Getting Your Pool Ready for a Texas Summer (and Winter)

Texas doesn't do gentle transitions. One week you're in a light jacket, the next it's ninety degrees and the whole family wants in the pool. Then, a few months later, a hard freeze rolls through and catches everyone off guard. A little seasonal prep on both ends keeps your pool ready when you want it and protected when you don't. Here's how to get ahead of both.

Getting ready for summer

Summer is the main event out here, and the swimming season is long. A good opening sets up the whole season.

Give it a thorough clean. Clear out whatever settled over the cooler months — leaves, debris, and anything that blew in. Skim, brush, and vacuum, and clean out the skimmer and pump baskets.

Reset the chemistry. Test everything and balance it back to the standard ranges: pH around 7.4–7.6, free chlorine 1–3 ppm, alkalinity 80–120 ppm, plus a check on calcium hardness and stabilizer. If the water's been sitting, it may need a shock and a day or two to come around. Starting the season with balanced water saves you a month of chasing problems.

Check the equipment before you need it. Start up the pump and filter and listen for anything off. Look for drips at fittings and valves. Clean or backwash the filter. Test the heater and any automation. The worst time to find out the pump's failing is the Fourth of July with a yard full of people.

Look over the pool itself. Scan the finish, tile, coping, and deck for cracks, loose spots, or rough patches that showed up over the off-season. Small things caught now are cheap; the same things caught in August are not.

Get the water moving and dialed in. As temperatures climb, run the pump enough to keep the water turning over and the chemistry stable. Heat, sunscreen, more swimmers, and afternoon storms all pull on the balance, so plan to test more often once things heat up.

Getting ready for winter

Our winters are mild, which is exactly why they catch people. You don't get months of hard freeze, so it's easy to be unprepared for the cold snap that does come — and that's when pools get damaged.

Decide: keep it running or close it. Many East Texas owners keep the pool running through the winter rather than fully closing it. That's fine, but it means you're on the hook to protect the equipment when a freeze hits.

Protect against freezes. This is the big one out here. When temperatures drop below freezing, water sitting still in pipes and equipment can freeze and crack expensive gear. The common approach is to keep water moving — running the pump during a hard freeze so the water doesn't sit still. Know how your system's freeze protection works before the first cold night, not during it. If you're not sure, ask.

If you're closing it, do it properly: balance the water, clean it, lower the level if your setup calls for it, clear the lines, and put on a good cover. A proper closing protects everything until spring and makes opening easy.

Keep up light maintenance. Even a "resting" pool needs the occasional check — skim the leaves, keep the chemistry from drifting too far, and keep an eye on the water. A pool ignored all winter is a green pool in March.

When in doubt, hand it off

Openings and closings are exactly the kind of job a lot of homeowners would rather not deal with — and freeze protection is one you don't want to get wrong. If you'd rather someone who knows these pools handle it, that's what we're here for. We get your pool ready for the first warm weekend and button it up properly when the season winds down, and we can keep it protected through the cold in between.

If you're around Cedar Creek Lake and want a hand getting your pool ready for the season — either one — reach out at [phone] or [email], and we'll take care of it.