You’re ready to open your salt water pool for a new season! You take the winter cover off – you do use one, right? – and see pea-green soup water. And leaves floating around. Maybe even a poor dead rodent. Or two.
You can’t actually see the bottom of the pool because the water is so murky.
You vacuumed and cleaned the pool at closing in the fall. It was nice and clean but now it looks like a swamp.
What happened?
Here are the common salt water pool spring opening problems you might face when getting ready for the summer swimming season:
- Dirty or green algae-colored water.
- Leaves and other debris in the pool.
- Too much or too little water in the pool.
- Unbalanced water chemistry.
- Damaged or broken parts that need to be replaced.
- Water temperature is too low to activate the chlorinator.
Below we’ll discuss each potential problem in more detail! I’ll give you some personal anecdotes on each as I’ve certainly experienced them.
Most importantly, I’ll include some suggestions and thoughts as to how to avoid each one.
Dirty or green algae-colored water
I experienced this the first several years we owned a salt water pool and couldn’t figure it out. We paid a pool company to close the pool each autumn. They dropped the water level, capped the returns, added chlorine to the water and took the pump and salt cell apart so I could store the fragile parts safely indoors where it’s warm.
I always vacuumed the pool the night before myself so they wouldn’t charge me extra money to do it.
Then they attached the green winter pool cover over the entire pool surface and bolted it in the ground effectively creating a trampoline over top that let water in but kept debris out.
Yet every spring the water would be dark green like pea soup and I couldn’t figure out why!
I ended up switching to a different pool company and when they started closing the pool, the spring openings were immediately better. This new company added an algaecide to the water which the older pool company did not. They also used antifreeze in the side skimmer too.
Certainly, the algaecide must have done the trick because in the spring, the water while not crystal clear was not green. Rather than taking one full week and dumping multiple bottles of algaecide in to clear up the algae, I had the pool up and running in several days.
Solution: When winterizing the pool in autumn, consider using a pool closing kit if you’re doing it yourself. If you get a pool company to close for you, ask what chemicals they generally use and if you have a problem each spring with pea green soup water like we did, ask how you can fix this.
Short of closing your pool later in the season after the hot sunny weather has gone completely, it might be a matter of adding an algaecide and perhaps another winterizing chemical to assist during the months where no chlorine is being produced.
Leaves and other debris in the pool
Even though we have an expensive cover over the pool during the winter months that is securely bolted to the ground, we have one large area around the pool where the custom-cut cover allows debris in. We have a custom pool shape with a waterfall and unfortunately the waterfall area prevents us from securing the pool cover to the ground. Instead it is raised and attached to the waterfall rocks which allows leaves, dirt and other debris in.
And since our backyard is professionally landscaped and surrounded on the other three sides with trees, plants and dirt, some of it gets in during the winter.
This has the result of me having to spend significant time in the spring vacuuming out rotting, disintegrating leaves at the bottom of the pool along with twigs and other debris. I normally have to clean out the main skimmer basket three or four times before I’m done.
Plus when I had the algae problem, it usually took 5 or more days to clean the water enough that I could see to the bottom to vacuum it properly. Very frustrating and time-consuming.
Solution: The use of a good quality pool cover that 100% protects your pool like the one shown above will eliminate most if not all debris falling into the water during the winter. The mesh that the cover is made from allows water and melted snow to enter the water which is great if you have to drain your pool to cap the water returns if you live in a zone with severe winters like I do. By the time spring hits, you might find that you received enough snow to bring the water level back up to normal so you don’t have to manually add water.
The great thing about higher end covers like the one shown above is they are also safety covers (if that’s the model you choose) that can support the weight of humans and animals. They are bouncy like a trampoline so there is some give when snow piles on top but it can also act as a safety device to prevent a living thing from falling in the water. Again, check with the weight limits of your chosen model to be sure.
Too much or too little water in the pool
If you live in an area that receives frigid cold weather in winter, you will have to winterize your salt water pool. Among other things, this means draining water to just below the water returns so that all water is flushed out of the pump and pipes.
The returns are capped, you may choose to add antifreeze to the pipes, and you then bring the salt cell and other key parts inside your home rather than leaving them outside in the cold. Salt water in the pool will freeze over winter if the temperature drops low enough.
The “problem” comes in the spring when one of two things happens:
- A lack of snow or rain during the winter means the pool water level isn’t high enough and you need to add water.
- Too much snow or rain during the winter means the pool water level is too high and you need to remove water.
If you add water as in example 1, you will dilute the chemicals in your water and may find yourself trying to rebalance the water as a result.
If you remove water as in example 2, you will remove chemicals in your water and may find yourself trying to rebalance the water as a result as well.
