Give your swimming pool a longer life

As you know, a pool is an investment, and requires routine maintenance. That said, there are simple ways to make your pool last even longer than it's expected to.

• Taking the time to cover your pool pays dividends in longer pool life and less pool maintenance.
• Covers reduce UV damage to vinyl liners and plaster walls — and will keep dirt and debris out, so you will spend less time cleaning and you'll use fewer chemicals.
• A good choice is a mesh-type cover. It won't collect puddles of water as do solid covers.

• Plastered or painted pools chip and flake due to pool chemicals and the large swings in water temperature.
• Replaster concrete pools about every 10 to 15 years, or repaint every three to five years.

• Some pool owners drain their pools to below skimmer level for the winter.
• While this is a good strategy for preventing cracked skimmers due to freezes, it stresses the pool's cover, which causes tears.
• It also exposes the pool liner to air, causing it to degrade. Instead of draining the pool, use skimmer guards to prevent skimmer damage.
• They're made of plastic and look a little like a hollow dumbbell.
• They are designed to absorb the pressure from the expansion of freezing water in the skimmer.
• These low-cost, popular products come in large and small sizes and are easy to screw into the skimmer ports.

• Fill three or four plastic jugs about one-quarter full with water, and float them in your pool when you close it for the winter.
• If ice forms in the pool, it will crush the jugs instead of the walls of your pool.
• Use the same principle at skimmers.
• Insert smaller, empty plastic soda bottles, with caps screwed on tightly, into skimmers to prevent them from cracking due to freezing water.