How To Filter Well Water For Pool

How To Drain Water From Your Swimming Pool

When Should I Drain My Swimming Pool?

• In cases where your water has a high level of Total Dissolved Solids , a Pinch A Penny expert may recommend that you drain some water from your pool and add fresh water.
• If you know that a large tropical storm or hurricane is approaching, you may also want to drain some water to prevent overflow.
• In the event you need a repair or resurfacing, the techs will take care of this process.

Regardless, consult with an expert first before deciding to take water out. These steps apply to inground and above ground pools, as well as saltwater and chlorine-treated pools. If you decide this is a necessary step, this article will show you how to drain water out of your swimming pool, regardless of what type of filter you have.

Warning: We do not recommend you drain a pool past the skimmer line. Doing this may cause your pump to run dry, damaging or destroying it.

How to Drain A Pool with a Cartridge Filter

For those pools that have a cartridge filter, there are two ways to achieve this.

1. Using the Drain Plug

• Shut off the pump.
• Go to the back of the filter and unscrew the drain plug.
• Turn the pump back on and let the water run until it reaches the point where you want to drain the water out.
• Turn the pump back off and put the plug back into the drain plug.

2. Using the Drain Valve- If your system has a valve in between the pump and the filter.

How to Drain a Pool with a Sand Filter

How to Drain a Pool with a DE Filter

What Happens If My Pool Has Too Muchiron

The first ones thatwill suffer from an overwhelming amount of iron are your pool, hair, and nails.

Too much of it can harmyour walls, floor, and pump, leaving it all stained. Not only that, but yournails and hair will also be discolored as a swimmer. Who would want that? Noone.

Eventually, the rustcan corrode copper metals as well, impacting other parts of your fixtures.

Thus, it is imperativeto know about the indications of extreme iron before it makes your pool rust.

How To Hook Up A Water Filter To A Well

• Grey Water in New Home Construction

Getting your water directly from the earth via a well sometimes means you get a little earth in your water. Well water often benefits from basic filtration, and a simple sediment filter is an uncomplicated way to make your household water supply a bit more appealing to drink and bathe in.

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Use Culator Ultra Powerpak 40

Just like pre-filter, CuLator Ultra PowerPak works by removing metals from your water before entering the pool and therefore will not be oxidized when chlorine is added.

CuLator can be used on the skimmer or pump basket and has an added advantage since it can remove 4.0ppm total dissolved metals like Copper, Iron, Zinc, and Manganese in 20,000 gallons of water, and you can increase its metal filtering power by putting more in both the skimmer and pump basket.

Well Water Must Be Tested At Least Once A Year

The nature of well water is continually changing, and the most ideal approach to secure your family is to have your water tested. While it isn’t required by the public authority, it’s a fundamental move to keep your family protected. The EPA suggests that you test your well once a year for E. coli and coliform bacteria at total minimum. You ought to likewise test your water for radon and arsenic, minerals like iron, manganese, nitrate levels, and any volatile organic compounds to guarantee your home’s water is protected.

If you do see a change of water quality such as the appearance, smell, taste, and the like, it’s a smart thought to have your well tested, regardless of whether it hasn’t been a year since the last test.

There are at-home, out-of-the-box tests you can buy and perform yourself. When you opt for this way, read what precisely the kit is testing for not all tests are made equal.

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How To Fill Your Pool With Well Water

One of the things to consider when filling your pool with well water is the well pump. Submersible pumps are usually the best for this. If you are using a submersible pump, water from the well pump at a higher PSI. That is if its connected properly.

Another alternative is to use pool pumps to fill up your pool. However, you will be putting so much pressure on the pool pump because its meant to push water into the pool through the filtration system.

During the process of filling, make sure you are careful of the well so that it doesnt get dry. Else, it will damage the pump.

Are Drinking Pool Water Dangers Overblown

Drinking swimming pool water can be safe in an emergency, but not particularly recommended in general.

That said, most swimming pools are maintained and treated properly for it to be technically safe to drink. Years ago I had a in-ground swimming pool where I used to live. I maintained it perfectly and it could have been used as a backup if needed. Heres what one commenter here had to say:

Given the choice and depending on the length of time a particular emergency might manifest, dedicated potable water storage would be the preferred solution. Still, in a pinch, I most certainly would not write off the reservoir in the backyard

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Is It Organic Stain Or Metal Stains

If not careful, you might mistake Copper and Silver stains to be green and black algae respectively. Before starting treatment for metal stains, you need to be certain that you are dealing with metal stain caused by heavy metals such as Iron, Copper, and Silver, or organic stain caused by algae, plants, leaves, and more.

