Open the pool for swimming season
Southern California pools often stay filled year-round. Opening still needs a careful first week: cover, water line, chemistry, and a pump that actually turns over the pool.
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Pool care tips
These notes are written for San Gabriel Valley pools — year-round water, hard fill, salt cells, and a bi-weekly route. Read a topic, then call if the water does not match the page.
Winterize for San Gabriel Valley
This is not Minnesota. Most San Gabriel Valley pools stay full. Winterizing here means chemistry, freeze nights, and equipment that is not left wet in a cold snap.
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Find and repair leaks
Southern California evaporation is real. A bucket test still tells evaporation apart from a leak before anyone tears up a deck.
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Shock the water the right way
The sharp “chlorine smell” is usually chloramine, not too much chlorine. Shocking is a measured dose after you test, not a dump of powder on a calendar.
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Keep pH in the swim range
pH 7.2–7.8 is the band where chlorine works and eyes do not burn. Southern California fill water is often alkaline, so pH likes to climb between visits.
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Watch the water line
If the water falls below the skimmer, the pump can suck air and ruin a seal. Topping up is ordinary work in a dry valley summer.
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Service the heater before you need heat
A heater that sits all summer often fails on the first cold night. Scale inside the tubes is the usual reason. That is a professional cleaning, not a thermostat tweak.
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