Supplies for Opening Your Above Ground Pool

It’s finally stopped snowing and your winter cover can finally be seen underneath the melting snow. Spring is approaching and as pool owners, you’re starting to get excited for the warm weather that you’ll be enjoying in your pool all summer long. We here at PoolSupplies.com want to help you get prepared ahead of time so that when the warm weather appears you won’t have to feel stressed or worried. We’ll help you get all the supplies you need for your above-ground pool and a comprehensive step-by-step guide to follow.

What You'll Need 

• Submersible Pump/ Sump Pump
• Pool Brush
• pH Plus
• pH Minus
• Metal Free
• Calcium Hardness Booster
• Test Kit
• Pool Shock

*NOTE: A cost-effective kit containing all these necessary chemicals can be found here!

Steps for Opening the Pool

1. Use the Submersible Pump to remove any water that may have accumulated on top of your winter cover.
2. Lay your winter cover flat, brush off any remaining dirt or water, and allow to dry fully before folding it and storing in a cool, dry space.
3. You'll want to reconnect any equipment that you disconnected while winterizing your pool. This usually includes your filter, pump, heater, ladders, handrails, etc.
4. If you live in a state where the temperatures remain below freezing for most of the year, you may have replaced your drain plugs with winterizing plugs. Once you've reconnected your equipment (step 3) replace these winterizing plugs for your drain plugs.
5. Over the winter, metals like copper and iron tend to build up in your pool, which can cause stains that are hard to remove once they've built up. A bit of Metal Free will neutralize any metals in the pool.
6. Use your test kit to test your pool water's chemistry. Once you've read the results it's time to balance the water accordingly with your chemicals.
7. Begin with adjusting your total alkalinity levels. PH minus, multi-purposeful for both PH and alkalinity, will lower the alkalinity, while Alkalinity Up, as the name implies, will raise the alkalinity.
8. Once Alkalinity is adjusted, it's now time to adjust the PH levels accordingly. The names here make this fairly self-explanatory; you will use PH Plus and PH Minus to adjust the PH level properly.
9. Lastly, if your Calcium Hardness is too low add some Calcium Booster! Keep in mind, that it's very difficult to lower Calcium Hardness, so increase your levels slowly and carefully.
10. Give your pool a thorough brushing or vacuuming.
11. Add the correct Shock for your pool. (2lbs of the shock for every 10,000 gallons of water)

Follow these steps to have a freshly cleaned and clear pool to start your summer season on the right foot!