Solution: Using the aforementioned pool cover that is bolted or otherwise held in place securely can not only provide a safety net against someone falling into your pool during the winter, it can also ensure debris and garbage doesn’t fall in and pollute the water during the time the pool is closed and not producing chlorine.
And since we’re speaking of unbalanced water chemistry…
Unbalanced water chemistry
When you open your salt water pool in the spring, the water chemistry might be pretty much on the nose except for the complete lack of chlorine of course and low salt. But other aspects of water chemistry might be pretty much ready to go!
If not, don’t be surprised especially if you had to pump out water in the fall when closing the pool or are now pumping out water as it rose too high during the winter. Water chemistry can easily get out of whack over the winter and you have to figure out how to get it back inline.
At a minimum you’re probably looking at dumping chlorine in to shock the pool to get some chlorine produced and adding 1 – 2 bags of salt as well.
Solution: If you deal with a local pool company, take a water sample in and see what the readings are. They should be able to advise you as to what to add. Over time you may be able to take more control and figure out these things for yourself if you’re so inclined.
Check out my articles on water chemistry here and here to learn more about dealing with it successfully!
In general terms though, salt water pools especially ones that are run with a quality automated chlorinator are known for keeping water fairly well balanced. This leads to less work over time for you the pool owner.
Before you start dumping various chemicals in, do get your water tested and learn how to balance the water on your own as it can save you time and money down the line.
Damaged or broken parts that need to be replaced
Harsh winters can lead to pumps seizing up (happened to me), salt cells being destroyed if they’re left outside, cracked pipes, small leaks (had that too) and other issues. Rodents can also chew on things like power plugs (happened to me) and spiders can clog your gas pool heater (experienced that too).
Some things might need to be replaced or repaired and often you might need a specialist to come by to take a look at more serious issues.
The harsher the winter weather, the more likely you will face parts that crack or otherwise get damaged.
Solution: Check your salt water system during the winter if possible to ensure that everything is still in place and hasn’t come loose or dislodged from large amounts of snow or ice. If safe to do so, you can also double check that none of the pool cover spring fittings have come loose which can allow debris to fall into the water.
Also be sure to bring certain parts of your pool system in for the winter including the salt cell and pressure gauge from the filter among other parts. They’re safer indoors until pool opening time.
Water temperature is too low to activate the chlorinator
Modern salt chlorinator systems are designed to shut off when the water temperature drops to a certain temperature. They do this to protect the salt cell from damage and also to acknowledge that as water temperature decreases, less chlorine is necessary to sanitize the water.
If you open your pool early in the spring when the ground is still hard and cold and the sunny warm days have yet to arrive, you might find that your chlorinator won’t produce chlorine. On the one hand you may not be ready to swim yet anyways. But if the pump is running (i.e. you’re paying for the electricity to use it), you’d at least like to get the pool ready for use so that when warmer weather does arrive, you’re ready to go.
Solution: If you have a pool heater, you can use the heater to warm the water to raise the temperature enough for the chlorinator to function and produce chlorine. This will of course increase your gas bill and depreciate your heater with the extra usage.
You could also manually add liquid or chemical chlorine (pucks, crystal) as needed until the chlorinator is able to operate.
You could also delay the pool opening until you’re certain that the temperatures are warm enough for the chlorinator to work. Just be careful you don’t open it too late and grow algae as the warm sun beats down on the pool cover as the still water becomes a breeding ground.
Check your chlorinator model to see what temperature it ceases to operate so you’re aware. Remember: This doesn’t mean the pump stops. It just means you’ll be pumping water but no chlorine will be produced in this instance.
How To Make Your Salt Water Pool Openings Easier
Depending on where you live, your spring salt water pool opening can be easy or hard if your closing is not done correctly. If you live in a region that gets snow and very cold weather than goes below freezing, you will need to winterize your pool by dropping the water level and capping the returns among other things.
But you can also do other things to ensure your opening is easier rather than difficult:
- Properly close your pool in the fall by vacuuming it, balancing the water and using a winterization kit. In my experience, the less debris you allow into the pool – leaves, twigs, dirt, dead rodents – the easier your opening will be in the spring and the cleaner your water.
- Invest in a good quality pool cover that completely envelopes the pool surface to keep leaves, twigs, rodents and other things from falling in and dirtying the water over the winter. It’ll mean less vacuuming in the spring.
- Consider a pool heater to not only allow you to extend the use of your pool late in the summer/fall but also to help you open it earlier by warming the water when the spring weather is still cool.
- If you use a pool company to open and close your pool and they’re not doing the job correctly, find a better one. There are generally many companies around that do this work (depending on where you live of course) so you probably have a choice.
- Remember that if you pay to open and close your pool with a one or two person “company” that works for cash, you won’t have the same legal recourse if something goes wrong, than you would with a legitimate pool company that sends you an invoice and puts things in writing.
