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What to do when your cover falls in.First, remove any debris that is still on the cover. The easiest way to do this is to use a leaf rake, which is a skimmer with a deep net. Pull the debris towards you, scooping the debris into the net. Put this debris into a container that has holes in it to allow the water to drain. This will make the debris much lighter and easier to haul. Be sure to keep the container off the deck while it drains, so that the runoff doesn't stain the deck. Now, you can remove the cover. You will need to inspect the cover for tears and other damage that would necessitate repair or replacement. Be sure to clean the cover well, allow to dry, and then fold up and put away for the summer. You must now assess the situation. It may not be as bad as you think. The biggest question is how much debris went into the pool? If the water is clear enough to see the botttom and how much debris is there, you can make a choice on which way to proceed. If there is only small debris and dirt, you can vacuum this out. It is best to vacuum to waste, bypassing the filter and going directly to waste, if your filter system allows you to. If not, now would be a good time to plumb it so it can. You could also check with your local pool supply and see if they rent out pumps to vacuum with or will come out and do it for you. If you can see the bottom and there is a lot of large debris like leaves and branches, there are two options. One option is to drain the pool and clean out the debris and refill with clean water. To cleaning out a lot of large debris can take many hours of scooping, waiting for the water to clear, and more scooping. Sometimes this can stretch into weeks of cleaning with lots of chemicals needed to clear the water each time. In many cases, draining the pool can be the easiest, quickest, and cheapest way to go. However, do not do this unless you are thoroughly familiar with this procedure and the accompanying risks. (We will explain this fully in a future Pro Tip of the Week.) If you have a lot of debris and draining the pool is not an option, you will have to go with option two which is cleaning up the existing water. First, try to scoop out as much debris as you can with your leaf rake or water powered vacuum called a leaf eater, even if you can't see the bottom. Now, start up your filter system so that you can clear up the water. If the water is murky and/or green, you will need to balance your pH and shock heavily with chlorine. Do not worry about the Total Alkalinity, etc, until you have cleaned the pool. You may be vacuuming a lot of water out when cleaning which will necessitate adding water that you would just have to balance all over again. Once you have removed the leaves and other large debris, vacuum the remaining dirt, algae, etc. to waste. After you have cleared the pool of dirt and debris, you will want to balance the water chemistry. Having done that, you can enjoy your pool for the season. Extra Tip:If you keep the debris off the cover while it's on the pool, you will not have to worry about a lot of debris going into the pool if the cover falls in.
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