Decommissioning Your Pool for Winter

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  A pool vacuum hose floating in a swimming pool.Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  Vacuum the floor of your swimming pool using a pump and hose with a pole attachment. Move the vacuum head in slow motion along the floor of your pool. Make systematic movements like vacuuming your carpet. Rinse and fill your comparative tube found in your PH balance test kit with water from your pool. Add 5 drops of R-0004 agent; cap the tube and mix the solution. Your water should match the PH balance of the color on the middle bar, 7.0 - 8.0 PH.
  
  
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  Clean and clear swimming pool water.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Read the label of your algaecide, rust and scale remover and shock treatment. Add the recommended amount of chemical for the size of your pool. Dissolve your granular chemical in a pail of water and then add to your pool. Run your filter for one hour to circulate the chemicals as you decommission your pool.
  
  
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  A man skims debris from his swimming pool.Michael Blann/Digital Vision/Getty Images
  
  Skim debris from the surface of the pool. Disconnect your pump and motor. Open the pump and remove hair and debris. Open your filter tank and take the filter out or empty the filter materials. Remove the plugs and drain the water from your filter tank and throw away your filter. Wipe your filter with a clean and dry cloth. Let the water run out of any hoses. Plug hose inlets on your pool to prevent water from draining from your pool. Prevent water from entering you skimmer by attaching a winterizing device.
  
  
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  A cap covers skimmers and filters.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Put air in your vinyl balloons. Attach a rope to the balloon and secure your balloon on the water in the center of your pool. Close your pool by spreading your vinyl pool cover over the top of your winter balloon and over the sides of your pool. Use rope to tie it down and decommission your pool for the winter.