How To Winterize Your Swimming Pool With an Air Pillow

When you close your above ground pool for the winter, you should place an air pillow in the center of the pool before you put on your winter cover. When water freezes it expands outward and this expansion can cause damage to your pool wall, cover or liner. The air pillow acts as an ice compensator absorbing the ice expansion.

Using Your Air Pillow

In order for your air pillow to absorb the pressure of the ice expanding, it has to remain soft. You should inflate the air pillow to about 60% of its capacity to allow for compression. You should also place two strips of duct tape over the air valve to ensure the pillow doesn’t deflate over the winter. The air pillow will be more effective if it remains in the center of the pool. Keep the pillow in the center to help evenly distribute ice and snow. To make sure it stays in place you must use the grommets on the pillow to attach string to it. Tie the pieces of string to the top ledges of your pool leaving them a bit loose. If you tie them too tight, the grommets on the pillow can tear or the string can break letting the pillow float freely in the pool.

Inflating Your Air Pillow

To inflate your air pillow you would first need to locate the small red valve on the top of the pillow. If you push the valve in with your finger, you can see the opening where the air goes into. You can use a hair dryer on the ‘cool’ setting, a shop vac on reverse or a simple air pump to inflate the pillow.

Installing Your Air Pillow With A Winter Cover

As previously mentioned, the air pillow should be placed in the center of your swimming pool. Additionally, the air pillow should touch the underside of the winter cover. The water level in the swimming pool should be high enough for the air pillow to slightly prop the winter cover up (in the center of your swimming pool). Also, the winter cover should be resting on the top of the water (around the air pillow). Utilizing a skimmer winterizing plate and threaded winterizing plug for standard return will allow you raise the water level if needed. Installing the air pillow and winter cover this way will let rain water/snow to collect on your winter cover around the air pillow (see images below). You should then utilize a winter cover pump to remove any excess water from your winter cover.

Here is a helpful article on the benefits of using a Winter Cover Pump:

Benefits of Winter Cover Pumps for Pool Closing