Pool closing · California
When to Close Your Pool in Redondo Beach, CA: Deadline, Window & Checklist
Last updated: July 15, 2026 · Model window year: 2026 · dates · checklist · FAQ
Plan to close your Redondo Beach pool by November 25. The local 7-day mean temperature drops out of the algae-risk zone around November 15, and NOAA normals put the first 32°F freeze near January 5 — winterize between those dates and the water goes under the cover cold, clean, and easy to reopen. Below: today's water estimate, the full closing window, and a step-by-step winterizing checklist.
Redondo Beach closing dates at a glance
| Closing window | November 15 – November 25 |
|---|---|
| Close by (deadline) | November 25 |
| First freeze, 50% probability | January 5 |
| Open by (recommended) | April 17 |
| Opening window | April 10 – May 1 |
| 61°F crossing (7-day mean) | May 1 |
| Swim-season length (80°F+ days) | 0 days |
| NOAA normals station | Redondo Beach · 1.6 mi · 142 ft |
A short season cuts both ways: every week opened before May 1 is a real slice of Redondo Beach's roughly 0-day warm-swim budget.
Put dates aside and follow the water: the Redondo Beach curve says roughly 59°F by mid-April, 65°F by mid-June, 70°F in mid-August, then back down through 66°F in mid-October. The summer ceiling sits near 70°F, and every window above is just a line drawn on this curve.
The 12-step Redondo Beach winterizing checklist
Sequenced against Redondo Beach's November 15–November 25 window: chemistry while the pump still runs, blowouts before the equipment drains, cover last. Labels dictate every dose.
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Balance the water a few days ahead
Give the chemistry a head start — balance to label ranges several days out, while circulation can still mix corrections evenly. Closing-day dosing never distributes as well.
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Deep-clean the pool
Brush, skim, and vacuum like company's coming. A pool that goes under the cover spotless comes out needing a rinse; one that goes under dirty comes out needing a project.
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Service the filter one last time
Clean media goes into storage, dirty media comes out worse: backwash the sand or DE, rinse the cartridges, all per the manual, before anything drains.
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Apply winter chemicals per label
Winter chemicals go in before shutdown, not after: label-dosed, circulated for a few hours, distributed evenly. A floater dropped on still water protects one corner.
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Lower the water level
Check the cover manufacturer's spec before touching the hose: solid covers typically want water below the skimmer mouth, mesh often barely lower than normal. Full draining is off the table entirely.
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Blow out the lines and plug returns
Push air through skimmer, return, and cleaner lines until they run dry mist, then seat expansion plugs at each return while air still flows. This is the single most important freeze-protection step.
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Protect the skimmer
Install a skimmer guard bottle (or a plug rated for your skimmer) so ice that forms there crushes the sacrificial piece instead of cracking the skimmer body.
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Add pool antifreeze where blowouts fall short
If any line can't be verified dry, add pool-grade antifreeze per its label. Use only pool antifreeze — automotive products don't belong in pool plumbing.
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Drain the equipment
Nothing on the pad should hold water overnight: pull the drain plugs from pump, filter, heater, and feeder, stash them all in the pump basket, and carry the portable pieces indoors.
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Set the air pillow and cover
Float a centered air pillow, then land the cover and secure it the way its design intends — bags, cable, or straps. Ice sheets need somewhere to collapse inward, and the pillow is that somewhere.
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Stage the cover pump
Solid covers need drainage all winter: set a cover pump or siphon before the first storm, not after. Standing water strains seams and invites a mid-winter emergency.
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Shut down the heater carefully
Follow the manufacturer's winterizing sequence for your heater — drain it fully and, for gas units, close the supply valve. Heat exchangers are the most expensive freeze casualty on the pad.
What to buy before the rush
A small stack of supplies turns the checklist above into a single-weekend job. Buy before Redondo Beach's November rush and the whole list ships at leisure instead of sprinting.
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Cover pump
Standing water is a cover killer; this is the counter.
