Swim season locally runs roughly April through October, but pool care runs all twelve months, and what the pool needs changes materially through the year. Here is the cycle as we run it across Travis County.
Spring (Feb–Apr)
Cedar and oak pollen blankets the water, phosphates spike and algae gets its first foothold of the year. Weekly skimming and a phosphate check keep the season from getting away from you.
Summer (May–Sep)
100°+ days burn off chlorine fast and evaporation concentrates calcium from Austin's hard water. This is when a missed week turns a clear pool green in four days.
Fall (Oct–Nov)
Leaf drop fills baskets and organic debris feeds algae even as temperatures fall. Filters need a proper clean before they sit through winter.
Winter (Dec–Jan)
Lower demand, but freeze events are the real risk. We keep circulation right and watch equipment through Central Texas cold snaps.
The two things that cause the most damage here
The February and March cedar and oak pollen bloom. For a few weeks every late winter, Central Texas air turns yellow. Pollen lands on the surface, sinks, and breaks down into phosphates — which is the single best fertiliser algae could ask for. Pools that were fine in January go cloudy in March for exactly this reason.
Hard freezes. Austin gets a handful of genuine freeze events each winter, and they are what break equipment here. Pumps, filters and exposed plumbing need to keep moving through a freeze; a pool left on a timer that shuts the pump off at 10pm during a hard freeze is how tanks crack.
Pools stay open through the mild months but demand drops sharply from December through February.
A simple year-round rhythm
- Weekly: full clean plus a complete chemistry panel — never just a strip test
- Monthly: check filter pressure against the clean baseline and service when it is 8–10 psi over
- Twice a year: proper filter tear-down and clean (more often on DE or heavy tree cover)
- Annually: verify calcium hardness and cyanuric acid, and plan a partial drain if either is far out of range
- Seasonally: inspect equipment before the hardest part of the year, not during it
Would rather not do this yourself? Our complete weekly service in Austin starts at $159 a month with routine chemicals included and no contract. Get a free quote or call 512-640-4884.
