October Checklist: Getting Your Pool Waterfall Ready for Winter
Whether you close your pool or swim year-round, a little October attention keeps your waterfall, pump, and plumbing safe through the cold months.
October is the month to give your pool waterfall some attention — before the first freeze makes small problems expensive. What you need to do depends on where you live, so here is the checklist we share with PoolWaterFountain.com customers, split by climate.
If you close your pool for winter. Drain the waterfall plumbing completely. Water left in the spillway, scupper, or supply line can freeze, expand, and crack the feature or the pipe. Blow out the lines with a shop vac or compressor if you can, and leave valves open so nothing traps water. Remove the pump if it is portable, or drain it and cover it if it stays in place. Take LED light transformers and timers indoors.
If you are in a mild-winter state. In Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Southern California you likely run year-round, but October is still smart timing: clean debris out of the spillway lip so the sheet stays even, check the pump basket and impeller for summer buildup, and inspect fittings for the small leaks that evaporation hides during hot months.
Descale before the off-season. Hard-water scale on a sheer descent lip or scupper opening disturbs the water sheet and gets harder to remove the longer it sits. A diluted white-vinegar wipe or a pool-safe descaler now means a clean, even sheet when you start up in spring.
Check your water chemistry one more time. Water that sits all winter with unbalanced chemistry stains finishes — especially copper and natural stone. Balance before you cover, and your feature comes out of winter looking the way it went in.
Planning ahead. If winterizing has you thinking about an upgrade — a wider sheer descent, a lit spillway, or a second scupper — fall is a good time to order. You will have the feature in hand and ready to install the day the pool opens. Browse the catalog at PoolWaterFountain.com; everything ships anywhere in the USA.