Once the warm weather finally arrives, you’re probably very eager to host your first pool party of the season. However, pools need some preparation before they’re safe and ready for use. Here are the steps to take to have your pool ready for a spring opening:

1) Carefully remove the cover. Clear off any debris on the cover with your leaf skimmer or a broom. There’s likely to be some leaves, and you want to prevent them from falling into the water as you take the cover off. Once you have it removed, you will want to clean it and store it away safely so that it’s ready for use once you go to close the pool at the end of the season.

2) The next step is to do a thorough clean-up of the pool and get the equipment ready. Start by assembling the filtration system and clearing out the baskets and drains, making sure that everything is in good working condition.

3) There’s a chance that the water level will go down over the winter, so check the level and top it off, if needed. If there’s any visible debris floating around, take the time to scoop it out now.

4) Use your swimming pool vacuum to suck up any algae, sand, and dirt that has built up or settled in the pool over the winter. Do this step before testing the water chemistry and adding chemicals.

5) At this point, you should have allowed the water to circulate for several hours, and you’re now ready to test the water. You can either have a professional do this, or you can run a test yourself. Get a sample of the water and analyze the pH, alkalinity, and chlorine levels.

6) Balance the levels as needed with the proper chemicals. You will have to wait a few days for the levels to balance out, so plan to start preparing the pool about a week before you want to go for that first swim of the season.

It takes some work to ensure that your pool that is ready for the season. By following these simple preparation steps, you’re swimming pool will be safe for use as soon as the weather warms up.