Winter is still underway in many areas of the country but spring is right around the corner. Spring means pools and swimming for those across the country that have this entertainment feature in their backyard. The time to open your swimming pool and get it ready for summer is almost here, and you want to be prepared to prep the pool. Here is a step-by-step to getting your pool ready for those swimsuits, goggles and pool games.

Start by removing any leaves or debris from the pool cover. Then you can pump off any extra water from the top of the cover. You can do this with a small pool cover pump. Once you have cleaned off all the water and stuff from the top of the pool cover, you are ready to remove the pool cover.

Next, you should clean the cover thoroughly before storing so nothing eats through the cover while it is being stored. It is best to fold the cover up so you can easily put it back on whenever needed. I can personally attest to this problem. As a young boy, I remember putting the family pool cover away without cleaning it. The rotting dirt and leaves managed to actually eat holes into the cover. When we unfolded it in the fall, it was destroyed and we had to urgently get a new one.

Begin filling up the pool to the normal level and clean any leaves or dirt with your pool vacuum. Once the water is at level, it is time for you to check your pool’s chemistry and add any needed chemicals including algae control, some sanitizer such as chlorine or bromine, and of course balance your pH.

When the swimming pool water is 3/4 the way up the skimmer opening, start the pool pump. The multi-port position on your pool filter should be on rinse for about 30 seconds before being switched to the filter position. This is a good point to take care of your pool chemicals. Add shock to the pool and make sure it is swimming ready by using the dosage on the bottle. You can use test strips to test the pH and adjust the levels as needed. This is also the point you can add stabilizer to keep the chlorine from being used too quickly. Once you complete all of the above steps, keep the water circulating for 24 to 48 hours before using. This helps run all the water through the filter to circulate and remove any remaining bacteria, making it safe to swim and ready for all the summer fun! You can also enjoy the money you saved by opening your pool and getting it ready for summer on your own.

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Let’s kick it off with some fun and exciting facts on pools to lighten up the mood and provide some great talking points for those that question your decision to get a pool.

• The Titanic was the first ship to have a heated swimming pool.

• Swimming became an amateur sport in the late part of the nineteenth century.

• Ancient drawings and paintings found in Egypt depicting people swimming date back to 2500 AD.

• Elephants can swim as many as 20 miles a day — they use their trunks as natural snorkels!

• Swimming exercises all of the body’s major muscles

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt had the first indoor swimming pool put in the West Wing at the White House.

• 65% of people in the U.S. don’t know how to swim.

• An hour of vigorous swimming will burn up to 650 calories. It burns off more calories than walking or biking.

• President Gerald Ford had an in ground pool installed near the tennis courts on the White House grounds in 1975.

• Swimming became a part of the Olympic Games in 1896.

• Most swimmers at the highest levels of competition train from four to five hours per day and five to seven days per week. They will typically swim about six to twelve miles per day along with weight training and flexibility training.

• Water’s buoyancy make swimming the ideal exercise for physical therapy and rehabilitation or for anyone seeking a low-impact exercise.

• The slowest Olympic swim stroke is the breaststroke.

• The two-piece bathing suit known as bikini got its name from Bikini Atoll, a US nuclear test site in the South Pacific.

• Swimming strengthens the heart and lungs

• The first man to cross the English Channel swimming from England to France is Englishman Captain Matthew Webb in 1875.

• An Olympic size pool depending on its size (50 meters X 25 yards or meters) can hold from 700,000 to 850,000 gallons of water.

• Swimming helps reduce stress

• The average person produces 25,000 quarts of saliva in his or her lifetime — that’s enough spit to fill TWO swimming pools!

• Swim fins were invented by Benjamin Franklin.

• Michael Phelps has won a total of 14 gold medals and 2 bronze medals in a pool.