Don’t Let These Winter Pool Mistakes Drain Your Bank Account: The Costly Errors That Leave Long Island Pool Owners With Thousands in Repairs

As autumn leaves begin to fall across Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Long Island pool owners face a critical decision that could save or cost them thousands of dollars. While the summer swimming season winds down, the choices you make during pool winterization will determine whether you’ll enjoy crystal-clear water next spring or face a hefty repair bill that could have been easily avoided.

The harsh reality is that pools that were just “closed” often need hundreds or thousands in repairs before they’re swimmable again, while properly winterized pools open without expensive surprises. Understanding the most common and costly pool closing mistakes can protect your investment and ensure your backyard oasis is ready when warm weather returns.

The Price of Poor Planning: When Timing Goes Wrong

One of the most expensive mistakes Long Island pool owners make is waiting too long to close their pools. Once temperatures hit freezing, any water left in your plumbing lines can cause expensive damage overnight. The optimal timing for Pool Closing Long Island, NY is typically mid to late October, when nighttime temperatures consistently drop below 50 degrees.

Procrastination becomes particularly costly when homeowners attempt last-minute DIY closings. If you don’t close your pool and you have plumbing lines with sitting water in them, the water will freeze and expand, where it can easily burst pipes and seals. Your pump, heater, and filter will take expensive and potentially irreparable damage, too. For example, installing a new pool heater costs $1,800 to $4,200.

Chemical Chaos: The Hidden Costs of Improper Water Balance

Skipping proper chemical balancing before closing ranks among the top expensive mistakes. Failing to test and adjust your water chemistry before closing can cause scaling, staining, and algae growth over the winter. Professional pool builders have witnessed firsthand how high pH had caused scaling so severe that her beautiful water features required professional restoration. A simple adjustment could have prevented thousands in repairs.

The domino effect of poor chemical preparation extends beyond aesthetics. When water chemistry isn’t properly balanced, improper chemical balancing can cause staining and surface damage that costs thousands to repair. This damage often isn’t apparent until spring opening, leaving pool owners with unexpected expenses just when they want to start enjoying their pools again.

The Equipment Destruction Trap

Perhaps the most catastrophic and expensive mistake involves improper equipment winterization. Water left in pipes, pumps, and filters can freeze and cause cracks. The physics are unforgiving: water expands approximately 9% when it freezes. That might not sound like much, but it creates enough force to split copper pipes, crack PVC fittings, and destroy expensive equipment.

Filter systems are particularly vulnerable. We have seen countless filters completely cracked and destroyed all because someone tried to close the pool themselves and forgot to take out the drain plug. Even small oversights like if you do not remove the pressure gauge from your filter, it is likely to become damaged or broken during the winter. You may not even notice that it is broken, which could lead to maximum system pressures being exceeded.

The Plumbing Nightmare: Underground Repairs That Break the Bank

Incomplete plumbing winterization represents one of the most expensive mistakes possible. Incomplete plumbing blow-out can result in freeze damage that destroys your entire circulation system. The specialized process of blowing out and plugging the lines. If this step is not done, or done improperly, the water in the pipes can freeze and expand over the winter when the ground gets cold, resulting in cracked pipes, cracked skimmers and broken heaters.

Underground leak repairs are particularly costly because they often require excavation and can affect multiple systems. Unfortunately skimmer repairs (and replacement) is an expensive process no matter what kind of swimming pool you have. In a worst case scenario a broken skimmer can require a new liner installation in vinyl pools, or tile / interior surface work in a concrete pool.

Cover Catastrophes and Water Level Disasters

Improper water levels create expensive problems that manifest in different ways. Lowering the water too much can damage the liner, while keeping it too high can allow freezing water to damage tiles. For above-ground pools, the stakes are even higher, as if there’s too much or too little water in your pool, your pool walls could collapse when it freezes.

Pool cover mistakes compound these problems. An uncovered pool will become a catch-all for leaves and debris. Those leaves will spend all winter stewing away in the bottom of your pool. In the spring, you’ll be welcomed with a nasty, sludgy mess. You’ll spend hours shoveling rotten leaves out of your pool, and the grime is likely to leave your pool stained.

The Professional Advantage: Why Expertise Matters

The financial mathematics of professional pool closing are compelling. Professional winterization costs a few hundred dollars, while fixing winterization mistakes often costs thousands. Companies like Jas Aquatics, serving Nassau and Suffolk Counties since 2009, understand the unique challenges of Long Island’s climate and have developed comprehensive winterization processes to prevent these expensive mistakes.

We don’t recommend partial DIY winterization because pool closing is a system – every step depends on the others being done correctly. The most expensive mistakes happen when homeowners try to save money by doing part of the winterization themselves. The specialized equipment required, such as commercial air compressors for proper line blow-out – costs more than most homeowners want to invest for once-a-year use.

Learning from Real-World Disasters

The consequences of winter pool mistakes became dramatically apparent during recent severe weather events. Thousands of homeowners throughout the state are reporting cracked pool equipment, damaged plumbing and a variety of other costly repair issues. Thousands of homeowners have learned that repairs may take weeks. Contractors continue to wait on suppliers. These real-world examples demonstrate how quickly improper winterization can escalate from minor oversight to major financial disaster.

The Bottom Line: Prevention vs. Repair Costs

The cost comparison between proper winterization and repair expenses reveals the true value of professional service. While pool closing costs range between $150 and $400, with an average cost of $250, the alternative can be devastating. Draining too much water or improper protection can cause the pool walls to cave in or the liner to tear, leading to repair costs between $350 and $5,800.

For Long Island pool owners, the choice is clear: invest in professional winterization now, or risk facing thousands in preventable repairs come spring. As temperatures begin their seasonal drop, the window for proper pool closing narrows. We recommend scheduling your closing by early October to ensure availability, since this is our busiest time. If you have a pool heater, you might be able to extend the season slightly, but most Long Island pools should be winterized by Halloween to be safe.

The difference between a properly winterized pool and one that’s merely “closed” becomes apparent when you remove the cover next spring. Protect your investment, avoid these costly mistakes, and ensure your pool provides years of enjoyment rather than expensive headaches.