Aloha! When a hard freeze is on the way, we send this to our customers. It is the same advice we have given North Houston pool owners for years, updated after the January 2026 cold snap.
Houston does not freeze often, and that is exactly why freezes cause so much damage here. Pool equipment in Spring, Klein and The Woodlands sits outside, above ground and uninsulated. Water left standing in a pump, filter, heater or pipe can freeze, expand and crack it overnight. Most of the expensive repairs we saw after February 2021 were on pools that simply were not prepared.
Before the freeze
Check your automation’s freeze protection. Most modern pool controllers have a freeze-protection setting that starts the pump when the air temperature drops toward freezing. Make sure it is turned on. If you are not sure how, call us before the cold arrives — not the night it hits. Our pool automation page explains how it works.
Plan to run the pump continuously. Moving water is far less likely to freeze than still water. During a hard freeze, set the pump to run all the time until temperatures are safely back above freezing, even if your automation has freeze protection. If you have a spa, make sure water is circulating through it too.
Keep the water level normal. The skimmer needs to keep pulling water so the pump does not run dry.
During the freeze
Do not cover or wrap a running pump motor. Motors need air to cool. A wrapped motor can overheat and fail, which is the opposite of what you want. Exposed pipes and valves can be insulated, but leave the motor uncovered.
Do not turn the pump off to “save it”. A pump that is off is a pump full of still water.
Keep an eye on the power. If your power stays on and the pump keeps running, your equipment will usually come through fine.
If the power goes out
This is the scenario that caused so much damage in 2021. Without power, the pump stops and water sits in the equipment. For a long outage during a hard freeze, the equipment may need draining — opening the drain plugs on the pump, filter and heater so there is no water left to freeze. Do not attempt it in the dark or if you are unsure; call us for guidance. And once the freeze has passed, check the equipment for cracks and leaks before restarting it.
After the freeze
Walk out to the equipment pad before turning anything back on. Look for split pipes, cracked pump housings, water where it should not be, and heaters with visible damage. If anything is wet that should not be, leave it off and call us. We repair freeze damage — cracked fittings, pumps, filters and heaters — through our pool repair service.
One thing we are upfront about: freeze damage is not covered by routine weekly service and is billed separately. What weekly service does give you is equipment checked before winter, automation freeze settings confirmed, and instructions like these when a freeze is forecast. See our pool freeze protection page for an autumn freeze check.
Mahalo, and stay warm — and don’t forget your pets.
