Should You Turn Your Pool Pump & Filter Off At Night?

If you are a new pool owner, you may be wondering: should you turn your pool pump off at night? Even though many pump systems come with built-in timers, in certain cases, your pump needs to be run consistently for longer periods.

In this article, we will discuss whether or not you should turn your pool filter off at night, and in what cases it is appropriate to do so.

Should You Turn Your Pool Filter Off At Night?

In most cases, yes, you should turn your pool filter off at night. For the most part, it is not necessary for your pump and filter to be running overnight, unless you have administered some type of treatment which requires that you leave your pump turned on.

There is not necessarily a reason that the filter should be shut off at night specifically, but as long as your pump is appropriately sized (with the right turnover rate), it only needs to run for 8-12 hours each day, so most pool owners prefer to do this overnight.

A rest period of this length does not reduce the ability of your pool to neutralise contaminants, so it is a great way to cut electricity costs, carbon emissions and reduce noise for you and your neighbours.

If you have to have your pump shut off during the daytime unexpectedly, such as due to an unexpected power outage or hazardous conditions such as lightning, you may want to consider running your pump throughout the night to make up for this lost filtration time.

Additionally, certain chemicals will require that you run your pump for a longer period. Some of the treatments that require you to run your pump continuously for a 24 hour period or longer include shock treatments, clarifiers, phosphate removers, calcium increasers, and certain algaecide products.

Conclusion

Turning your pool pump and filter off at night is generally recommended, so long as you haven’t recently added any chemicals to the pool that require consistent levels of water circulation.

Turning your pool pump off to allow for breaks can reduce electricity costs and can increase the longevity of your equipment.

In saying that, there's no need to turn them off while you are swimming.

Do you have any questions about whether or not you should turn your pool pump off at night? Get in touch with us, we’d love to help you out!