Summer Is Coming - How to prepare your Water Slide for the upcoming POOL SEASON!
Forget about that groundhog and whether or not he saw his shadow this year. When you see these beauties popping up all over the place, you know Spring is in the air and if you are anything like us, you are pretty excited! We are so ready to ditch the coats, hats, and gloves for something a little less restricting. Yes, the time is here to start thinking about getting yourself AND your Back Yard Paradise ready for Pool Season. Since we are a water slide company, this post is going to focus specifically on getting your water slide opened up and ready for another season of thrills!
Properly winterizing your water slide in the Fall is preventative maintenance at it's best. Taking steps to close your water slide at the same time you close your pool each year will prevent start-up problems and unnecessary expenses in the Spring. Because a Paradise Slides Water Slide is made of fiberglass with a gel-coat finish, it is important that the fiberglass components be washed and then waxed prior to the end of the season. If you did all of this at the end of the season last year then give yourself a pat on the back! You are ready to open it up for the new Pool Season!
First, if you live in an area that has snow/ice then you can go ahead and remove tarps or covers if you are certain that there will be no more freezing rain or snow for the season. If some crazy storm happens to come in and cover your slide with snow or ice then just be sure to remove the precipitation as soon as possible.
Next, go ahead and give your water slide a good wash and wax. Wash with a mild soap such as dish washing soap but avoid using strong alkaline cleaners or abrasives. We recommend that you do this at least twice during the operating season (more if you have a salt-water pool) with a good paste wax formulated for gel-coat surfaces. We have had good results using 3M Marine Ultra Performance Paste Wax to protect the slide and make it slide. Click
HERE for shopping links. You can also use their 3M Marine Rubbing Compound to buff scratches if ever needed. Click
HERE for shopping links to the rubbing compound.
Once your slide is washed and waxed you will want to inspect the slide. Not sure what you are looking for? Check out our Daily Inspections checklist on our website by clicking
HERE!
Now that your slide is washed and waxed and you have completed all of your inspections, it is time for the owner to complete their final duty. This "duty" of course is to give that water slide the first slide of the season! We know... We know... This is the toughest part but somebody has to do it!
Now get out there and get your Paradise Slide ready for the season! You don't want to be stuck doing the WAX-ON WAX-OFF THING when you should be doing the CLIMB-SLIDE-SPLASH-REPEAT THING!
Thank you for checking out our blog! Is there something you want to know about water slides that you would like us to blog about? Leave a comment and we will see what we can do.
