Guide

Snowbird pool checklist: leaving your Florida pool for the summer

Half our customers in Venice, Punta Gorda, and Port Charlotte head north in April or May. This is what we tell them to do before they go, so November means a swim, not a $350 cleanup and a new pump.

941-202-2223

What actually happens to an unattended pool here

May through October is the worst possible stretch to leave a Florida pool alone: the hottest water, the most rain, the longest days. Chlorine is gone within a week of your last visit. By July the pool is green. By September the algae has staked the plaster, the filter is packed, and a pump that ran dry after the skimmer clogged has burned out. We see it every fall. It is entirely avoidable.

Before you leave

• Arrange weekly service. This is the whole list, honestly. Everything below is what to do in addition to it. A weekly plan from $105 a month is less than one green-to-clean and far less than a pump. Pick a plan, or text 941-202-2223.
• Clean the filter and all baskets so the system starts the summer with full flow.
• Set the pump timer for summer hours, not the winter schedule you were running in March. Eight hours minimum.
• Balance the water and raise stabilizer to the top of the range so summer sun does not strip chlorine in a day.
• Check the auto-fill if you have one. A stuck float either drains the pool or floods the yard for four months.
• Give us gate codes, a key contact, and a text number where you actually read messages. We text a photo after every visit.
• Photograph the equipment pad so you have a before picture if a storm comes through.

While you are gone

• Watch for our weekly photo. If you do not get one, text us.
• After a named storm, we check equipment on our next visit and call if anything needs attention. Repairs go to our sister company, Pool & Spa Solutions, licensed CPC1456897, so you are not hunting for a contractor from another state.
• Do not have a neighbor 'throw in some chlorine.' Unmeasured shock on a hot pool can etch plaster and it never fixes the underlying circulation problem.

When you come back

If the pool was on a weekly plan, you swim. If it was not, text us a photo and we will price a green-to-clean the same day, then get you on a plan so next spring is easier.

Common questions

• Can I just cover the pool? A cover slows debris but does nothing for chemistry, and a solid cover in Florida heat grows its own problems. It is not a substitute for service.
• Can I turn off the pump to save electricity? No. A stagnant pool in 90-degree heat is a swamp in two weeks, and the cost of the cleanup dwarfs the power bill.
• Is a contract required? No. Start in April, stop in November if you want, though most customers keep it running because they like coming home to a clean pool.

Read next

Why Florida pools turn green in summer, what weekly service costs, or find your town on service areas.