Uv Water Filtration Systems For Home

Besides RO whole house filters there are other alternative systems like UV. Ultra Violet Treatment has been around for decades in water treatment and works well if the water being treated doesnt contain particulate matter that can negatively affect the operation.

Wells systems that employ this type of treatment for bacteria removal normally uses Pre-and Post Filters to remove finer particulate matter before the water is treated with Ultraviolet light.

If you decide to go with the UV instead of Carbon Filters or Reverse Osmosis you will still need the Pre-filters along with Post Filters. Higher water pressures may damage equipment and may not allow for proper exposure time with a UV lamp.

The systems are installed so they can be isolated much like all the other components that make up the whole house filtration system. Every component is plumbed so it can be bypassed and replaced if needed.

Ultraviolet or UV energy is found in the electromagnetic spectrum between visible light and x-rays and is described as invisible radiation. In order to kill microorganisms, the UV rays must actually strike the cell.

UV energy penetrates the outer cell membrane, passes through the cell body, and disrupts its DNA stopping the reproduction of cells. UV treatment does not alter water chemically nothing is being added except energy.

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Pool Water May Be Reasonably Safe But

In summary, it may be reasonable to use pool water as a drinking source if it was well maintained, properly and safely treated, and for extra protection filtered through a quality drinking water filter.

Note that unless the pool is your own, you will not know what someone else may have put in their pool besides chlorine. Im certainly not advising that all swimming pools are safe to drink from. Although when you think about it, how many people end up inadvertently drinking gulps of water from a pool and surviving just fine Whens the last time you heard of someone keeling over sick because they drank water from their swimming pool? Thats what I thought probably not

Factors That Determines If Your Well Water Has The Capacity To Fill A Swimming Pool

Surely, if you have a well with the capacity of filling your pool, why would you invest your money in another water source? You might save yourself some cash. However, there are some things to using well water.

Before you go about using your well water to fill up your pool, you have to consider some factors.

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Filling A Pool With Well Water: What To Consider

Can a well provide enough water for your pool? This depends on the size of your pool and the wells supply. The wells flow rate is the number of gallons of water it can produce per hour which actually represents how quickly water flows back into the well. In other words, a well cant expel more water than it takes in.

Around 600 gallons per hour would be considered a high flow rate, and anything lower than about 150 gallons per hour would be low. If it has a high flow rate, the well can most likely fill a pool, but with a low flow rate, it may run dry. You should also consider whether youre sharing the water table with neighbors and whether youre currently in a drought.

Most wells are drilled deep into the ground, which makes the water less likely to be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and human waste. However, since it sits below ground level for a relatively long time, theres a good chance the water contains various minerals and trace metals. These can include:

• Arsenic
• Vanadium
• Zinc

When it comes to swimming pools, the presence of these contaminants can create some issues. For example, calcium hardness can lead to clogged filters and pipes.

Additionally, when water contains too much manganese or iron, it can lead to bacteria growth. In some instances, high levels of iron can visibly tint the water a brownish-green color and stain the walls of a pool or swimmers hair.

Ducks Prefer To Mate In The Water

Lastly, ducks prefer to mate on the water, so if youre trying to breed within your flock, providing them with access to a pool or pond every day is necessary.

While ducks can mate on land, its kind of a last resort. By providing a safe and sanitary space for them to do their business, you increase your chances of getting more baby ducklings.

Ducks are prey animals, meaning it is in their nature to avoid danger. One way they do this is by staying in a flock. Ducks need to be kept with other ducks to feel safe. To learn more, visit my article Do Ducks Get Lonely? What You Need to Know.

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So Whats The Solution Build A Reverse Osmosis Kit

This set-up should remove approximately 95 of all minerals and contaminates in the pool water, making itin my opinion reasonably safe for human consumption IF there is no other alternative.

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One other point: if your power goes out, your pool pump goes out, too. Which means that within a few days, your pool is going to turn a lovely emerald green.

This we do not want. At least, not any sooner than is avoidable.

