Consult Your Local Water Authority First
If you just start siphoning water out of your pool with a garden hose, you could end up costing yourself a lot of time, money, and grief. Many municipalities have their own rules about how, when, and where someone can drain their pool, and you need to abide by those rules.
For instance, most municipalities will require you to run your pool water through your homes sewer cleanout line so it will flow to a water treatment plant. Others might allow you to send all that water down the storm drains that line your street. Municipalities may also have water chemical composition regulations. Some may require the water to be chlorine neutral, which would necessitate a lot of chlorine neutralizer.
If There Are A Combination Of Things
Waiting until its absolutely necessary to do a pool drain has a hidden advantage you can do multiple things to the pool all at the same time.
Repair structural issues and then acid wash it. Replace a vinyl liner thats about to give up the ghost when doing a water swap. If you can time things right, youll save a lot of money by tackling multiple issues during a single drain.
Hook It Up: Install A Submersible Pump
Again, your regular pool pump isnt going to cut itits designed to suck in water, and once your pool drains even a little bit itll be sucking in air instead, which leads to a myriad of permanent damages. Its better to rent or buy a submersible pump, which isnt exactly cheap but wont break the bank.
Making sure that the power cord is long enough to reach from the bottom of your pool to your outlet, place the submersible pump on the floor in the center of the deep end. Its safer to avoid using an extension cord. The submersible pump will have a hose connected, and youll want to place the other end of that hose wherever youre draining out all that water. Make sure that it reaches all the way, or youll have thousands of gallons of water gone rouge to deal with.
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Drain A Pool With A Sand Filter
This is without doubt the easiest method to drain water from a pool after rain if you have a sand filter and a multiport valve with a waste setting.
Step 1 Run out backwash hose
Run out the backwash hose if you have one into the area you want the water to disperse. If your pool waste goes straight to your drainage system then this step is not necessary.
Step 2 Multiport valve to drain or waste
Set the multiport valve to either to the drain or the waste setting but make sure that you switch off the pump before you do this if it is running.
If you have a valve that shuts off water to the waste pipe then make sure this is open.
Step 3 Switch on the pool pump
Switch on the pool pump and then keep an eye on the water level. It should go down quite quickly so dont go off and leave it running as if you get delayed you may come back to a half-empty pool.
Step 4 Switch off the pool pump
When the water has reached its correct level, which would normally be approximately half way up the skimmer entrances, switch off the pool pump. Then put the multiport valve setting back to the filter position and turn the pump back on as normal.
How To Drain A Pool With A Garden Hose: Tips To Keep Your Pool Water Fresh
Learning how to drain a pool with a garden hose is crucial if you discover that your pool pump suddenly isnt working as it should. The last thing you want is to have to empty an in-ground pool or above ground pool with a bucket, after all.
Fortunately for those with pool problems, there could be an easy option. Using your garden hose, you can siphon the water from your pool using a series of easy steps. Using a siphon to drain a swimming pool is often much simpler than you might think.
Heres everything you need to know to empty your pool quickly with your garden hose.
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Seriously: Avoid The Inground Pool Pop
I know its tempting to skip to the part about how to drain your pool, instead of all these precautions. What could go wrong, right? Well, a lot. The worst of it is called pool pop ups, which is just what it sounds like: the bottom of the pool comes floating up, the PVC pipes underneath crack or separate, and the pool shell itself cracks. When this happens, the top edge of the pool also cracks or comes loose, the concrete decks around the pool get damaged, and the electric wiring going to the pool lights becomes damaged, which can be a major risk for electrocution. Yes, electrocution.
Oh, and homeowners insurance? It rarely covers the damage. Yeah, we really dont want this to happen to your pool. The safest way to ensure that the pool pop up doesnt happen to you is to hire a professional to drain your poolespecially if youre at high risk, such as if your location has a high water table , or if it has recently rained. Otherwise, the tips below should help you avoid this particular nightmare.
Have Your Repair Supplies Ready
No pool is meant to sit empty and dry. Plus, you may get an unexpected rainshower or thunderstorm. Then youll just have more water to pump out, and more cleaning to do.
Having everything you needtools, repair kits, paintready means you can get right to work and fill your pool back up as soon as possible.
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Why You Should Periodically Drain Your Pool
The single most important reason to drain your pool is to deal with TDS levels. When TDS levels get too high, they start to interfere with the chemicals at work keeping the water sanitary and clear. More and more chemicals are needed, which can be harsh on the skin and even damage the pool itself. Eventually, a point is reached where the water cannot be maintained properly no matter how many chemicals are used.
Most professionals recommend draining your pool every three to five years in order to keep TDS levels low, which I agree with. How often your pool needs to be drained depends on a number of factors, including overall use. If the pool is partially drained every winter, this dilutes TDS levels and will extend the interval between complete water changes.
Why Not To Drain A Pool
Draining a pool is risky business for several reasons. Your pool is not meant to be empty. Whether you have a vinyl, concrete, or fiberglass pool, it is at its best when its full of water. Once the water is drained, you open yourself up to all sorts of damage, so drain a pool only when there is no other option.
The greatest danger you face when draining a pool is hydrostatic pressure. Thats just a fancy term for the pressure of all of the groundwater around and under your pool pushing against your pools walls and floors. Water is heavy, and hydrostatic pressure can be significant. If you havent adequately planned for the onslaught of hydrostatic pressure, your pool could be severely damaged.
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Easy Ways To Drain Your Pool
Lowering your swimming pools water level can be an important part of protecting your pool and its equipment while the pool is closed down for the winter. To prepare for winter closing, drain your pool so the water level is 4″ below the pools wall skimmer. This allows room for any ice expansion that wont let the ice get high enough to potentially damage the pool equipment or press too hard against your pool walls. Below, our videos cover two simple methods in which to drain your pool.
