Hurricane season is well underway and the past two years we have had some pretty detrimental floods due to hurricanes. While you can never fully predict what will happen, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Here’s a quick checklist of everything you’ll need to know about prepping your pool for an impending storm:
- Turn equipment off before the storm hits. Turn off lights, pumps, etc. off at the breaker. They don’t need to run during a hurricane.
- Do not empty the pool! Hurricanes and tropical storms mean rain (lots of rain) and wind. This means your pool will potentially overfill. We highly recommend not going out during any storm to backwash your pool. Please wait until the weather is clear to do this. No matter what, your safety is most important. But remember if you are removing water, do not let the water level get below the skimmer. Without water in the pool your in-ground pool could easily “pop” out of the ground or your above ground pool could collapse entirely.
- Remove sizable items from around the pool. It’s not fun trying to fish lawn chairs and grills from pools.
- And finally, add chlorine just before the storm hits. Even in the best scenario during a storm, rain water will get into your pool, potentially depleting your chlorine level which can lead to algae growth. Before any storm, remember to add your preventative algae and make sure you have plenty of chlorine in your water (sticks/tabs or that you have your chlorinator turned up) in the days leading up to the storm. While that won’t guarantee your water will be perfect, it gives you the best chances of such.
Remember, your safety is the most important. Please adhere to any evacuation orders and make sure you’re prepared!
