How to CLOSE/WINTERIZE your inground swimming pool

wow you REALLY need to remake this video.....i bet if any new pool owner watched this for advice theyd have a hundred questions....seems to me a lot was left out, id say more than 50%

my gizzmo doesn't have a cap so what can i do to blow out the skimmer

hi Jonathan can I reinstall a safety cover by myself how do you go about it ? i have a rectangle pool 16x32 so slide it into place and clip all of one side on or basically get as much springs on with hand then do rest with pole and everything will be alright with cover ? my first time installing cover on my own just bought house .

I have been told two different things about if we have to drain the pool for the winter or not. We have an automatic cover, so the current company is saying that we do not have to drain the pool and the automatic cover will not be harmed with the weight of snow as long as we keep the suction device on the top. Is this true?

Please can you mention which blower you used to blow skimmer and main drain? Looks like blower is powerful.

This looks way harder then I thought .. omg .. hope I can do this 😢

I’ve never seen a gizmo with a cap like that. Usually I connect my blower to the skimmers and push the water back to the pool pad.

Finally a real pool guy blowing/plugging live with pool full. Why did you use rubbers as opposed to threaded plugs for return lines?

Great video! My skimmer is taking in water after I put a new skimmer winterizing plastic plate to cover the opening. We live in Montana so we get a lot of snow on the cover. Usually we leave the water level half way up the skimmer. Should I drain the water down below skimmer? This would put more pressure on the cover from snow? Do I need to put a bead of silicone around the skimmer? Maybe it has a small leak between skimmer plate and vinyl? Right now we have a gallon of antifreeze in the skimmer with the water that has seeped in.
Help it’s starting to freeze in Montana! Thanks!!!

Stupid question - any special considerations for the water that lives in the pool itself over the winter? I imagine that water will be subject to the temps and freeze at times?

Hello, just curious on the return lines at the bottom of the deep end how exactly do I prevent those from filling back up my return lines? Sorry I’m sure you’ve covered this but I’m thinking I missed it. Please & thank you…also can that blower be bought at a pool store or where might I attempt to vacuum the lines out? Thx!

I live in Georgia so it doesn’t get extremely cold. I usually run my freeze protection but I’m having trouble with my water level dropping in the spa and the jets blowing water everywhere… so this year I decided to close it. I asked a local pool company and the said that all they do is pull the plugs for all the equipment and drop the water level. So I did all that and I sucked all the water out of the skimmer lines and put antifreeze in them. But, my returns are pound in fittings so I don’t know how to plug them off they are not threaded??Hopefully what they told me is true and I won’t have any issues. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Great video!! There are several different techniques to do this, but if you blow your lines out and air lock your main properly you will not need antifreeze. It only serves as a back up incase of a failed seal somewhere. It's a good idea and I am glad I used it because of a Gizmo that shifted out of place when the water froze. Instead of a Gizmo, I thread an 18" piece of schedule 88 into the skimmer box that elevates to the bottom of the skimmer lid and stuff the box full of pool noodles and a few water bottles. Don't forget to use pool noodles in the mouth of the skimmer as well if you are leaving your water that high for the auto cover to have some support for those heavy snow loads!!

What brand name blower did you use to blow out the pool lines.

Amazing video!!! Do you do more then winterize them? I am having a problem with my pool losing compression. So the pump will slowly stop sucking. None of the lines have cracks. If I unplug the pump and wait 2 minutes and plug it back in it works again for like 5-10 minutes. Also if I shut the skimmer line off and leave just the center on it runs longer.

What’s the name/ brand for the vacuum that you are using to blowout the lines?

hello, I'm looking to close my pool for the first time and am confused about where I should insert my blower attachment to blow out the return line. I have a hayward pump & sand filter. Can I feed my blower into the other end of the pump or the backwash waste port? I think the only detachable union I have is between the heater and the automatic chlorinator. I have a small semi-inground pool with 1 return and 1 skimmer. Thank you

Great video, I feel comfortable closing my pool myself for the first time this year. One thing I don't understand: Is there a concern with keeping the compressor on and plugging all the drains and returns? Will the pressure continue to build and potentially blow a pipe?

Thank you for the video. What kind of vac blower is used?

Great video! Why don’t you lower the water level before starting? It seems a lot of companies do that?

I know this is an older post. Can you describe or send pic of the “street 90” connection that connects the hose to filter? Is it threaded?
Also what type of hose it it?
Cheers!

So you dont lower the water at all after winterizing?

I think you use the RV antifreeze because it’s not as toxic as regular antifreeze. Not the price. Great video

The gizmo goes in the front or back hole ?

The antifreeze in the returns, in the spring time are you just opening the returns abd the antifreeze goes in the pool?

Do you add chemicals 12-24 hours prior to turning off the filter or do you shut off the filter then add chemicals? If I allow the water with the chemicals to flow through the filter, am I losing chemicals since I will be emptying the water in the filter? I have 30,000-32,000 gallons of water. Is this enough chemicals to winterize, 4 gallons of liquid shock, 1 bottle of winter algaecide, 1 bottle of pool magic, 2 gallons rv anti freeze.

I wish I could figure out a good way to get anti freeze in my main drain. Makes me nervous relying on the airlock during an Iowa winter.

Why did my pool guy only plug one of the holes in my skimmer basket area and not both ? One has the gizmo but the second is open

If it doesn’t freeze… there is no real reason to ‘winterize’

Hi wonder why my guy didn’t put any antifreeze in my pipes, he also didn’t lower my pool level at all, and then the safety cover allowed the first snow storm in November to fill to brim of the longer meaning pool and skimmers then full w water! Four or five months left to go. Had drained 8 inches out of pool added antifreeze to skimmers but it’s a matter of a storm to overfill it all again (New York here, feeling lost lol)

Do I need the antifreeze if I am in southern California?

I’ve read in numerous blogs and articles to only use pool-grade antifreeze for a number of valid reasons.

What are the Dimensions of that Pool? How many Gallons? Thank You! : )