Pool Equipment Freezing – Texas Pool Owners Cope With Uri

Things progressed from bad to worse yesterday as Texas struggles to recover from the one-two punch delivered by Winter Storm Uri. The freezing temperatures brought on by the storm caused millions of Texans to lose power. Officials are still struggling with rolling blackouts, power and heat outages in large areas of the state have currently contributed at least 30 deaths around the state.

The sudden arctic cold snap has left many homeowners with little recourse. Many pool contractors in Texas are impacted by the very same conditions homeowners currently endure. Lack of power can cause repairs to linger until the freezing temperatures abate.

Thousands of pool owners awoke on Tuesday morning to find catastrophic damage awaiting them in the backyard. With pool equipment being particularly vulnerable to the elements, many homeowners were left with damage that could ultimately wind up costing them thousands.

Pool builders in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and across the state are coping with inground pool projects that are simply ruined. Freezing temperatures have caused many pool builders to have to suddenly halt working on their inground pool projects. With little preparation notice, some builders say there was simply not enough time to get ahead of the storm.

Harold Evans company, The Pool Surgeon located Dallas has been dealing with non-stop calls from customers who woke up to damaged equipment. “We would be on the phone, and five other people would be calling simultaneously,” said Evans, “There is only one phone line for our company… you couldn’t check the voicemail because calls continued to pour in.”

Costly Damage For Inground Pool Owners During Freeze

Nina Gomez of Fort Worth was looking forward to a pool party in the spring with her family this Easter. Instead after Uri, she claims that her family is looking at roughly $10,000 in additional repairs and construction needed to fix damage to her inground pool project. Her pool builder also informed her that the storm will also delay construction of her pool by several weeks or more as her contractor has numerous emergency repair projects to perform in tandem with her job.

Her story is not unique, thousands of homeowners have had catastrophic failures in their pool equipment brought on by sudden freezing temperatures. Some homeowners in Houston have had their entire pool freeze into a solid block of ice. We asked pool experts what homeowners can do to protect their pool equipment in a storm.

Expert Advice on Dealing With Frozen Pool Equipment

Quite often, ice in the pipes is a culprit of the majority of damage we see. Homeowners should keep their pump running through the night when temperatures fall below freezing.

“The majority of pool owners leave the pump running anyways,” said Ryan Baird of Beyond Blue Pools. “If the pump suddenly stops, use the manual override. Doing that during a winter storm may protect the pipes and keep them from bursting.”

“Draining the backflow can help. The water that is in the backflow valve can freeze, expand and cause a rupture. Once the housing cracks you have a serious leak on your hands.”

CAMERON RHODES – SOUTHERN POOLSCAPES

Concerete pools in particular are susceptible to costly repairs during freezing temperatures. Rhodes continues “Many pools these days incorporate freeze protection systems to help homeowners protect their investment”.

There are a wide variety of products that help homeowners protect an inground pool from freezing temperatures.

How to Protect an Inground Pool & Pool Equipment From Freezing

• Winterizing Kits allow you to balance the pool chemistry of the water throughout the winter months. This helps provide protection of all non-mechanical components of the pool.
• Blowers help keep pipes and equipment clear of water that can freeze if left inside pipes. Return lines should then be plugged to protect them throughout the winter months.
• Skimmer Faceplate Covers can prevent your skimmer from taking on water that can freeze and cause damage to the interior pool wall.
• There are a wide range of devices designed for skimmer ice expansion protection.
• Water Tubes and Air Pillows are devices frequently used during winter months under pool covers to prevent ice expansion from occuring.
• Install freeze protection equipment or automation systems such as Intermatic Digital Sensor or Air Temp Sensor that can be programmed to run the pump when the temperature reaches a certain level.

What to do if your Pool Equipment is Frozen

If your pool pump is frozen there are a few steps you can take to unfreeze your pool equipment.

1. Shut off electricity at the breaker box
2. Place heavy woolen blankets over your pool equipment
3. Securely place a small space heater inside the insulated area
4. Continue to monitor your pool equipment until it has completely thawed
5. Inspect for cracks and perform repairs as needed
6. If equipment is cracked, drain the equipment until repairs have been performed