The Pools Scientific Guide to Closing Your Above Ground Pool

Above ground pools get treated as an afterthought in most closing advice, usually a shortened chapter tacked onto guidance written for a completely different kind of pool. This book treats it as what it actually is: a genuinely different case, with its own physics, its own failure points, and its own closing protocol.

Inside, you'll find the real reason above ground pools swing colder faster than inground pools, what actually happens when ice forms against a wall with nothing behind it to absorb the pressure, and why a crush device isn't optional equipment. You'll get the complete, step by step closing protocol: water chemistry in the right order, the correct water level for your specific cover type, the safety distinction between a real ASTM-rated cover and a tarp that only looks like one, and the equipment blowout warning that prevents both an injury and a repair bill. A full closing checklist and quick-reference tables are included for use every season after your first.

Written by John Cooper, a nuclear engineer, U.S. Navy submarine veteran, and the founder of Pools Scientific, a premium pool service platform built on real science rather than industry guesswork.

This is one of four guides in the Pools Scientific winterizing series, above ground, vinyl liner, fiberglass, and plaster pools each get their own dedicated book, since no two pool types hold onto winter the same way.