Preparing pool for a storm or hurricane

Florida residents understand the dangers of heavy weather. Between closing the shutters, raising the plywood, protecting the windows, and fugitive bodies of water—storms and hurricanes require plenty of caution. Your pre-storm prep, all the same, might not give your pool enough attention. What do you lot exercise with a puddle during a hurricane? How likely is poolside damage? Are others preparing their pool for a storm during the rainy season?

The sunny state's wonderful weather isn't safety year-round. Florida has about 3,500 cloud-to-basis lightning flashes per day. Hurricanes, meanwhile, make an due east-coast landfall twice per year. In 2018 alone, Hurricane Michael put 57,000 homes at adventure due to coastal storm surge. The storm caused $13 billion in reconstruction cost value beyond the land.

It's understandable why Florida residents don't think to protect their pool. Fiberglass, concrete, tile, and PVC seem sturdy, don't they? A majority of your pool's materials are underwater, too. Withal, the damage a pool tin receive from high winds, flooding, loose cloth, and even tornados can be farthermost.

Prepping your pool for disastrous conditions is important. Merely what exercise you do with a pool during a hurricane? Check out these steps.

Preparing Pool for a Storm Checklist

To gear up your pool for a storm with a checklist, it'south important to create a solid "foundation" plan. This plan begins with water direction.

Stride 1: The Water

Pool storm preparation checklist

While emptying your puddle's water might seem like a safe plan, an empty pool is susceptible to more tempest harm. Major storms with strong winds create hydrostatic pressure below an in-ground pool's foundation. If your pool is empty, the force per unit area may even pop it out of the ground! At the very least, foundation nifty can occur. Your pool's water acts as an ballast. Information technology keeps your foundation intact, reducing surreptitious pressure level forcefulness. It also protects your pool's underwater tile, as well as its stop, from flying droppings damage.

Understandably, it's of import to consider alluvion damage. Nobody wants an overflowing puddle entering the house, and a pool's water levels can rise quickly during heavy rainfall. And so, how can you lot avoid flooding without leaving your puddle weak to hydrostatic pressure?

Lower your puddle's water level past about 2 feet. The remaining h2o volition notwithstanding be heavy plenty to keep your pool's foundation in place—simply information technology'll exist depression plenty to leave room for enough of rain. This step is vital when preparing a pool for a storm or hurricane. If you skip information technology, you might face costly amercement.

Treatment the Chlorine

Next, you should add together actress chlorine to your pool. This will "shock" its water—killing any bacteria which lands in your pool alongside flight debris. It'll as well fight whatever chemic pollutants which might stop upwards in your pool.

Call back: Shocking your pool with chlorine will brand information technology inaccessible—as contact with its water tin can upshot in pare agitation, or even minor burns. On top of your chlorine stupor, consider adding an extra big dose of pool algaecide right earlier the tempest hits. Information technology'll linger in the water—halting algae growth from the kickoff.

Step Two: Prep the Equipment

Once you've managed your pool's h2o, you'll need to make sure its equipment is protected from floodwater pressure, electrical outages, lightning, and even temperature changes. Preparing a pool for hurricane weather is no joke: Even equipment built for water contact needs to be protected.

Plough Off the Power

Every bit a dominion of thumb, it's best to cut ability from your pool completely. To practise this, employ your pool's excursion box. Circuit breakers powering your pool'due south primary electrical panel must be turned off first. Then, make sure your pool'southward lighting, pump motors, heaters, and chlorinators are in their corresponding "off" positions for adept measure out.

Protect the Electronics

Even though your pool's equipment won't be running, you'll still demand to protect information technology from physical damage. Wrap your pool pump in waterproof plastic. So, embrace the light transformers, time clock, and electric heaters as well. Tie the plastic ends off firmly.

Information technology's possible that any flooding can yet achieve your equipment. In this instance, what practise you practise with a pool during a hurricane besides unsafe for exterior maintenance? Don't worry too much: If each electronic is securely wrapped, however, h2o contact will be minimal.

Step Three: Prep the Deck

Once you've protected your pool's equipment, yous're nearly home free. There are all the same some potential risks to attend to when preparing a puddle for a storm, withal. High winds can launch loose furniture, pool toys, cooking instruments, and cleaning instruments around the patio. If this happens, the flying objects might damage your patio doors, shatter windows, or rip your puddle'south surrounding screen.

Remove the Items

Start with removing any unsecured, small, items around the puddle deck. Your chlorine dispenser, pool skimmer, puddle toys, and cooking instruments are the first to go. To successfully ready your pool for a tempest with a checklist, you'll demand to exist thorough.

Next, remove any tables, chairs, umbrellas, or benches. These items might be heavy, but they can however be tossed around in high winds. Store them in a secured shed, if you can. If in that location aren't whatever available storage areas exterior, consider moving smaller furniture items inside. Every bit for the larger items: Keep them abroad from whatever glass doors or windows—and go on them as close to the wall as possible.

Protect the Screen Enclosure

If your puddle deck is surrounded by a screen, you should provide a "vent" infinite to allow wind-catamenia. Doing so will relieve a great amount of pressure from the screen, avoiding rips, tears, or complete separation from its frame. An easy way to create a vent is to prop 1 of the enclosure's screen doors open. Simply make sure information technology'southward pressed firmly confronting the screen, and tightly secured, when you lot practice.

Step Four: Prepare for the Tempest Aftermath

Sometimes, puddle damage is unavoidable. You lot tin ready your pool for a storm with a checklist, but anything can happen. You lot tin even so prep yourself for disaster relief, all the same. Consider each patio area, factoring in any "weak points" which might run across damage. Do the same with your pool'southward equipment.

Make GPS Pools Your Good Pool Visitor

Having a reliable pool service provider is definitely a good idea. By keeping in touch with expert puddle workers earlier the storm, you tin can get ideas well-nigh possible repair and restoration options. What do you do with a pool during a hurricane, itself? We can't suggest staying inside enough. If damage happens—it happens. Your family unit's safety is much more of import.

GPS Pools is unequalled when it comes to pool equipment repairs, pool deck resurfacing and remodeling, puddle resurfacing, and cleaning. Nosotros've seen just about every type of pool damage, and nosotros know how important a family's swimming area is. Ever-committed to excellence, the GPS Pools team guarantees the highest value for your money.

Touch base with our locations in New Tampa, Land O'Lakes, and Lutz. GPS Pools serves nearby residents in Wesley Chapel, Pebble Creek, Tampa Palms, Odessa, Seven Springs, Lake Fern, and more, making sure our clients tin can accomplish united states of america as soon as possible. When disaster knocks, GPS Pools is hither to answer.