Don’t cover your pool.
Protect your safety fence or screen enclosure.
Prepare Your Pool For a Hurricane or Storm
Why Prepare Your Pool for a Hurricane?
Understanding the importance of hurricane pool preparation is crucial. Neglecting pool safety can lead to damage and safety hazards, including overflow and contamination.
Preparing your pool for a hurricane is essential for several reasons:
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Prevent Damage: High winds and heavy rain can lead to significant damage to your pool structure, equipment, and surrounding areas. Proper preparation helps minimize the risk.
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Reduce Contamination: Storm debris can contaminate pool water, leading to potential health hazards. Preparing your pool can help reduce the amount of debris that enters the water.
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Avoid Costly Repairs: Taking the time to prepare can prevent extensive damage that may require expensive repairs, saving you time and money in the long run.
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Safety First: A well-prepared pool area ensures the safety of your family and pets, preventing accidents caused by loose items or structural failures during a storm.
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Easier Clean-Up: By preparing your pool before the storm, you can streamline the clean-up process afterward, making it easier to restore your pool to its ideal condition.
Overall, preparing your pool for a hurricane is a proactive measure that safeguards your investment and ensures the safety of your household.
Should I Drain My Pool Before a Hurricane?
Homeowners often ask whether they should drain their pool before a hurricane. The answer depends on several factors.
To prevent overflow during heavy rain, lower the pool’s water level, but don’t drain it completely. If the groundwater rises too much, an empty pool can be pushed out of the ground. A good rule is to keep the water level about halfway up the skimmer opening.
While draining the pool may seem easier than cleaning it after the storm, doing so can cause serious damage. The elevated water table can put pressure on the pool, causing it to pop out of the ground. If the water is above the skimmer, a partial drain is fine to bring it to a safer level.
The best solution is to invest time in cleaning the pool properly after the storm. It may take a few days, but it’s worth avoiding major damage and costly repairs!
Patio and Yard Preparation
Maintaining your yard and trees throughout the year helps you stay prepared for hurricanes. Trim large trees around your home and remove weak or low-hanging branches. Clear Spanish moss and keep branches shorter than five feet to prevent them from breaking during strong winds or heavy rainfall. For branches near utility lines, hire a professional or contact the utility company for safe trimming. Consider replacing gravel walkways with shredded bark or wood chips, as gravel can damage vinyl siding during storms.
If your pool is in a lanai or screened-in area, the structure could be at risk. Remove screen panels and doors to allow wind to escape. In cases of extreme winds, cutting “X” shapes in some screens can help reduce wind resistance, although insurance won’t cover this damage. Still, rescreening is much cheaper than replacing an entire structure.
Remove loose items from the pool area, such as furniture and plants. Bring grills indoors if possible but never use them inside. Secure heavier outdoor objects by anchoring them. Never store propane tanks indoors—secure them upright, away from your home. While some may toss outdoor furniture into the pool to prevent it from being blown away, this can damage your pool’s surface and harm the furniture, especially if the pool water is heavily chlorinated.
1. Don’t Empty the Pool
Water in the pool provides weight to keep the pool in the ground. An empty pool can float or pop out of the ground due to pressure from excessive ground water caused by heavy rains.
Also, keeping water inside your pool, despite the possibility of contamination, will provide an easier cleanup compared to an empty pool.
2. Turn Off Power
Another key to pool hurricane preparation is making sure circuit breakers at the main electrical panel are turned off. Pool equipment such as pump motors, pool lighting, automatic chlorinators, and heaters should not operate during the storm.
3. Leave Pool Uncovered
Although it may be tempting to cover your pool with a safety cover during a storm, this can do more harm than good. Falling debris can damage the cover or even cause it to collapse into the pool. Removing a cover from the surface is tough, but removing one from the bottom of the pool is far worse!
