Opening Day!

I removed my pool cover this past weekend, a last minute decision really.

I've mastered both opening and closing the pool doing by myself.

Mixed emotions both when opening and closing.  Of course, when closed there is no maintenance needed, which is nice.  As you can imagine, it's the opposite when opening not to mention the expenses to maintain and operate.

I added about a dozen gallons of liquid shock.  Although, the water itself is crystal clear, the algae makes it look a lot worse than it is.  Keep in mind I took this pic shortly after I removed the cover and before I added the chemicals, it looks a lot better today.

The next step is to vacuum to waste all the yuck that remains.  When that's complete and things are a bit cleaner I'll fire up the pump and start to filter the water.

I used to scrub the pool cover with dawn liquid soap and a push broom but have since given up on that.  Instead, I let the cover sit on the driveway in the hot sun to dry, then I use my gas powered leaf blower and the push broom to clean it.  Works just as good.  Once dry and clean, I fold it, but fold it like an accordion so it's a breeze to unfold and install from one end, then tie it up and store in the garage till closing time.

Let the fun begin...