It can be easy to forget about cleaning your pool when it’s not in use, but it’s important to continue the maintenance so you don’t end up with green water, staining or equipment damage.

And it’s just as important to follow some easy steps in the lead-up to winter. While the pool is still in use during autumn, make sure you clean it regularly and remove any debris.

When it’s time to shut it down for winter, take a sample of the water to your local BioGuard retailer for testing so you can ensure the water chemistry is correct.

Brush the walls and bottom of the pool and vacuum any debris. Clean out the skimmer basket and make sure the filter is clean.

You should also backwash and clean the filter with BioGuard Filter Brite, as well as adding a winter shock treatment like BioGuard Lite or BioGuard Salt Pool Sparkle.

Meanwhile, an algae inhibitor will prevent any stray algae spores from taking hold.

Leave the cover on during winter. However, you should still check the chlorine and pH levels every few weeks and adjust if necessary. The pH should be between 7.0 and 7.4. You should also keep an eye on the water level.

Check the skimmer basket and filter every now and then over winter, remove any debris, and run the pump for about six hours a day.

Following these simple steps means there’ll be no nasty surprises when you take the pool cover off next summer.