4. Remove Loose Items
Chairs, tables, pool toys, and other loose items can become dangerous projectiles in high winds. It’s best to store them inside, away from the storm. Never put objects in the pool to protect them from a storm. Not only can this damage the objects, but it can cause serious metal staining problems in your pool water. This is especially true for most patio furniture.
5. Ask for Extra Chlorine to the Pool
To prevent contamination from debris and excessive storm water, ask your Pool Service to add extra chlorine. It’s also a good idea to add the correct dose of Algae Control to quickly eliminate organic contaminants that enter the water. Always read and follow all product label instructions for best results.
6. Don’t Cover the Pool
Hurricanes can cause falling branches and other flying debris that may damage pool covers. It’s easier to remove debris from the pool than it is to replace a cover. Keep the cover off the pool to prevent unwanted damage and avoid dealing with a difficult removal, which may result from the cover being full of heavy water and debris.
7. Protect Your Safety Fence or Screen Enclosure
If you have a solid pool safety fence, you may want to create a vent for wind to flow through, which will help prevent damage. If possible, remove screen panels on opposite sides of any enclosure.
After a Hurricane Pool Care Guide
Do Not Drain the Pool Completely Following a hurricane, never fully empty your pool. Heavy rains can saturate the ground and cause an empty pool to “float” or “pop” out due to pressure from groundwater. If draining is necessary due to excessive debris or damage, only drain less than half the water, clean the pool, and then refill. For complete draining, wait until the water table has receded.
Remove Debris First Begin by removing large objects manually and use a leaf rake or leaf bagger for smaller debris. Avoid using the pool vacuum for large debris, which could clog the system. Dispose of collected debris in a trash can kept nearby. A leaf rake net works best for leaves on the surface or floor of the pool.
Check Electrical Equipment Before restarting, remove any waterproof coverings from pool equipment and ensure they are completely dry. If any equipment was exposed to water, have it inspected by a licensed professional. Once safe, turn on the power, prime the filter system, and check for normal operation. You can drain or backwash the pool to adjust the water level to mid-skimmer.
Manual Cleaning Without Power If the electricity is still out, manually skim debris using a leaf rake or a garden hose-powered pool vacuum. Test the water and manually add chemicals, using a pool brush to help circulate them. Skim and brush the pool daily to prevent further deterioration.
Start the Filter System Once power is restored, run the filter system for long hours until the water clears. Backwash the filter as needed to maintain proper flow rates.
Balance the Water Chemistry Check and balance the pool’s pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, and conditioner levels. Large amounts of storm debris can significantly alter water chemistry, so it’s crucial to test and balance frequently to help chlorine work effectively and prevent stains.
Add Chlorine “Shock” the pool with liquid or granular chlorine to combat contamination from storm debris and rainwater. If your pool has turned muddy, use a flocculant to sink solids to the bottom for vacuuming. Heavy debris may increase phosphate levels, so using a phosphate remover is recommended.
Monitor Pool Operations Keep a close eye on your pool system for several days after the storm to ensure everything is running correctly and there are no leaks, electrical hazards, or further flooding risks.
Even if you prepare your pool properly, severe weather can affect any pool. You will almost certainly need to clean your pool in some capacity after the hurricane or tropical storm has passed. But don’t worry! We have a few helpful tips on how to recover your pool.
Additional Helpful Resources
In addition to taking care of your pool, there are important safety measures to keep in mind during a hurricane or tropical storm. The following resources can help you protect your family, home, and stay prepared for the storm.
The National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service has helpful tips for ensuring you and your family are prepared for a hurricane’s arrival.
The American Red Cross has great information on disaster alerts and preparation.
Ready.gov has information on hurricane preparation, as well as information on preparing for other natural disasters.
The National Weather Service is one of the best resources to get up-to-date information on hurricanes that are headed your way and those which are still forming.
There is only so much you can do to prevent damage to your pool once a hurricane is on its way. Being as well-prepared as possible ahead of time and proactive once the warning is issued can make a world of difference. Remember to always put your own safety first — pools can be repaired, but you and your family are irreplaceable!
