above or below the skimmer to close?

[sevver]

I use those clips too, I like them, they seem to keep the whip down alot. And funny you brought it up, I have some shrink wrap that I was going to use this year, I know a guy who did it to his last year and he said it worked well.

[les_smith]

The trick is to get it tight. Also, don't use the 6 inch stuff. You need to use the 12 inch so you can get plenty of over lap top and bottom of the coping. Otherwise, the wind will eventually blow off the plastic wrap.

[matt4x4]

I shock using bleach, 24 hours later, drain below the skimmer/return, leave both open so accumulated rain and snow water just falls out (AG pool), drain and take equipment (not filter) inside. DONE.
I hook up my equipment early in spring, catch all that rain to get the pool filled, turn it on and add bleach and throw in the vac - DONE.
If you open early enough, there's no mess since algae needs relatively warm temps to form.