Hurricane Prep Means Pooling Your Resources

Part of your Emergency Action Plan should be to get together and assign outdoor duties to family members in the event of a tropical storm or a hurricane. Taking time to prepare your pool and yard when a storm is headed in your direction will save you headaches later. Consider the following:

-- Do not lower the water level in your pool excessively, or it may pop out of the ground if there is flooding with the storm. If flooding is expected, you can lower the water level by up to a few feet, depending on the depth of the pool. Pools that have been emptied may experience serious structural problems and could even be lifted off their foundations.
-- Add extra chlorine (3 gallons of chlorine per 5,000 gallons of water) to your pool to fight off contamination. Don’t let anyone in your pool after this “shock treatment.”
-- Turn off electricity to all of the pool equipment at the circuit breaker.
-- Remove pumps from underground pits after all valves have been closed and the electricity has been shut off. Wrap any exposed pool equipment that you can't remove in plastic and secure it tightly with tape/rope.
-- Don't throw patio furniture in the pool unless you are willing to have it damaged/bleached by chlorine.
-- Does your pool have a deck? Test how well your deck drains by using a garden hose to spray water on the deck and watching how quickly the water disappears.
-- If you have an acrylic-painted deck, some of the slats may be painted over. Carefully use a small flat screwdriver to push the paint through and open the slats. If there is dirt inside the drain, you can insert a garden hose from one side and try to flush it out with water. -- If you don't have a deck drain, make sure high grass, dirt, mulch, or stones do not block the edge of the deck. These obstacles can prevent water from quickly moving off the edge and into the yard. You may want to consider digging a small trench directing the water to a low spot away from your pool deck and your home.
-- Take time to trim trees of extra limbs and branches that may become airborne and cause damage to your house, pool equipment, or screen enclosure. Also remember to store toys and patio furniture that would otherwise become missiles in a tropical storm or hurricane.
-- If you cannot store loose objects (i.e. plastic chairs, tables, pool equipment, and toys) inside a building and your pool is concrete, gently place them in the pool to help shield them from the winds. Just dropping them in may scratch or damage the inside finish of your pool. If your pool is vinyl or fiberglass, don't ever put anything in the pool because the vinyl liner could tear and the fiberglass could be scratched.
-- Remember to store the umbrella to your patio table as high winds can send the umbrella flying and cause the table to fall over, and if glass, will shatter all over your pool deck.