It has been some months since I last posted a blog and I apologize for the long absence however time and events have conspired against me. Last November we began a major renovation of our building we anticipated that this renovation would take about 4 months…the best laid plans of mice and men. It did not go as smoothly as we had hoped and as hard as it is to believe we have just settled into the newly renovated building but there are still some things to finish. I hope by the time we hit 12 the month mark everything will be done. Needless to say (but I will say it anyway) all this took a lot of time away from the things I normally do, not leaving time for things like blogs. But I have settled into my new office and things are starting to look up, we see light at the end of whatever it is we have started!

Now on to winter, what the heck happened to summer? I have never understood why winter seems so long and summer seems so short. They both are 3 months but winter seems to be twice as long. So since winter seems twice as long caring for your pool in the off-season is twice as important (you have to love the logic). So make sure you take some time and get your pool prepared for winter. Here are some key points:

· First and foremost have you pool water balanced. The pool water wants a certain mineral balance if it does not have the proper balance it will go looking for something to satisfy that balance in the surface of the pool. If the pool is a concrete pool with a plaster finish it will draw the calcium from the finish of the pool leaving the surface ruff like sand paper. If the pool is concrete with a painted surface it will cause the paint to turn to chalk. If the pool is a vinyl liner either the liner will wrinkle or the water will remove the chemicals that give the liner elasticity and cause the liner to crack. If the surface is fiberglass you will be re-gel coating a lot sooner than you thought you should have to. So make sure the water balance is correct by taking your water to your favorite local pool company.
· Use a winterizing kit. There are many kits out there but we feel we have the very best. I have been selling the On Guard Winter Kit for 29 years now and I can say that I can count on one hand the number of times it has failed in 29 years of sales and tens of thousands of kits. The kit is very effective. In the standard kit you have a winter algaecide, a scale inhibitor and a floater. The floater is special, no one has a floater like this, it contains a chemical that has a non-chlorine product and a natural enzyme. The non-chlorine product inhibits the growth of algae in a slow release form and the natural enzyme eliminates body oils that float on the surface of the pool and would otherwise leave a bathtub ring around the pool’s edge. If you have a mesh cover you will want to use the On Guard Safe T Zone kit. This kit has all the same chemicals that the regular kit has but has the addition of a phosphate remover. The phosphate remover takes the food algae would normally consume from the pool water. Both these kits work well to preserve the pool water and surface. If you don’t do anything at all at least put in a scale inhibitor. The reason for this is that when the water gets cold (below 50°) it becomes less soluble (it holds fewer solids) so if the water at some point becomes over burdened it will give up calcium which will leave a sand paper surface on your pool that will be difficult to get rid of. By putting in the scale inhibitor you have given yourself an ounce of prevention. If you need these products you can find them on our web page:

DPW Winter Products

· Lastly make sure you pool is clean and the water is clear. If you winterize with a problem you will open with a bigger problem. It may be a burden at the end of the summer to clean a pool up but you will thank yourself in the spring.

If you need more specific instructions on how to winterize your pool you can find them on our web page:
http://www.discountpoolwarehouse.com/html/how_to.html ]
DPW How To [/url]

Now go on out there and close your pool down and take the winter off!