Storms, heavy rain and pollen

Half an hour before the storm, an hour or so after it

1. 1Before: leave the water level aloneDo not lower the pool to make room for the rain. If the storm will raise the level past the skimmer, you can bring it back down afterwards.The water is part of what holds a pool in place, and ground soaked by heavy rain is exactly when a vinyl liner floats or a shell lifts. A drained pool in a storm is the riskiest version of both.
2. 2Before: put away what the wind can throwBring in loose furniture, toys, floats and the skimmer net. Leave the pump running through an ordinary storm so the water keeps moving.Anything loose ends up in the pool or through a window. Circulating water spreads the rain through the pool instead of leaving a diluted layer on top.
3. 3Before: switch the equipment off at the breaker if flooding is likelyIf the equipment pad could flood, or lightning is close, turn the pump, heater and any salt cell off at the breaker, not only at the timer. Do not wrap a motor in plastic while it can still run.A motor that runs under water or wrapped up burns out, and wet electrics near a pool are a shock risk. A pump that sits off for a storm only costs you some circulation.
4. 4Before: do not add chlorine to get ahead of itSkip the extra chlorine or shock before the storm. Your plan will dose from the reading you take after it.Chlorine added before heavy rain is diluted and, if the pool overflows, partly washed out over the edge. A test afterwards tells you what the storm actually did.
5. 5After: clear the debris, then restartSkim the surface and empty the skimmer and pump baskets before you turn anything back on. If the pad flooded, let the equipment dry out and have it checked before power goes back on.Leaves and dirt left in the water feed algae and use up chlorine, and a basket packed with debris starves the pump of water.
6. 6After: bring the level back to the skimmerIf rain has lifted the water above the skimmer opening, lower it to about the middle of the skimmer, using the filter’s Waste setting or a submersible pump.A skimmer under water stops skimming, so pollen and debris stay in the pool instead of reaching the basket.
7. 7After: circulate, then testRun the pump for a few hours to mix the rain through, then log a test. Free chlorine and pH are the readings most likely to have moved, and the plan doses from what you measure.How much a storm dilutes depends on how much fell and how full the pool was. A test is the only way to know, and dosing from a guess is how pools end up over or under.
8. 8Pollen or mustard algae: look before you tap MustardPollen floats. It sits on the surface as a yellow film, gathers in the skimmer and at the waterline, and coats the deck, the furniture and the car too. Mustard algae does not float: it settles as yellow-brown patches on the shaded walls, floor and steps, behind the ladder and the lights. Brush a patch. If it breaks up and does not come back, it was most likely pollen or dust. If the same shaded spot is yellow again by the next day, it is algae, and Mustard is the right answer on “How does the water look?”.Mustard starts a clearing hold, which keeps chlorine at a shock level for days and keeps everyone out of the water. Pollen needs skimming and a clean filter, not a hold.

Your forecast card already says a storm dilutes chlorine and asks for a test once it passes. This page is the rest of that job. A pollen season can mean cleaning the filter more often than usual, because the filter is what catches it.

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