WHEN TO DRAIN A SWIMMING POOL

When Should You Drain Your Swimming Pool?

Pool maintenance is very important, but pool owners don't need to drain their pools as often as some think. However, there are also some circumstances where it’s necessary to drain your pool entirely. These reasons usually have to do with water quality or repair needs.

When and Why You Should Drain Your Pool

Pools usually don’t need to be drained. You could damage the pool by draining it without first checking to see if it needs to be drained. To ensure that it does not, experts have figured out methods of draining a pool without damaging it. However, there are reasons why you might consider draining your pool:

• Your pool needs some repair works
• Repainting and/or refinishing
• Total dissolved solids levels

Total dissolved solids (TDS) are the substances that build up in the pool water over time. Eventually, they cause the water chemistry to become very unstable. This means that more and more chemicals are required in order to maintain your pool water within the correct parameters. Fortunately, you can solve this problem without draining the pool entirely.

If you need repairs or refinishing on your pool, we’ll handle the drainage process. It's often the best idea to drain your pool properly. Water damage from leaking pools can do more harm than good. If you’re going to be fixing or refinishing your own pool, it is important to educate yourself about your type of pool.

What Time of Year is Best to Drain Your Pool?

The type of material that your pool is made out of will affect how well it withstands exposure to the elements. This is why the best time to drain your pool is during the mild months of the year. If the temperature is expected to be over 85 degrees at any point during the processing, it is best to hold off on the start. The same is true of water temperatures that are near or below freezing.

Because of these temperatures, the best time to drain a pool is usually in the spring or fall. Spring is the perfect time to start your backyard swimming pool because the water will be cleaner by the end of summer. Fall can be a great time to take a vacation, but most professionals do not recommend leaving your pool empty over the winter. So you will need to at least partially refill it.

Why You Should Drain Your Pool Periodically

One of the most important reasons to drain your pool is to deal with the levels of TDS. 

When the TDS level in the water gets too high, it causes the chemicals to interfere with the water’s ability to keep the water clean. There are a lot of chemicals, and they're not good for the pool or the water. Eventually, there’s always a point at which adding more and more chemicals into the water won’t make it work better.

Most professionals recommend draining your pool every five to seven years in order to keep TDS levels low. The drainage of your pool depends on a number of factors. You need to consider the overall use of your pool and what the maintenance routine looks like. When the pool is partially drained, it's important to drain the pool to eliminate algae growth and prevent further TDS buildup.

Proper Way to Drain Your Pool

Before you drain your swimming pool, you need to determine if the groundwater levels are right for it. If water levels are high enough, they can actually make your empty swimming pool pop out of the ground. Fiberglass and vinyl liner pools require special treatment because they are usually not built to be completely drained out. Removing the water from these pools can lead to a change in the surface that causes bowing or cracking of the surface.

A great idea for a pool owner is to evaluate the groundwater situation and assess the needs of your type of pool before choosing the best way to drain your pool. You can often find these at pool supply stores or hardware stores. The filter pump is a good idea for draining a swimming pool, but it can damage a piece of equipment that is expensive.

If you need to drain the pool, you’ll first need to shut off the water valve at the inlet. Sewer lines have no ability to handle large amounts of water at one time, so the outflow should be kept under about 12 gallons a minute or less. It’s possible to drain a pool with a garden hose in a couple of hours, but the process takes a bit of practice and attention. It would then have to be partially refilled, so you could expect it to take a couple of days to complete.

There are many reasons that you might want to drain your pool completely or partially. Though it's a big task and doing it wrong can result in unwanted consequences. Planning ahead can help you avoid a big headache down the road.