So if you dont already keep your pool covered, be sure to have a dark tarp on hand that you can toss across the pool the second you realize that youre going to be without power for the foreseeable future. The tarp/cover wont make your pool immune to an eventual algal bloom, but itll delay it. Itll also help cut down on evaporation of a precious resource.

And once that algae does appear, which it inevitably will? Just treat it with a camp filter to take out the big chunks before running the water through your trusty RO set-up.

Its not that your RO system cant handle algal water directly its just that pre-filtering your slimly pool muck will extend the life of your RO cartridges that much longer.

But What If You Need To Drink That Water Anyway

Okay, so now you know drinking pool water straight out of the deep end is a bad idea.

But lets say you find yourself in an extended emergency situation and youve either consumed all your stored potable wateror never stored drinking water in the first place! Well, then, using your pool water as a personal reservoir may be your only option.

Ive read a ton of stuff online about the possibility of building a solar still to remove all the chemicals from your pool water , but even in the driest environments, this just doesnt seem practical.

At the scale one could reasonably construct a solar still within the confines of an urban backyard, the numbers Ive found indicate that on a daily basis, you would fall far short of the quantity of potable water you would need for a single person, let alone an entire family.

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What Else Can Be Done To Reduce The Risk Of Ecoli Contamination

There are a number of precautions that can be taken which will dramatically reduce the risk of e.coli contamination in water suppies. Some of the most common precautions include periodically shock treating the well and your plumbing system with bleach/chlorine, ensuring that the well is properly capped and sealed, and keeping potential bacteria sources like septic fields and animals as far away from your water source as possible. Those involved in farming activity can take further precautions such as not wearing farm work clothes or footwear in the home, and using proper hygiene particularly after contact with animals.

Other precautions include keeping water toughs and drinking bowls clean, keeping pumps, pipes and well equipment off the ground when being repaired and disinfecting any water placed in a well. Never use water from a lake or pond in your well.

Cons Of Well Water For Pool

• Well water can have a high amount of trace metal and dissolved irons. This can cause staining and discoloration on the walls of the pool.

• Can also have high amounts of minerals.

• There is the risk of running the well dry, especially when filling a large pool.

• Treating the water can be high in cost for large pools.

• Its time-consuming. Filling the pool with well water can take a few days.

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Whats Your Wells Flow Rate

You might not think that your well waters flow rate is important, but it does play a crucial role in how effectively youll be able to fill your swimming pool.

The flow rate of your well refers to how many gallons of water it can produce every hour and how quickly the water flows back into the well.

A high flow rate would be approximately 500 or 600 gallons of water, as Pool Calculator reports, but anything less than about 100 gallons could result in the water running dry, so you need to consider your wells flow rate before you use it to fill your pool.

Make Sure You Fill Your Pool Slowly

While you might think that you should go ahead and fill your swimming pool with water from your well in one go, this is actually best not to do.

The reason is because your household water supply might not be able to deal with the extra demand of filling your pool, especially if your pool is large.

Bear in mind it can take up to 48 hours for a large swimming pool to get filled! Thats a lot of water in one go.

Its also worth bearing in mind that if your wells water supply is shared by other households who also use the groundwater, this could cause you to inhibit their water supply.

Based on these considerations, its a good idea to slowly fill your pool with well water over a few days.

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Care Is Required If You Have Well Water & A Swimming Pool

Typically dug, drilled or otherwise excavated, a water well is a manmade structure used to access underground aquifers for water. Many people are familiar with the old wishing wells with buckets, which were used to draw up water. Today, modern wells use powerful pumps to pull water from the ground.

The world’s oldest recognized manmade water wells were created in 7,500 BCE on Cyprus, an island located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Throughout history humans have used wells as a water source and places to gather. They range from the simple soakages Australian Aborigines accessed by sucking on reeds like soda-pop straws placed in certain points of the desert, to the deep and open-aired stepwells found in western India used not only as a source of water but as a community gathering area.

Dug Wells vs. Drilled Wells

Today wells are created either by digging, driving or drilling. Driving is the least common method, and we will avoid that subject for this article. Most wells in the world today are created by using the drill method or the dug method. Both are used in different areas of the world for different reasons.

Modern dug wells are created using a method called caissoning, where pre-cast concrete or reinforced concrete rings are lowered one by one into a shaft while a work crew digs out from under a cutting ring, so the well slowly sinks down to the aquifer.

Modern Water Wells & Your Swimming Pool