A Winter Chore for the Pool

Last year, after pool closing, I learned something important about the pool cover. Since rain falls through it, the level of the pool rises during the winter, so that eventually there is a place in the middle of the pool where the cover is below the water.

Almost anything that falls onto the pool cover will then end up sitting in the water over the winter - at best, the tannins and other chemicals leach from the detritus in the pool, at worst you could have an animal drown there and create a hidden but unpleasant situation for you over winter...not to mention the difficulties all the litter causes during pool opening.

So this year I resolved to do something different. Uncle D's team came out and closed the pool two weeks earlier, before most of the leaves fell, so there aren't a lot of them in the pool in the first place. Then as an accumulation of leaves piles up in the pool area, I have been raking them out as often as I can. And I am using one of the extended pool brooms to "sweep" what falls into the trouble spot out in the middle of the pool away.

This can be a nasty business - the plant material is rotting as it sits in the water, it's usually cold out, and you can't avoid getting a little wet during this task. But it's also rewarding - there's a simple satisfaction from getting the job done, and there's reassurance in knowing what this preventative measure is going to do in the long run until next Spring.