Preparing outdoor spaces for spring

OCS Influencer Taylor Dahlquist says preparations for outdoor spaces is crucial for longevity and maintenance.

Preparing your outdoor space or pool is a crucial part of maintaining and keeping up your space. The set up and size of the space play a heavy role in how you prepare for nice weather.  

For example, if you have a full backyard with a pool, spa and pool house, your prep will be much more in depth than just preparing your lawn. The proper process for preparing a pool/spa can be long. It starts with filling the water levels to proper levels, then dewinterizing and starting your pumps and plumbing. Make sure to check for any leaks or breaks in pumps and plumbing. Next comes the process of cleaning debris from the pool, shocking and getting your chemicals to the correct levels. Once all that is up to par, check your pool decks for loose boards/pavers or cracked concrete. Loose boards create hazards for people using the area. Loose coping stones around the pool can potentially break all the way loose and fall into the pool, causing damage to plaster or liner. Cracked concrete on pool decks can be alarming. If the concrete is newer, it could just be settling base underneath. If the pool/concrete is older, it could be a sign of a leak washing out material under the concrete.  

Preparing a pool house can range from simple to intricate depending on the extent of the pool house build. If the pool house is just for protection for pumps, preparing is minimal. If your pool house has a bathroom/shower area or any sort of kitchen area, it’s important to run the appliances and plumbing to ensure nothing is leaking. A leaking gas oven obviously poses extreme danger for fire or explosions. Leaking plumbing from a shower/toilet/sink poses potential for flooding. If your pool house has interior finishes, flooding could cause thousands of damage.  

Now, let's touch on preparing outdoor spaces that are not pool/spa areas, such as a patio with fireplace or water features. Prepping a patio with a fireplace or outdoor kitchen is not difficult, but critically important. Open gas valves for outdoor kitchen or fireplaces. Then ignite and check the flame color. A blue flame indicates the proper gas-to-air ratio. 

For water features, preparing them for the season is pretty simple. Pull any cover that may be over the pond. Clean out any debris that may have accumulated over the winter, and fill the water to proper levels. Then, reconnect your water feature pump and place in the water. Put the basin cage inside for a pondless water feature. Then, run the pump to confirm proper water flow and function. Oftentimes, you need to add more water to accommodate for water filling plumbing.  

If your outdoor space is a nice green lawn with colorful softscapes, your prep will affect the overall outcome of the space. If your space is irrigated, a full start up and thorough system check is crucial, especially in dry climates such as the western United States. A thorough check for functioning irrigation with proper watering times can heavily affect the overall growth of the softscapes, exposing breaks and other issues that could cause poor watering. The proper watering can also play a huge role in water conservation. Knowing and setting irrigation to proper watering times helps not to waste water. Thorough start up, including checking for leaks and breaks, helps conserve water by making sure the water is going where intended and not leaking underground.