Spring Pool Opening Checklist for Gauteng
September and October are when Highveld pools wake up. By mid-afternoon the sun is strong, the water starts to warm, and algae that sat quietly through winter begins to grow again. A pool opened properly in spring is far easier to keep clear through the thunderstorm months. This checklist walks through the job in the order that works.
If you have not yet read how we suggest running a pool through the cold months, our guide on how to prepare your pool for winter in Gauteng covers that side. This post starts where that one ends.
1. Remove and clean the cover
If the pool was covered, clear the leaves and standing water off the top before you pull it back, otherwise all of it ends up in the pool. A soft broom and a small submersible pump or bucket do the job. Once the cover is off, lay it on a lawn or clean paving, hose both sides and brush off any algae film.
Let it dry completely before you fold or roll it, and store it out of direct sun, since a cover packed away damp grows mould. Look over the straps, anchors and seams while it is out.
2. Clear debris from the pool, weir and pump
Winter leaves break down on the floor and use up chlorine before it can deal with algae. Get them out before adding chemicals.
- Scoop floating leaves off the surface with a leaf net
- Lift the heavier layer off the floor with a leaf rake or leaf canister rather than the cleaner, which will choke on it
- Empty and rinse the weir basket and the pump basket
- Check that the weir flap moves freely and the basket is not cracked
3. Top up the water level
Over a dry winter the level drops through evaporation. The water should sit roughly halfway up the weir mouth. Too low and the pump sucks air, runs hot and can lose prime; too high and the weir stops skimming the surface. Top up with a hose before you start the pump for a long run.
If you are adding far more water than seems reasonable, do the bucket test before spending money on chemicals: stand a bucket of pool water on the top step, mark both levels, switch the pump off and compare after a day. If the pool drops faster than the bucket, look for a leak, because treated water leaking out takes your chemicals with it.
4. Check the pump, filter and timer
With the baskets clean and the level right, switch the pump on and watch it for a few minutes.
- The pump should prime and the lid should fill with water, with only a few small bubbles once it settles
- Listen for grinding, screeching or a loud hum, which usually means worn bearings or a seized impeller
- Look for drips at the pump seal, the unions and the multiport valve
- Note the pressure gauge reading once the water runs clear
- Reset the timer; many lose their setting after power cuts over winter, and a timer running at the wrong hours is a common reason a pool goes green in spring
5. Backwash and rinse
Winter debris loads the filter, so start the season with a proper backwash. Switch the pump off before you move the multiport handle, set it to backwash, run until the sight glass shows clear water, then switch off again, set it to rinse for about half a minute, and back to filter. Turning the handle while the pump is running damages the gasket inside the valve, and a backwash pipe that is always wet afterwards is the usual sign.
After backwashing, note the clean pressure reading. When it climbs roughly 50–70 kPa above that figure, it is time to backwash again.
6. Check the chlorinator cell
If you have a salt chlorinator, look at the cell before you rely on it. Hard Highveld water leaves white calcium scale on the plates, and a scaled cell produces far less chlorine than the display suggests. Clean it according to the manufacturer's instructions and check the salt level against the chlorinator's manual. Remember that a cell cannot catch up on a pool that has already lost its chlorine; you still need to shock at step 8.
7. Test and balance the water, in the right order
This is where most spring problems start. Adding chlorine to unbalanced water wastes it. Take a water sample from elbow depth, away from the returns, and test it with a reliable kit or take it to a pool shop. Then correct in this order, waiting for the pump to circulate each adjustment before moving to the next.
- Total alkalinity first, to 80–120 ppm. Alkalinity buffers pH, so if it is wrong the pH will not hold.
- pH next, to 7.2–7.6. Spring top-up water on the Highveld often pushes pH up, and above 7.6 chlorine works far less well.
- Calcium hardness, within 200–400 ppm. Municipal water here is hard, so it is more often too high than too low.
- Stabiliser (cyanuric acid), within 30–50 ppm for a chlorine pool. For a salt pool, follow the chlorinator manual.
- Free chlorine last, aiming for 1–3 ppm for normal swimming once the shock has worked through.
Our guide to pool water balance on the Highveld explains each of these readings in more detail and why hard water makes them behave the way they do.
8. Shock the pool
Once alkalinity and pH are right, shock the pool with a dose sized to your volume in litres, following the product label. Add it in the evening so the sun does not burn it off before it has done its work, and dissolve granular products in a bucket of pool water first rather than throwing them onto the surface. Keep the pump running through the night.
9. Brush everything
Brush the walls, floor, steps, benches and behind the ladder. Algae starts in places with poor circulation, and brushing breaks up the film so the chlorine can reach it. Brush towards the main drain or the deep end, then let the filter and cleaner collect what settles.
10. Run the pump longer
Many pools run shorter hours in winter. In spring, extend them so the full volume passes through the filter at least once a day, and more in hot spells or after heavy use. Run in daylight when possible, since that is when sun and swimmers use up chlorine.
Service items to book in spring
Spring is a natural time to book the jobs that make the rest of the season easier.
- Sand change. If the water stays dull even with correct readings, or the pressure climbs straight back after backwashing, the filter sand is probably worn or caked. Our sand change and filter service is priced by your filter's bag count, from R1,450.
- A once-off deep clean. If you would rather hand over the whole opening routine, a once-off pool clean resets the pool at a fixed price by size: R1,200 for pools up to 30,000 litres, R1,500 for 30,000–50,000 litres and R1,800 for pools over 50,000 litres.
- Acid wash. If stains or scale are showing on a plaster or marbelite surface, an acid wash is the thorough answer, but it needs the pool drained, and our acid wash service explains why winter is the better time for it. If your surface is marked now, it is worth planning one for next winter rather than draining a pool in the thunderstorm season.
- Equipment you have been nursing along. A noisy pump or a leaking valve rarely improves in summer. A call-out to inspect or diagnose is R650. Deducted from your quote when you accept it.
What to do if the pool is green after winter
A green pool in spring is common, and it is almost never a reason to drain. Work through the checklist above in order: clear the debris, get the equipment running, backwash, balance alkalinity and pH, then shock heavily and brush. Expect several days of continuous filtering and more than one backwash as dead algae collects in the filter. Vacuum settled algae to waste rather than through the filter.
If the floor is invisible, the walls are slimy and there is a thick layer of leaves on the bottom, recovery takes longer and it is worth checking that the pump, filter and chlorinator are not part of the cause. Our green pool recovery is a fixed price by pool size, from R1,200 for pools up to 30,000 litres, and includes a check of the equipment so you know why it happened.
When to get help
Most of this checklist is within a homeowner's reach on a Saturday morning. Call someone when the pump will not prime or makes new noises, when the water will not clear after a week of correct readings and filtering, or when you suspect a leak.
If you would like us to take a look, or you would rather start the season on a weekly maintenance plan, WhatsApp us on 081 577 5051 with a photo of the pool and the equipment, and tell us roughly how big the pool is.