Of course winterizing is ideal, but many of our pools are not winterized. To these we add an occasional dose of chlorine and run the pump at least once a week. Vacuuming requirements are negligible – once every 3 or 4 weeks is plenty under normal circumstances.

Winterized pools? We cover them and forget them until April or May, which is so much easier.

At the end of the day it is the pool owner who makes the decision and either way we are happy; our pools are always clear and blue.

The pool water is real green, which is normal for our pools during the winter. I would much prefer that they were winterized, but I suppose we never really get to see them, so their blue-water summer state is the main priority. As long as the water is clean and sanitized throughout the swimming months, I can live with the slime in our subdivision through the cooler winter months.

This is our smallest swimming pool, also green. But at over 775,000 gallons winterizing is no easy task. Mind you, spring cleaning is a nightmare at best too. Team effort and a week’s work turns this pool into a sparkling blue pool safe for even my kids to swim in.

The snow will melt in a few days and we will be back to our mild winter weather once again. I have yet to see the pool water freeze enough to support my weight. Well, with all this turmoil of seasons out of alignment, you never know…