WEATHER PREPARATIONS
Climate in the Greater Houston Area can have a significant effect on your swimming pool’s water chemistry. Please use the information below to help guide you through the different weather events.
Freezing Temperature GuidelinesUser9912021-02-20T11:21:37-05:00
Freezing Temperature Guidelines – No Power Loss
- Run the pool continuously.
- Wrap the pool water fill line with the appropriate material.
- It is not necessary to run you heater.
- Systems with slides, aerators, etc., should have lines and valves wrapped.
- Pool cleaners with booster pumps need not run continuously.
- Booster pumps for waterfalls or water features should run or pipes drained and covered.
Freezing Temperature Guidelines – Loss of Power
- Take trippers off the time clock and turn time clock off.
- Take pump lid off.
- Unscrew pump pot plug and volute plug if there is one.
- Dial multiport valve to backwash or push pull valve to backwash.
- Take drain plug out of multiport valve.
- Open air relief valve on filter.
- Take out filter drain plug.
- Open wing nuts on heater or open drain plug.
- Take chlorinator lid off.
- Take plug out of bottom of chlorinator.
- Put all removed plugs in a safe place.
Pool Restart
- Only perform the following steps when the water in your pipes has thawed out.
- Put all the plugs that were removed from the pumps/filters/valves back in place.
- Lube all pump lid o-rings with Teflon or silicone lubricant.
- Put DE/Sand filter valves into the pool position
- Using a bucket or garden hose – fill the pump pots with water. This may take several buckets of water or (5-10) minutes.
- Secure lids back on pumps.
- Open filter air relief valve (located on filter top).
- Turn pumps(s) on and allow them to fully prime. You do not need to turn your cleaner pump on.
- When a steady stream of water comes out of the air relief – close the air relief valve
- Put auto systems back into the auto setting and /or re-install time trippers to mechanical time clocks.
- Check for leaks – if none are found, you’re good to go!
- If any leaks are present, turn all the pumps off and contact our service department at 281-320-8242 or request an appointment online.
Handling Drought and Your Swimming PoolUser9912021-02-20T10:28:41-05:00
- The main concern regarding swimming pools in a time of drought is to minimize water leaving the pool.
- The most significant loss of water is through evaporation. To reduce evaporation, you can put a solid or solar cover on the pool when it is not in use. There are also smaller solid floating panels that can just be tossed in the pool to cover as much surface area as possible. At a minimum there are biodegradable liquid products that float on the surface of the water that do not allow as much evaporation to take place.
- In a time of drought you want to minimize backwashing the filter as much as possible.
- If your pool is heated, you might reduce the temperature of the water. Warmer water evaporates more quickly.
- You will want to shut down any unnecessary fountains and waterfalls. The splashing of the waters greatly increases surface area and thus increases evaporation.
- You can reduce splash out if the children change their behavior and minimize horseplay, cannon balls, water fights etc. or games where water leaves the pool.
- You may want to check to make sure there are no underground leaks in your pool where you might be losing water and never see it. You can do this with a simple “bucket test”.
- Turn off all equipment and let the water settle down.
- To do a test you need a 5 gal bucket and a marker. Take your bucket and fill it with pool water approximately ½ full and sit on the top step in the water.
- Mark the water level on the inside of the bucket and mark the water level on the outside of the bucket where the pool water is touching the bucket.
- In 24 – 48 hrs, mark where the water level now on the inside and outside of the bucket as you did before.
- You can then measure the distance between the first mark and second mark on the inside and outside of the bucket. If the measurement is the same, there are no leaks. If the distance is greater on the outside measurement than the inside measurement then there is a leak somewhere in the pool.
High Winds and Your Pool
Hurricane SeasonUser9912021-02-20T10:29:19-05:00
1-2 Days before the storm
- shock the pool and brush.
- Secure patio furniture and potted plants near the pool area.
Approximatly 21-24hrs prior to the storms arrival
- Turn off all equipment.
- Turn off all breakers.
After the storm
- Ensure pool level is normal.
- Remove any heavy debris and or objects from the pool.
- Use a leaf rake and leaf bagger to remove large leaves.
- Vacuum the pool to remove remaining dirt and leaves.
- Shock the pool.
- Take a water sample to your local Texsun Pools’ retail store.
- Rebalance the pool.
- Clean the filter.
Dealing with high water in your swimming poolUser9912021-02-20T10:30:05-05:00
Pre-Flood Event
- It is hard to tell if a big rain event will be just heavy rain or truly be a “flooding” event. If it does become a flood, it all happens very quickly. In either case, as a preventative, you can add an algaecide to the pool beforehand and increase the normal levels of chlorination. You might also lower the water level by 1-2 inches but making sure there is still water flowing easily into the skimmer.
