Swimming Pool Advice: Fact or Fiction

[stevet]

I know there has got to be some of you out there that have built in pools at their homes, so I have this question for you:
I was at my sister's house last week in Glendale, Arizona and the Pool guy came in to do his thing and we got to talking about maintaining the pool properly and he said that the pool should be drained of all its water since it is over 10 years old and a new fill of fresh water be dumped in. He said it should be done every 5 years!
Well, the waste of water aside..

I have never heard of doing this but understood his logic of the old water only being able to hold so much in chemicals and thus will use more than it needs to maintain the same levels of chlorination and such.

Does this make sense? Maybe here in Florida where we get much more rain, the water in our pools gets more of a change than in AZ, so nobody ever talks about this routine.
What do you all think about this?

 

[favorit]

once a year ! at least

don't you drain swimming pools in autumn ?

 

[turquoisedude]

Lordy, I grew up with a pool at the parent's house and we drained it every fall for the winter months. Of course if we didn't we would've had a bunch of cracked concrete...
Now I have a hot tub and that gets two water changes a year.

 

[pulsator]

We have an in ground pool then gets drained halfway every fall. We then put a special tarp over it and let it sit all winter. The snow fall over the course of the winter has yet to fail to fill the pool back up to full level by the time spring rolls around!

 

[cleanteamofny]

I don't know if it's the right thing to do.....

Draining a pool can cause major problems.

•This is probably one of the biggest mistakes a homeowner can make. Draining a pool is EXTREMELY dangerous.

•Wow, why such a huge warning? Let me explain. There are only very few times one need to ever drain a swimming pool.
•In some cases it is to dilute the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) or even stabilizer. These typically only require a partial draining.
•If you have a repair to be made, this can be a reason to drain a pool.
•For most cleaning, even when your pool looks like a toxic waste dump, you don't and SHOULD NOT drain the pool.

•In your case, the pool builder did a good thing. He tied the skimmer into the drain to keep you from accidentally draining the pool. It worked.

•So what is the big deal?
•Well, when one drains the pool and there happens to be water under the shell (like in the rainy spring when people want to clean up the pool) the entire pool shell can heave.
•This is because the water under the pool creates an upward hydrostatic force (through buoyancy) and the pool is lifted out of the ground .
Here is my advice - contact a local pool service company and pay them to come out and open your pool for the very first time. You can also get a pool guide by creative homeowner's that covers the basics. If you have any other specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Always research before doing the unknown!

http://swimming.about.com/od/poolandspamaintenance/a/drain_pool.htm

 

[spankomatic]

It seems like you should have the pool water tested first. Check with your swimming pool dealers and see if you can bring in a sample of your pool water for computer testing. Draining the entire pool seems extream!

http://www.bioguard.com/mp/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=a6b35b9160804110VgnVCM10000053d7010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&gclid=CNHTnJyBiKECFQQxiQodUhu9QQ

 

[alr2903]

Stevet, i would not think you would have to drain more than 1/2. IIRC stabilizer does not dilute/weaken like chlorine, so if your sisters pool does not get a lot of water splashed out of it the pool guy could be right. When we lived in Louisiana one very hot/dry July summer our ph was out of whack and the pool store that tested the water, had us dump 1/2 the water and refill, the stores recipe did clear up the water, with some algaecide etc. IIRC it took $150. to clear up our cloudy water. In the south by August you have to fiddle with the chlorine a couple of times a week. alr2903

 

[hydralique]

Re: CleanteamofNY

What he said . . . draining a pool can be done, but should be done carefully and it shouldn't be left empty as the pool shell can shift. It doesn't happen often, but if it does the pool is junk, so it pays to be careful.

 

[whirlcool]

We have and have had pools before. We have never had to drain them. But then again, we maintain the chemical balance year round. The water is always perfectly clear. Our pool also has a heater, but we never use it as it really eats the gas.
In the heat of the summer, I have noticed that you have to add more chlorine. It evaporates more quickly in hot water than in warm.

I have heard of pools popping out of the ground here as the weight of the water holds them tight against the high water table. If you drain it, the water from below will push it out, and it can have some force behind it!

 

[cycla-fabric]

No Way

The guy just wants to sell you some pool water. There shouldn't be any reason to change pool water unless you have a big problem with the pool that needs to be fixed.

Doug

 

[ironrite]

We do drain

Have the pool maintained by a pool service. And yes from 3-5 years will do a drain and change of water. We have to drain it into the sewer and not let it run in the street. Even the pool stores here ask the same question, when was the last time you drained your pool? Believe here it has to do with our water being so hard.

