Pool Closing Supplies

485 products

Closing a pool is four jobs in order: get the water balanced and dosed while the pump is still running, clear the plumbing so nothing freezes in it, plug and cap what the water came out of, then cover the pool. Which cover you need is decided by the pool. Above ground, the cover laps the top rail and a cable and winch pull it tight. Inground, water tubes hold the same kind of cover down. A safety cover is the third option: it straps to anchors set in the deck, and it is the only one of the three you can stand on.

Start with the cover

Above Ground CoversAbove Ground CoversInground CoversInground CoversSafety CoversSafety CoversCustom Safety CoversCustom Safety Covers

Everything else a closing needs

All winterizing
Closing ChemicalsClosing ChemicalsCover PumpsCover PumpsWater Tubes and Air PillowsWater Tubes and Air PillowsWinter Plugs and GizzmosWinter Plugs and GizzmosPool Leaf NetsPool Leaf NetsCover AccessoriesCover AccessoriesCleaning AccessoriesCleaning Accessories

Winter cover or safety cover?

On an inground pool this is the real decision, and it is not mainly about the cover. A winter cover is a tarp held down by water tubes and it costs about what one weekend of your time is worth. A safety cover straps to anchors set into the deck, carries the weight of a person, and is a job you do once and live with for fifteen years. An above ground pool is not in this table: every safety cover we sell is cut for an inground rectangle and needs a deck to anchor into.

Inground winter coverInground winter cover

A laminated sheet cut about 5 ft larger than the pool, with water tubes laid around the edge to hold it. It keeps light and leaves out. It does not carry weight and nothing should walk on it.

Green mesh safety cover fabric, woven so water drains through itMesh safety cover

Straps to brass anchors in the deck. Rain and snowmelt drain straight through, so there is nothing to pump. Some light and fine dirt go through with the water.

Green solid safety cover fabric, a sealed sheet that nothing passes throughSolid safety cover

The same anchored panel in a sealed fabric. Nothing gets through it, so the pool opens close to clean, and the water that lands on it needs a drain panel or a pump.

The three, compared on one 20 x 40 ft pool

Feature
GPC Winter cover $10399
Pooltux Mesh safety $1,04499
Pooltux Solid safety $3,02399
Walk on itNoYesYes
Drains throughNoYesNo
Held down byWater tubesDeck anchors and springsDeck anchors and springs
Cover for a 20 x 40 ft pool25 x 45 ft22 x 42 ft22 x 42 ft
Overlap, each side2.5 ft1 ft1 ft
Fabric5 mil triple laminated polyethylene4.5 oz per sq yd mesh12 oz per sq yd solid
Burst strengthNot stated385 PSI400 PSI
Warranty10 Years15 year limited, first 3 years full20 years limited, the first 5 full

One pool, three programs, and every cell is that cover's own published figure. The overlap row is worked out from the cover size against the pool size rather than read off the Overlap line, because that line states the total: the winter cover is cut 5 ft larger and that is 2.5 ft a side. Burst strength is blank for the winter cover because it is a tarp and nobody publishes one for it. Every solid safety cover we stock at this size is a step cut, and a step adds to the price. Above ground is absent on purpose: a safety cover anchors into a deck.

How to close an inground pool

The whole sequence, with the water tube count and how far to drain.

Read the guide

Pool closing chemicals, and what each part is for

Before you coverNon-chlorine shock

Burns off the body oils, sweat and sunscreen the season left behind, so the chlorine you add next is not spent on them. It does not raise chlorine, which is why it goes in first.

Shop it Through the winterWinter algaecide

Formulated to stay active in cold water for months rather than days. It is the part doing the work in February, when nothing else you added is still there.

Shop it If your water carries metalMetal sequestrant

Holds copper and iron in solution so they cannot come out of it and stain the walls over a still, cold winter. Only worth it if your fill water has metal in it.

Shop it All of it in one boxA pool closing kit

The three above, dosed for your pool volume, which is what the label on the box means by 15k or 30k. Cheaper than buying the parts and it is one decision instead of three.

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Pool School

Pool SchoolHow to close an inground pool

The whole sequence in order, from the last dose of chemistry to the last water tube.

Read the guide Pool SchoolHow to winterize an above ground pool

The same job above ground, where the cable and the winch do what the water tubes do.

Read the guide Pool SchoolHow to blow out pool lines

What to use, which line to start on, and how you know a line is actually clear.

Read the guide Pool SchoolHow many water tubes do I need?

Counted off the cover you own, not off the pool, and why the ends take more than you think.

Read the guide
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Pool closing questions

When should I close my pool?

The usual advice is to wait until the water is holding at or below 60 F, and the reason matters more than the number. Algae grows slowly in cold water, so chemistry added to a cold pool is still working in March instead of being eaten by Christmas. Close a warm pool and you have given algae a dark, still, warm place to spend the winter. Plenty of people close warmer than that and open clear, so treat 60 F as the reason rather than the rule, and go by what the water is doing rather than by the date.

What do I actually need to close a pool?

Chemistry, something to clear and seal the plumbing, and a cover. The chemistry is a closing kit or its parts, dosed by pool volume while the pump is still running. The plumbing wants winter plugs for the returns, a gizzmo down the skimmer, and antifreeze only in the lines that air cannot clear. The cover is the part that depends on the pool, and it brings its own hardware: a cable and winch above ground, water tubes inground, deck anchors for a safety cover.

Can I put a safety cover on an above ground pool?

Not one of ours. Every safety cover we carry is cut for an inground rectangle and straps to brass anchors set into the deck around it. Covers that anchor into lawn or wood do exist as a special build from the manufacturers, so this is about what we stock rather than about what is possible. For an above ground pool the answer is a winter cover, which laps over the top rail and is held by a steel cable through the grommets and a winch that pulls it tight.

What is a gizzmo and do I need one?

It is a hollow tube that threads into the skimmer once the water is below the skimmer mouth, and its job is to be the thing that gets crushed. Water left in a skimmer freezes and expands, and the skimmer body is what it pushes on. A gizzmo gives that expansion somewhere to go, so the ice squashes a sealed air cushion instead of splitting the skimmer. It costs a few dollars and the skimmer it protects is set in the deck, which is the whole argument for using one.

Do I need pool antifreeze?

Only for the lines you cannot get clear with air. Antifreeze is not a substitute for blowing the lines out; it is what goes into the runs a blower cannot reach, and the plug goes in behind it so it stays there. Use the kind sold for pools, which is propylene glycol. The antifreeze in a car is ethylene glycol, it is poisonous, and it has no business anywhere near a pool.

Do the closing chemicals go in before or after the cover?

Before, with the pump still running. The dose has to reach the whole pool and the only thing that moves it around is circulation, so it goes in while the equipment is still on, and the pool runs long enough to mix it before anything is shut down or drained. Adding it through the cover to a still pool leaves most of the chemical sitting where it landed.