Flooding Event
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- Monitor the level of your pool water as the storm continues. If overflowing is imminent, you can let water out of the pool using the following methods:
Pools with D.E. & Sand Filters – The Waste Option
- Turn off the pump
- Rotate the multi-port valve clockwise to the Waste position
- Turn the pump on until the water returns to the proper level
- Turn the pump off and rotate the multi-port valve clockwise back to the Filter option
- Turn the pump back on
- The Waste option will redirect the water flow directly out the backwash line. Remember to rotate the multi-port valve back to the Filter position, otherwise your pool will continue to drain!
Pools with Cartridge Filters – The Hose Bib
- Attach a water hose to the Hose Bib and turn to open. The Hose Bib (outdoor faucet) is located on the plumbing as the water is existing the pump. Leave open until the water returns to its proper level. Remember to shut off the hose bib, otherwise your pool will continue to drain!
All Pools
- If your complete backyard is about to flood significantly and water is expected to come in contact with the equipment. You will need to cut power to ALL swimming pool equipment by turning off the circuit breakers to the equipment. Those will be located in the breaker box either attached to the outside of your house or an internal box mounted in a wall of the house or garage.
After the flood
- Return the pool water level to it proper operating level
- Remove large debris from the pool with a skimmer net
- Turn the pump on either through the circuit breakers or timing mechanism
- Test the pool water, balance pH, and shock the pool heavily
- Run the pump 24/7 until the water clears
High Winds & Your PoolUser9912021-02-20T10:30:45-05:00
- High winds do not normally have a drastic effect on pools except in the case of hurricanes. If a hurricane is immanent please refer to our “hurricane” section of this website.
- In the case of a normal high wind condition, debris in the pool is the primary obstacle.
- Debris in the pool creates a chlorine demand and thus reduces the amount of chlorine in the pool to do its job. At your earliest convenience, you will want to remove the debris with your skimmer net.
- The pool skimmers will also probably have collected a significant amount of debris as well. These may need to be emptied several times a day in the case of a prolonged wind event.
- If a skimmer is allowed to be “choked” with leaves to the point that no water can pass through, you could run your pump dry which in turn could burn up the motor. In that case the motor will need to be replaced.
- If you have a weekly pool cleaning service, in a high wind event their once a week stop may not be sufficient to handle all the debris in the pool. The homeowner may need to help by emptying the skimmers occasionally to prevent the “run dry” situation as discussed above.
Prolonged Power OutageUser9912021-02-20T10:31:38-05:00
- Under a prolonged power outage of several days there are only a few things you can do.
- Portable household generators are normally 110V but there are some that will generate 240V. Most pool pumps are wired 240V in this market. Adapting the wiring to hook up a 240V generator to a pool pump should be done by an electrician only. This is a very uncommon practice.
- If your home has a permanently installed backup generator, you would want to inquire to the manufacturer on what needs to be done to have the generator run your pool equipment.
- In the absence of a backup power source, you can only try to minimize the effort that will be necessary to clear the pool whenever power is reestablished.
- The first thing to do is to keep as much debris out of the pool using your leaf net. Debris causes a chlorine demand and uses your chlorine so that it cannot do its job oxidizing contaminants.
- The next thing you can do is to keep a reasonable pH reading (from your test kit) using pool acid and shock the pool on a regular basis. Remember, the pool water is not moving due to the power being out. The only way to mix the chemicals into the pool is by brushing the pool surface especially the bottom if using granular chlorine. You will have to become the devise to move the water so that chemicals are completely dispersed evenly in the pool.
- In a situation of no power only use liquid or granular chemicals. NEVER put a chlorine tab on the bottom of a pool.
- When power is restored, run the pump 24/7 until water clears. Increase the level of normal chlorination and take a water sample to your local Texsun Pools store to receive advise on how to rebalance the pool water.
GeneralUser9912021-02-20T10:32:08-05:00
NOTE: Damage caused by freezing temperatures (or any acts of God) is not covered under any warranty.
All manufacturers of freeze protection devices warrant their product only and will not be liable for any incidental or non-consequential damages whether foreseeable or not, which may occur as a result of the failure of the freeze protection device.
Pump run times based on water temperature.
- 65 degrees or less run 6 hours.
- 65-75 degrees run 8 hours.
- 75-85 degrees run 10 hours.
- 85+ degrees run 12 hours.
SERVICES
Texsun Pools offers a variety of services to help ensure you pool stays safe, clean and clear. We provide all the services required to care for your swimming pool and our systems ensure every department has access to the latest information.
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