5 Ways to Protect Your Pool During Hurricane Season

If you have a pool, and you live somewhere where hurricanes are a common occurrence, you need to know how to protect your pool when a hurricane is approaching. Your pool is an expensive and valuable part of your home that you want to make sure you take the steps to protect it.

Leave the Water Alone

You should leave the water alone in your pool. During a hurricane, hydrostatic pressure can build up under your pool. If you remove the water from the pool, your pool could pop from all that hydrostatic pressure. If you leave the water in the pool, the water will just overflow instead.

If you have an auto-drain pool, where the water will automatically be funneled into a drain if the water level exceeds a certain level, make sure the drains are not clogged so your pool can properly drain if it overflows. If you have an auto-fill feature or water leveler feature, you can turn it off during the storm. You don't need more water added to your pool when a storm is happening.

Give It Some Shock Treatment

During a hurricane, more than likely, dirty water and pollutants are going to get into your pool. You can help your pool out by adding some super chlorinate, also known as shock treatment, to the pool. Just keep in mind that once you apply shock treatment to your pool, you shouldn't swim in it for at least an entire day.

Clean Up Pool Items

You need to clean up all the loose items that are around your pool. You don't want these items to become projectiles during the high-winds portion of the hurricane, and you don't want these items to damage your pool either.

Take the moving vacuum and filter out of the pool. Put your lawn furniture inside of your garage or tool shed. Pick up all the pool tools and put them away as well. Make sure all pool chemicals are stored somewhere where they will stay safe and dry. If you have any large furniture around your pool that you can't easily move, strap it down so that it will not become airborne.

Power Off the Pool

Next, you need to turn the power off to any electrical equipment that your pool uses. That means turning off the pump, vacuum, and the switch to the pool lights. You don't want your equipment to get saturated with water and get damaged due to a power surge.

Take Pictures

Finally, you never know what a storm is going to bring. Take pictures of your pool area before the storm so you can show the condition it was before the storm. If your pool sustains any damage during the storm, take pictures after the storm as well. These before and after pictures could help your insurance claim should you need to file one.

If you're concerned about your pool during hurricane season, contact inground pool companies to learn more.