Pool Opening Checklist — Turn a Winter Pool Blue in One Weekend

Opening day sets the tone for the whole season. Do it in this order and most pools clear up in 2–4 days; skip steps and you'll fight green water until June.

Before you remove the cover

• Pump standing water off the cover and sweep off leaves — don't let it all drop in
• Remove and spread the cover out to dry; clean and store it properly (a dry cover lasts years longer)
• Reconnect everything you drained at closing: pump, filter, heater, chlorinator — and close every drain plug
• Remove winterizing plugs from return lines and skimmers
• Top the water level to mid-skimmer

Restart the equipment

• Prime the pump (fill the basket with water), then start it and check for leaks at every fitting you touched
• Backwash or rinse the filter; deep-clean a cartridge filter with filter cleaner if it wasn't done at closing
• Run the filter 24 hours straight on the first day

The first water test — fix in this order

Test everything before adding anything (winter water lies):

• 1. Total alkalinity → 80–120 ppm (baking soda — dose calculator)
• 2. pH → 7.4–7.6 (pH increaser/decreaser — small doses, retest)
• 3. Calcium hardness → 200–400 ppm (dose calculator)
• 4. CYA → 30–50 ppm (stabilizer dose — skip if you closed with trichlor)
• 5. Shock → 10+ ppm FC (chlorine dose) and run the filter overnight

Salt pool? Also verify salt with an independent test and restart the cell only after chemistry balances: salt calculator.

The green pool rescue

• Light green/teal: shock to 10 ppm, filter 24h, brush daily — usually clears in 2–3 days
• Dark green swamp: brush walls, shock to 15–20 ppm, filter continuously, clean baskets twice a day. Expect 4–7 days and a second shock on day 3
• Dead algae cloud after shocking: that's progress — vacuum to waste (not through the filter), then rebalance

Season-start routine that keeps it blue

• Test FC and pH twice a week for the first month — spring water is unstable until it's been running a while
• Clean skimmer baskets weekly (they work overtime after a winter of debris)
• Set your pump schedule for a full turnover once a day — pump calculator if unsure