On A Sunny Daybut Not A Scorcher
The last thing youd want to do is do this job in the pouring rain, but dont think youre in the clear just because the suns out. That hot sunshine can seriously wreck your pool. Drain it during a heat wave and youre and you can see damage anywhere from pool liner damage to cracked pool walls and floors. Make sure your empty pool is never left sitting in heat about 85 degrees Fahrenheit, 29 degrees Celsius.
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After Your Chemical Levels Are Down
Finally, you can take a break on treating your water. Bet you never thought youd hear me say that! The truth is, its probably required by your city that the water you drain doesnt have high concentrations of pool chemicals. Before draining your pool, use test strips to make sure that your water is chlorine neutral, has a neutral pH, and doesnt have high traces of other chemicals. For the exact levels required, contact your local water authority.
Draining Pool Water Using An Electric Pool Pump
To drain your pool water using an electric pool pump, follow the steps below:
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When You Have The Time
Again, you dont want to let your empty pool six for more than a week, max. But youll also need a significant amount of time during the draining process, because its never a good idea to run errands while youre moving thousands of gallons of water. My guess is that itll take upwards of eight hours to drain completelyand can last up to sixteen. And filling it? Thatll take just as long. Womp womp.
Remove The Remaining Water
This step is only for complete drainage when you need to replace your liner.
There are many ways to do this, but the fastest is to suction it out with a pump or a wet/dry vac.
If you simply cant spare the expense, you can use buckets or other containers to remove as much as you can until it’s empty enough to handle.
Some water will probably get dumped in the process, so just make sure you let it dry out pretty well before putting in a new liner so you can prevent bacteria and pool algae from forming under the surface.
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How To Drain An In
Draining an in-ground pool is much more involved than draining an above-ground one.
Your in-ground pool may have two or three hydrostatic plugs. Removing all of them is best, but make the one in the deep end the priority. It will release that upward pressure the quickest, and you wont have to fight running groundwater from the other plugs. Using this method, you should be able to avoid pool pop. Just be sure to replace the hydrostatic plugs before refilling.
Whats The Fastest Way To Drain A Swimming Pool
The Trash pump is one of the fastest methods to drain a swimming pool. You can rent a trash pump from most rental stores for around $89.00 for the day. The trash pump works with usually 3 inch or above suction and discharge hoses which allows the pump to empty many gallons of water at a time from the swimming pool.
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What Time Of Year Is Best To Drain A Pool
Depending on the type of material that your pool is made out of, exposure to the elements may damage it. Because of this, the best time to drain your pool is when the weather is mild. If the temperature will be over 85 degrees at any point in the process, it is best to postpone. The same is true of temperatures near or below freezing.
Because of these temperature parameters, the best time to year to drain a pool is usually in the spring or fall. Spring can be a good option, because the fresh water will then be ready for summer swimming. Fall can work, too, but most professionals do not recommend letting your pool remain empty over the winter, so you will need to at least partially refill it.
How To Drain An Inground Pool
Inground pools are known to be very hard to drain. Thats why we decided to make this short guide on how to drain an inground pool the easiest way possible.
How To Drain An Inground Pool| Sage Bathroom
Draining a pool can be a prettytough job because it takes really long to do. Its a pretty tough job that willtake you more than 10 hours if you do it the traditional way.
Of course, we want to do things the easier way which is why we created a short guide on how to drain an inground pool with ease.
This guide will show you that draining an inground concrete pool doesnt have to be such a drag.
All you need todo is follow our easy steps:
Contents
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Risks Of Improperly Draining Your Pool
There are a few risks:
- The pool can heave out of the ground
- Sun and exposure can damage your pool
- You can damage or burn out your filter pump
- You can back up the sewer system into your home
Your pool heaving out of the ground is a serious problem that may occur if the groundwater level in your area is high. This might be the case all of the time, or only after several days of heavy rain. The problem occurs when your empty pool starts to float on the groundwater and be lifted out of the ground.
Empty pools are also susceptible to damage from exposure. Vinyl pools tend to contract when emptied, which can result in damage when they are refilled. Gunite or fiberglass pools can crack, and fiberglass pools may suffer bulging or splitting if drained. It may also void your warranty to drain your fiberglass pool.
If you do not adjust your filter, pool pipes, and waste lines properly, you run the risk of damaging or burning out your poolâs motor. This can happen if the gallons per minute of your pump exceeds the ability of your waste line to handle. It can also happen if the filter sucks in air and ends up running dry.
Most municipalities do not allow you to dump pool water just anywhere. The approved location is usually your sewer system. However, putting too much water into your sewer system all at once can result in it backing up into your home.
How To Drain A Pool
Theres more to draining a pool than pulling a plug or starting a siphon. If you do it wrong, you could damage your pool, yard, and even your neighbors property. These tips on how to drain a pool will help.
There are several times during the life of a pool where it might need a fresh start. Whether you need to drain it because of repairs or maintenance that cant be done underwater or because the water quality has diminished beyond resolution, as pool draining is often necessary roughly every five years. And while draining a pool may seem like a simple concept, some pools like fiberglass and vinyl arent meant to be drained, so they require special consideration. There is a lot to know before you start.
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The Moment Weve Been Waiting For: Start Draining
Turn on the submersible pump and start draining. Youll want to stick around for this part, no matter how long it takes. Keep an eye on the cords and the hose to make sure that its all going smoothlyand keep a house flood from happening.
One task you can do while your pool is drained is switch over to saltwater, so that your chlorine is operating at the lowest, safest, and most consistent levels possible. Make a smooth transition with the Salt Ways Eco Friendly Salt Chlorine Generator. Its ultra-reliable and comes with a lifetime warranty.
