After a winter of freedom from the big money-sucking hole in the back yard, I bit the bullet and fired up the pool pump today. Now, in the Mid-Atlantic, swimming season runs from roughly the beginning of June through Labor Day. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a couple extra weeks on either end, but for the most part, that’s what you get. For the past few years, my routine has been to start the equipment up around now, and uncover the pool around Memorial Day. I’ve found that starting the equipment early saves work, because it allows me to chlorinate the water before it gets too warm and algae starts taking hold. And with pools, anything that saves work is a bonus.

Anyways, the pump primed right up using the main drain for suction. The water level is still too low to use the skimmers. And the water temperature is (drumroll please) a balmy 56°F. Another 25 degrees and we’ll be swimming.

Now I need to start thinking about my spring pool project, repairing some loose coping and recaulking the expansion joint between the pool and the deck.