Around this time of year your thoughts may be turning towards opening the pool. If you have a dirty pool you will have a lot to do before you can swim. Don't put it off too long - it will only get worse. If you have not opened up your own pool before, our advice is to call in your local pool centre to do the job for you. If you want to do the work yourself, the following should be helpful.

Remove debris from the winter cover before taking it off. Clean and dry it, ready for storage. A cleaning mixture can be made from 100cc of liquid chlorine in 10 litres of water - scrub it onto both sides of the cover to kill off algae and mould spores. Using a leaf net, remove as much debris from the pool as possible. Clean tide marks from the pool walls with a 50/50 mix of hydrochloric acid and water. This mix is also good for cleaning the white 'Coronation Stone' surround to pools - Apply with a broom and scrub to remove staining. Work quickly to minimise the effects of the acid and rinse off into the pool water. (Any acid that is still active after cleaning the surround will help to reduce the pH of the pool water.)

Make sure all electrical connections are free from dampness - call in an electrician if you are in any doubt about what you are doing. Replace the fuses or reset the circuit breakers. Set the timer to the correct time of day and operating period - 4 hours in each 12. Check there are no obstructions to drains, outlets and the pump strainer basket. Top up the water to 75mm above normal level; bleed the air from the filter, pipes and pump. Replace skimmer baskets if they were removed for the winter. Set the rotary valve to 'Filter'. Turn on the pump and check that the filter, skimmers and drains are all working.

Don't worry if the water from the circulation is initially discoloured. Vacuum the bottom and steps to 'Waste'. Then run the pump on 'Circulate' for 4 hours; this will collect any remaining debris in a few spots on the pool-bottom. Vacuum the clusters of debris to 'Waste'. Check the pH and get it as near as possible to 7.4. Superchlorinate to10 ppm with liquid chlorine to kill any algae that may be present - dosage rate is 2.1 litres per 50 cu m.

Place 1 crushed and 1 whole Tricloro tablet per 50 cu m of pool water in the skimmer basket. Set the Rotary Valve to 'Filter' and run the pump for 24 hours. Thoroughly scrub all surfaces with the pool-brush. This may turn the water cloudy; if so the filter will clear it but you may have to backwash a couple of times during the 24 hour period of filtration.

Backwash the filter and top up with fresh water. Check chlorine and pH. Get pH as near as possible to 7.4 as soon as you can. If your main sanitiser is unstabilised chlorine, such as calcium hypochlorite, add stabiliser (cyanuric acid), to prevent loss of chlorine to sunlight, at a rate of 250 grams per 50 cu m of pool water. If you use Tricloro tablets this will not be necessary.
Fit a pool-cover to warm the water more swiftly. Last one in's a sissy!

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Deep Blue Pools, Alhaurin el Grande, 952 594 393
Copyright Ken Walker, Deep Blue Pools, July 2006