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Expansion plugs + skimmer guard
Cheap rubber that stands between ice and your fittings.
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Pool antifreeze
Pool-rated glycol for the lines air couldn't clear.
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Winter closing kit
Season-length winter chemicals in one label-dosed box.
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Air pillow
Centers under the cover so ice pushes inward, not outward.
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Winter cover
Sized to overlap; the cheapest insurance the pool wears all winter.
How Redondo Beach compares locally
Two nearby data points to triangulate with: Torrance, 3 miles from Redondo Beach, models its close at November 25 (the same day); Hawthorne, 4 miles out, at December 2. Redondo Beach's own window ends November 25. For the other half of the calendar see when to open in Redondo Beach, or scan the full year on the season page.
Local means local: Redondo Beach's dates come from Redondo Beach, the nearest station with complete daily temperature normals — 1.6 miles south, about 142 feet up. Between that station and a Los Angeles County backyard there's always a degree or two of microclimate; the windows are built wide enough to carry it.
Field notes for Redondo Beach owners
The skimmer is the most breakable part you own
Skimmer bodies crack because water freezes inside the throat with nowhere to push. A sacrificial bottle or spring-loaded guard absorbs that expansion for a few dollars. It's the highest-return item in the entire closing kit relative to what it protects.
Cold water is the whole point
A pool closed at 55°F barely changes all winter: algae are dormant, chemicals hold, and spring opens with a light dusting instead of a bloom. A pool closed at 72°F runs its own quiet ecosystem under the cover for a month. The date matters less than the water temperature it represents.
Match the drainage plan to the cover
Solid covers shed nothing — they need a cover pump staged before the first storm and checked after each one. Mesh covers drain themselves but pass silt that settles all winter. Either way, the plan is decided in October, not improvised in January when the cover is an ice sheet.
Hard-winter homework
Where winter is long — Redondo Beach banks only about 0 warm-swim days — the closing carries months of load. Bury the effort where it counts: verified-dry lines, fully drained equipment, a skimmer guard, and a cover secured for real wind. A short season forgives a late opening; it never forgives a cracked pump.
Redondo Beach pool closing FAQ
What temperature should water be to close a pool?
The practical target is water in the low 60s°F or below at closing day. Our Redondo Beach model has the sustained cool-down starting November 15; closing between then and November 25 means chemistry stays put and the spring reveal is a mild one.
Can you close a pool too early?
You can, and warm-water closings are why "we opened to a swamp" stories exist. The fix is patience: let Redondo Beach's water cool through the mid-60s°F — around November 15 by our model — then close inside the window that ends November 25.
Do I need antifreeze in pool lines?
Only for lines you can't verify dry — a proper blowout makes antifreeze unnecessary. Where doubt remains, use pool-grade product at its label rate, never automotive. No freeze-probability normal is published near Redondo Beach, so let the live forecast, not a calendar, tell you when freeze protection starts mattering.
How far should I drain my pool for winter?
Only to the line your cover manufacturer prints — a few inches below the skimmer for most solid covers, close to operating level for many mesh designs with the skimmer plugged. The water you leave in is structural: it holds the shell against groundwater all winter.
What happens if you don't winterize a pool?
Two failure modes. Where freezes reach the plumbing, expansion cracks pumps, filters, and fittings from the inside. Where they don't, an unwatched pool simply drifts green and unbalanced by spring. Redondo Beach has no published freeze normal to pin the date, so the winterizing above plus forecast-watching covers both risks.
When is the last safe date to close in Redondo Beach?
Treat November 25 as the deadline in Redondo Beach. It's derived from the 1991–2020 normals: the cool-down plus ten days (the freeze normal, January 5, leaves room to spare). Weather varies year to year, so watch the 10-day forecast in late November — an early cold snap moves the real deadline, and the widget above flags exactly that.
Email me when Redondo Beach hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via Redondo Beach (1.6 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Full attribution on the sources page. Model assumptions and error bars on methodology.