ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – The unofficial start to the summer season is almost here. Although, with multiple days in or around the 90s lately, some are wanting to get in the pool. While most public pools open up this weekend, some with private pools have gotten a jump start.
“A lot of people want their pools open quickly. Of course, the weather’s heating up. Everyone wants to get in their pools,” Tim Grimes, Pool Tron Inc., said.
Grimes said they’ll open more than 500 pools this season through about Memorial Day. Some of their customers got their pools opened earlier, and how long until it’s swim-ready depends on how well it survived the winter. A lot of leaf material or algae can delay things.
“Obviously, if the pool’s heated, they can open them sooner. If the pool’s not heated, they usually wait a little closer to Memorial Day,” Grimes said. “If the pool’s nice and clean usually you can get it going in about a day or two. Sometimes it can take a week. It just depends.”
As for those unheated pools, the summerlike temperatures as of late may be a big help.
“I think we’re getting close. It really depends on if the pool is shaded or not. If it’s in full sun all day, you probably could start swimming this Memorial Day. If it’s shaded a lot, it might be a little chilly,” he said.
Grimes and his crews are hard at work opening multiple pools a day during what’s a busy time of year.
“Definitely the lead up to Memorial Day we get real busy,” he said. “Some of the folks that maybe have put off opening the pool we’ll get a frantic phone call. ‘Hey, can we get my pool open?’ We’ve been taking care of a lot of people for quite some time, so we really try to take care of our customers this time of year.”
