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East Coasters...When do you open?

15 years ago

Just wondering when my fellow East Coasters open their pools? I live in Southern New Jersey, we usually open the first/second week in May. This year we are going on vacation & were thinking of delaying it to 5/30...too late??

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Comments (18)

baronfaroo
15 years ago
We are scheduled for April 25. We completed our pool build this past November and a pool opening was included in the contract. We want to do it early, so we have some time to experiment with the water chemistry and we don't want to start off with any algae. We're in SJ too.
Boby Huffard
15 years ago
5/30 is too late. We are in PA and opened later in May one year because of a trip to CA and we had a lot of algae. We have been opening about the end of the first week in May, or when the pollen stops covering everything!
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thejimbar
15 years ago
May 2, 8 AM, 29 Days and counting! Have done first week of May for 2 years, always works out fine. Northern NJ, Morris County.
poolguynj
15 years ago
Mid may here. I wait for the oaks to stop dropping the pollen strings. Southern Ocean county NJ. Any time before Labor Day is good.

Scott
joanneswimsct
15 years ago
Hi all!
I know I'm in the minority here in CT but we opened March 31!! We have a telescoping pool enclosure that allowed us to open so early. We aren't swimming yet BUT the pool temp has been rising from ice to 55 so far w/o any heat other than the warm air under the enclosure. It got up to 120 degrees today!!! Sounds really hot but it was actually pleasant until I started cleaning! 2 of my kids hung over the edge today and dunked their heads until they ended up w/ brain freeze! Our build is considered new as we didn't start until late Aug last year and the decking and enclosure didn't go in until mid Nov. Our next step is venting our propane heater so we don't die of CO poisoning! Once that's done we'll boost the heat and jump in! Our goal is to be swimming by Easter. I'll keep you posted!
joanneswimsct
hogan_nj
15 years ago
I am alittle afraid to take the cover off this year. Last year it took a couple weeks to get the water right. We have a mesh cover and it never seems to work out for us.

We have a fiberglass pool,it was installed about 4 years ago(our first pool)and I really think the pool company did not give us good advice,with the cover and talked us into a cartridge filter. Which we finally replaced with a sand filter last year.

Any advice for us I just hate to put out a ton of money again in chemicals to balance the water,especially now being out of work.
fl_countrybumkin
15 years ago
I don't know if this counts - because I'm in central Florida (but still on east coast). But this year, the pool water hit 80 degrees at end of February, That's without a heater.
Today the water is at 82!

Don't envy me. The water temp will be in the 90s by late summer (and too hot to enjoy).
joanneswimsct
15 years ago
Hi all!
Well, 2 of my kids got in today; air temp inside the enclosure was a wonderful 110 (really; it was wonderful!) and the water was a balmy 58! They dove in and swam to the other end and got out as fast as could be grabbing their heads and screeching, "BRAIN FREEZE! AHHHHHH!" It was quite comical!!!!! They actually lasted about 15 minutes before their lips and even their teeth turned blue! Too funny!
joanneswimsct
jane__ny
15 years ago
We always open the week before Memorial Day. Any earlier, the pool gets full of cherry blossoms and fading magnolia blooms. Makes a big mess and takes too long to get the water clear.

Seven years ago, my daughter got married on May 10 and we opened the pool early for photos. It took almost a month to clean up all the dropping blossoms from the bottom of the pool.
joanneswimsct
15 years ago
Hi all!
Finally got our heater running but since we aren't vented yet we ran the heat w/ the enclosure wide open. The water got up to 79 today so we turned off the heat and closed up the building. W/ the sun so strong, the air got up to 100 w/i minutes so 79 was refreshing! We swam from 2 until 6; not a bad way to spend a school vacation day! Tomorrow the water should be able to reach the mid 80's by noon and it's supposed to be warmer and more sunny to boot. I predict a lot of fun tomorrow!
joanneswimsct
poolguynj
15 years ago
To hogan_nj and anyone else in our climate zone;

Water in our area, with a mesh cover may form algae if the pool was closed with some mesh covers early in the closing season without having had a chance to cool below 60 degrees. This normally means a mid to late October time frame. Pool water has a tough time growing algae below this temp.

In the Spring, the water temp will start to rise. Some people add a 2.5 gallon carboy container of liquid chlorine and a pint of Algaecide 60 for a fiberglass pool. Use a pump to distribute/circulate the water when adding. Do it again in two weeks starting this weekend and in two weeks, do it again. That should take you to opening season. If you open later, do it weekly till opening minus the algaecide.

Using liquid chlorine is important. Powdered shocks don't dissolve easily in cold water. The liquid is already liquid.
Larger pools should use a 5 gallon carboy and a full quart of 60.

If you close the pool before the water has cooled, this procedure should be used also.

If you want, you can substitute the liquid chlorine from a pool store with unscented bleach but double the amount since it's only 1/2 the strength. Make sure its plain unscented bleach!

It usually prevents the algae or at least kills it. Treat for phosphates as decomposing algae may release them into your water as food for the next generation and vacuum to waste before adding balancing chems.

This will make the initial cleanings much easier and faster for you.

Scott
ROBERTnj
15 years ago
We opened this week 1) b/c pool service offers discount for pre-4/15 openings and 2) we've learned to open early to iron out the problems that always seem to crop up.
ianmd68
15 years ago
We are in central NJ and open the 2nd week of May. The 1st year I had a huge science experiment (mesh cover) and it took weeks to clear the algea. The following year I used Pool Magic Spring and Fall when we closed and then again when the weather warmed up in the early spring and its made a huge difference when we open. I agree with the other Jersey folks that if you open too early you have to deal with the pollen strings and they are a major pain as they quickly fill and clog the skimmer baskets, pump basket and filter grids. If anyone knows any suggestions, please share.
domingos35
15 years ago
south florida here.my wife went in today for the first time.so pool is open as of today water is 84 degrees.
next winter i plan on swimming all winter long .
getting heat pump installed soon
beachnut_pa
15 years ago
SW Pennsylvania here. I open mine myself and I will also be waiting for the pollen to fall first. I am hoping to be able to do it in early May. I am sick of looking at the cover.

By the way, I have a solid cover and always open to almost totally clear water. Good luck to all and come on warm weather...
momof3littleboys
15 years ago
We are in Central NJ and opening on April 27th. We didn't cover the pool this winter and I hoping that the pool isn't too hard to get cleaned up.
joanneswimsct
15 years ago
Hi all!
We've been swimming nearly all week w/ our enclosure doing a great job at keeping the chilly air out here in CT. Our water has been b/ 82-84 w/o the heater since a few days ago. Using a solar cover at night so by morning we are still at 80. The air inside the enclosure is nearly 100 by 9 am so if needed we open up the windows and crack the end doors to release some of the heat. I usually prefer 85-plus degree water but w/ the air being so warm 80-82 is perfect! The kids have had a great school vacation and some of our neighbors who were nasty about our project are now on the outside looking in and watching our nice neighbors and us frolicking around! Revenge is sweet...
joanneswimsct
jjplus3
15 years ago
We are in Maryland and we usually open the second week in May. Our opening is scheduled for May 14th this year.

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