is a very important step in maintaining the condition of your pool skimmer and the rest of the pool's filter parts.

2. Drain the pool water to just below the lowest inlet hole. This is the hole where the pool water enters the pool from the filter. An easy way to drain the water away from the filtering apparatus is to disconnect the filter hose at the inlet and attach the vacuum hose to it. Direct the vacuum hose to drain away from the pool filter.

3. Disconnect the hose from the pool skimmer once the pool water level drops below the inlet hole. Loosen the clamp around the hose with a screwdriver, and then pull down on the hose to release it from the skimmer fitting. Any remaining water in the skimmer will drain out at this point, but there should not be any water in there since the pool water was drained out well below the skimmer level.

4. Take the skimmer basket out of the skimmer. Extend the basket's life by storing it indoors with the other pool parts over the winter.

5. Clean the skimmer. Give the skimmer unit a good cleaning with soap and water to remove any residues from debris, salts or pool chemicals. Removing these residues will extend the life of your skimmer; they will not be able sit on the plastic throughout the winter and slowly break it down.

6. Wrap the skimmer with a waterproof insulated cover. You may not find this at a pool supply store, but it doesn't hurt to make one for your pool skimmer. Basically, the skimmer is made out of a plastic material similar to other pool accessories that come with the recommendation for indoor storage in the winter time.

   An easy cover for your skimmer is to cut a piece of plastic tarp large enough to wrap around the skimmer, and to sew an insulating material to one side of this cover. This cover will screen the skimmer from the sun, wind and bitter cold weather in the off-seasons.

Tips & Warnings

• Sew elastic around the edges of the skimmer cover to make it fit snugly over the skimmer.

References

• Red's Pool & Patio: Winterizing Your Above Ground Swimming Pool
• Pool and Spa: How to Properly Close (Winterize) a Swimming Pool
• Wet Head Media: How Can I Winterize My Pool Skimmer?