How to Start Up Your Pool After Winter: Your Complete Guide
Key Takeaways
Starting Up Your Pool After Winter
Follow these nine steps and your pool will be clean, balanced, and ready to swim in — no drama, no delays.
As the colder months ease off, getting your pool back to swimming condition is mostly a matter of working through a checklist in the right order. Do it properly once and you'll be in the water within a day or two — skip steps and it'll take longer and cost more to sort out.
Remove the pool cover
Before pulling the cover off, clear any leaves and debris that have built up on top using a pool scoop or leaf net. The goal is to prevent as much of that material as possible from ending up in the water.
Once the cover is clean, remove it, lay it out to dry, and brush off any remaining debris. Sprinkle both sides with Alkalinity Up to prevent mould and mildew from forming in storage. Store it somewhere cool and dry — if you're using a roller, a protective overcover is worth adding.
Refill water if required
Check the water level — it should sit at roughly the centre of the skimmer opening. If it's dropped over winter, top it up before running the pump.
Clean out dirt and debris
Use a pool scoop to remove any leaves or debris that have settled on the bottom. Empty the skimmer basket and the pump basket while you're at it — both are likely to be full after a few months.
Super chlorinate
Switch on the pump, circulation, and filtration system. If your filter has an air relief valve, open it to bleed out any trapped air before the system runs under pressure.
Shock the pool with a chlorine shock product, aiming for a chlorine level of at least 3.0 ppm. If you're using granular shock, dissolve it in a bucket of water before adding it — never pour it directly onto the pool floor or into the skimmer dry.
Add algaecide
With the pump running, add a high-quality, long-lasting algaecide. This gets you ahead of any potential algae outbreaks before the water warms up and conditions become more favourable for growth.
Test the water
After running the circulation system for several hours, test the water and adjust as needed. Target these levels before swimming:
Clean the filter
Sand filter: perform a backwash to flush out any accumulated debris from winter. Cartridge filter: hose down the cartridge thoroughly and inspect it for signs of wear or damage — if it's looking tired, spring start-up is the right time to replace it.
Add clarifier
A good clarifier bonds the fine particles that cause cloudy water into larger clumps, making them easier for the filtration system to capture. If the water looks dull or hazy after the initial shock and filter clean, clarifier will bring the sparkle back quickly.
Shock the pool again
A second shock dose clears out any remaining bacteria and contaminants. Run the pool for a full 24 hours straight and vacuum any debris that's settled on the bottom. Before anyone gets in, retest the water and confirm that chlorine is back under 3.0 ppm.
Work through those nine steps in order and you'll be swimming within a day or two of starting. Need any of the products to get going? We stock everything you need — chlorine shock, algaecide, clarifier, test kits, and more — with fast delivery across Australia.
