How to Prepare Your Swimming Pool for Severe Weather - Wildfires
In many cases of a wildfire, the water has been contaminated with oils, household chemicals, algae, sewage, and possibly floating debris or foreign objects. While you can begin draining a pool as an option, we highly recommend that you should first contact your local pool professional to make sure that the pool structure would not be damaged in the process.

If your pool professional determines that your pool cannot or should not be completely drained, then you and your pool professional may want to consider the following suggested treatments to help clean the water and surface.
- Backwash the filter per the manufacturer’s directions
- Vacuum the pool floor (“to waste” if possible).
- Balance your pool water.
- Floc/clarify your pool.
- Balance pool water once again.
- Shock/chlorinate your pool to sanitize and oxidize.
- Brush your pool walls after shocking.
- Return to normal sanitization program.
- Test your water and add the appropriate balancing chemicals per label instructions.