A Pool for All Seasons

We designed our iPools® and Fitmax® Therapy Pools so that our customers can enjoy them for all seasons, not just during the summer time. Even though our pools are portable so that they can be easily drained and stored away during winter, our liners and frames are sturdy enough to withstand freezing temperatures of even negative 30 degrees with little problem. That’s a big difference compared to other above ground pools that may crack or fall apart when frozen. Although the below pointers reference our therapy pools, many of the concepts are universally applicable to many above ground pools.

If you do choose to store your pool away, there are a few steps you need to take. First you will need to drain the pool. There are a few options that you can consider. If you have installed your pool indoors such as your basement or garage we recommend you use a garden hose adapter so you can attach your garden hose to our pool’s release valve. To clear up any remaining water you can adjust the liner so the water pools on one side and use a bucket to manually clear out any residue.

Another method that may work is to use or rent a submersible underwater pump otherwise or a sump pump. Since our pool is so small a smaller model that connects to a garden hose will be sufficient. If you do not have access to the sump pump and do not want to use the release valve, you can siphon water directly out of the pool using a garden hose. Insert one of end of the garden hose close to the bottom of the pool. Ensure there are no knots or twists anywhere and position your lips around the other end of the hose. Suck water through the other end until it emerges then place the hose on the ground and secure it. Unless water bubbles or air gets in the hose the water should continue to drain out until it reaches a point the remaining water must be removed manually.

Next, you will need to disconnect the filter pump and heater and other pool accessories from the pool. Please keep in mind that although pool accessories such as the filter pump and heater are outdoor models they are not designed for freezing weather and need to be stored away. Water freezing inside the heater can potentially damage and crack the heating element, while water expanding in the hoses can split them up. Cold temperatures can also make the plastic or metal casing brittle and easy to crack. When storing any of the pool items please make sure to choose a location indoors where they are safe from freezing. Although the pool liner is temperature resistant, having the liner freeze while folded can potentially damage it and make it difficult to be reused. Disassembling the pool to take it down is not difficult. You will need a rubber mallet and maybe a can of WD-40. Once you have popped off one of the elbow tubes of the rectangular body of the pool, you just need to coax the pieces off one by one starting from the top and eventually working your way to the legs below.

If you want to leave your therapy pool standing you should drain the pool enough that the water level is roughly at the halfway point. This helps the pool maintain structural stability and also prevents it from being blown away by strong winds. Furthermore, keeping the water line at a halfway point also prevents any ice sheets that form from spilling over and causing injury. Cover the pool with an insulated cover or solar blanket and place a weight such as brick on top in the middle. Remember to plug up the inlet outlet ports using the winterizing plugs provided also.

winterizing plug examples from our pools

If you want to adjust the pool chemistry for the water in the pool, you can add a winterizing kit which includes an algaecide and a non-chlorine based sanitizer into the water. To prevent algae from blooming in the water your water pH should be between 7.2-7.8 approximately. Alkalinity helps keep your pH range stable and should be between 100-150 ppm. Many pool pH test strips use color codes so as long as you are within the right color range you should be fine.

What makes our pools special is with the proper insulation and a snow protecting garage canopy you can enjoy your own private heated swimming pool year round! As long as the canopy successfully prevents cold air from entering, the insulation wrap and blanket can help maintain the temperature of the pool so that you would only need to run the heater for a few hours after a comfortable temperature has been reached. Cutting off cold air from entering is important otherwise the constant cold would seep out the heat the heater is generating and prevent the pool temperature from rising.

We designed the insulation set combination so that our customers do not need to spend all night every single time they want to heat up the pool to enjoy it and see a substantial reduction in their electricity bills as well. If your garage or basement is unavailable, you can still enjoy the pool outdoors in the winter time with these pool accessories. The unique dimensions of our therapy pools allow installation in a variety of places such as small backyards that normally would be unable to fit a typical swimming pool. In fact our therapy pool can be considered one of the smallest true swimming pools available on the market. The portability of the pool allows for easy storage but the unique patented design really shines as a year round therapy pool and aquatic gym.

At Fitmax, we are constantly finding ways to bring the benefits of swimming to as many people as possible in all conditions. In the past, having your own private swimming pool would be considered a luxury that most people could not afford, but now we are able to offer a home therapy pool with more health benefits at a fraction of the cost. Even during wintertime with our products, you can continue to enjoy your pool during the wintertime, take it down and store it, or winterize it accordingly.