Not sure of any pools popping out the ground here. But you don't want to drain it in the Summer if you can help it as the plaster can crack from the heat.

 

[cleanteamofny]

When I took over this house with a pool, with a room for a pony.
I had a pool service to open the pool $175.00 just to connect hose to the filter and I thought that cleaning was included......., NOT!
I've done the cleaning myself (please note: never owned a pool in my life) and the water was spinach green with at least 25-50 lbs. of leaves at the bottom.
The pool was covered mind you, but I got that water crystal clear by constant back washing and chlorine/algae treatments and had the water tested.
All I needed to bump up the PH and was set to go.

Anyway, I dare not drain the water because of the high water table that I live on so I know not to do that!
I just wished I could afford a water heater, but the sun will do just fine.

 

[rayjay]

Our best friends own a Pool Business. They sell the chemicals, do service, sell pools, and sub-contract the installation of the pools. My friend Jim says to keep the water as high as you can, (especially if a vinyl liner). This keeps the vinyl supple and keeps it from drying out.

 

[whirlcool]

I have seen pool guys go into backyards and treat pools that looked like open sewers before and had them crystal clear in a day or so.

Another thing we have to watch out for here is to drain the pool slightly if we have a huge rainstorm. The water will actually overflow out of the pool. We have been told that this is bad for the edging tiles around the pool. We only take out a few inches of water.

 

[perc-o-prince]

I can't speak for a concrete/Gunite pool from experience, but it would seem to me that if you're not in a freeze area, there's be no reason to drain it.

For liner pools, unless you're having the liner replaced or there's a substantial repair that needs doing, they should be drained as little as possible according to any pool person who's visited. As mentioned, this is for stability, and it also holds the vinyl and walls behind the vinyl in place. When prepping a vinyl pool for closure, it should be drained to about 1/2 - 1" below the lowest port (skimmer or return). Then the lines drained and the rest.

The water in our pool has been there since the liner was replaced about 17-18 years ago, and will only be drained out this year because we need to replace the liner again. Each year when we open the pool, it varies in the shade of green or amount of solids in there. With some leaf/solid removal and shock/algecide, it comes back crystal clear each time.

Again, just from my experience and what visiting pros have advised.

Chuck

 

[whirlcool]

We currently have a gunnite pool, but in this area the drop in fiberglass pools seem pretty popular. Those are the ones that have the greatest risk of popping out of the ground.

Last year it got down to 18F for an overnight period. We just kept our pool filter running and the pool didn't freeze. As extra protection we turned the pool heater on.

 

[rocketwarrior]

Hydrostatic Pressure

Larry has a good point about the pool 'floating' on hydrostatic pressure. As a rookie 30 years ago one of my first major pieces of litigation involved a newly constructed hotel pool that rose before it was filled messing up plumbing, tile, etc.
This can also happen with underground tanks/vessels.

 

[sudsmaster]

Very interesting subject. I've never lived in a house with a pool, but enjoy them when visiting others who have pools.

In my current home, it already had a very thick concrete fish pond just outside the rear of the home. When I bought the place, the pond had been fallow for years. The pump was toast, and the pond had a crack in it that would gradually let the water drain out.

I cleaned out the pond, and then filled the crack with concrete patch compound. Then I painted the entire surface with UGL latex concrete paint. After a few water changes, it was ready for fish. I figure it's probably about 1,000 gallons. It took some time playing with various types of filtration and shading, but currently I have it set up so that the water doesn't go all green in the summer and the fish are pretty happy and healthy. It's entirely different than a swimming pool in terms of filtration and chemical treatment. Basically I encourage aerobic bacteria to grown in fiber mats at the top of a large rock waterfall, which takes the water from a converted small swimming pool filter that now contains bio blocks instead of sand.

Generally I never drain it, but periodically I back flush the bio filter and that seems to lower the pond level about four inches or so. In goes more tap water (de-chlorinated) to top it off and all are happy.

The water table is high here but the pond itself is on a raised area of the yard, and is only about 18 inches deep, so draining it wouldn't be a problem with heaving but it would mean relocating all the fish. Some of them are quite large now (to the point of outgrowing the pond) and it would be a chore to find other quarters for them. I monitor the water usage to keep it filled and so far there doesn't seem to be any unusual leakage issues, even after 12 years.

 

[supersurgilator]

Interesting topic. I have never heard of a pull literally up-rooting itself when the water is drained. Personally I don't see a reason to ever drain the pool. Like others have said if you take the water in to get tested and the chemicals adjusted it should work out fine.