Now that you’ve got the lawn mowed and cleared the leaves out of the yard, it’s time to get your pool opened, balanced and cleared. In this blog, we’re going to talk a little bit about best practices for starting your season off on the right foot.
First off, the best thing you can do right away is get the cover off, fresh fill your pool as much as you can and get your filter hooked up to start circulating the water in the pool. If you have a lot of leaves (even if you can’t necessary see to the bottom), scoop out as much as you can to get the organics out.

If you’re looking for an easier watercare system throughout the summer, opening season is a great time to switch over to Simple Blue.  It’s a once-a-week, low-chlorine based system that’s softer on the skin and easier to maintain.  Simple Blue also designed a hybrid saltwater system called Simple Salt that also involves less maintenance and more time for you to enjoy your pool throughout the season.  Please skip down to Simple Blue or Simple Salt for opening instructions.

Once the cover is off and most of the leaves are out of the pool, you can start with an opening kit if you use chlorine throughout the summer. Our opening kit in a box treats up up to 15,000 gallons and includes shock, algaecide and clarifier.

For CHLORINE pools, as a rule of thumb, we also recommend liquid shock or chlorine when you open your pool because it’s the fastest way to get chlorine into the water and also the fastest way to solve problems. If your pool is clear on opening, it’s not a bad idea to add a gallon of shock per 10,000 gallons. If the pool is cloudy, we suggest using two gallons. If it’s light green, use 3 gallons and 4 gallons if it’s dark green.
If you’re not using an opening kit in a box, bear in mind that you should add Algaecide when you open your pool AND throughout the season to prevent new algae from forming. You should always dose the pool per the Algaecide directions, as adding too much can make the pool foam up. If this happens, continue to filter the pool until the foam disperses.
Once you’ve treated the pool with opening chemicals, make sure to balance your Stabilizer, Calcium, PH and Alkalinity. Stabilizer is important because it helps to hold chlorine in the water during intense periods of heat and sunlight. Low calcium can contribute to water haze, and can also pit vinyl liners and corrode heater components prematurely. Low PH and Alkalinity can cause your pool water to turn cloudy.
For SIMPLE BLUE pools, follow the rule of thumb for shock with your Shimmer. 1 bag if clear per 10,000 gallons, 2 for cloudy, 3 or 4 for green pools depending on the gallonage and severity. Calcium is very important on Simple Blue pools, so make sure to add Calcium on opening to reach a level of 250 ppm, or parts per million. After you’ve done this, you can start up with your weekly doses of Manager and Power Boost and balance your PH and Alkalinity.

For SIMPLE SALT pools, change out your Simple Salt chamber for the season and add an entire bucket of Simple Salt Prime.  A day after you let that circulate, add your weekly dose of Shimmer along with your bi-weekly dose of Vivid.  Test for salt in the pool and add salt as needed.  You can also bring in a water test and have us check your total dissolved solids for salt.
For BAQUACIL Pools, follow recommended start-up dosages for Algicide, Oxidizer and Sanitizer/Algistat or CDX depending on which product you use. Much like a chlorine pool, Oxidizer is the shock for Baquacil pools, so add one gallon of Oxidizer per 10,000 gallons of pool water if clear, 2 for cloudy and 3 or 4 for green pools depending on the severity.
And above all else, check with us if you need help! We can always test your pool water in-store and get your pool cleared and balanced for the summer season. Whether you use a kit in a box, an all liquid start-up or something in between, we’ve got you covered.