Why Draining Your Pool Is A Last Resort.
Pool pros generally avoid draining an inground pool unless its absolutely necessary because it can cause expensive structural damage and in most cases isn’t necessary. If you drain the water low enough in a vinyl pool, the bead holding your liner in place can pop out. An empty concrete or fiberglass pool can crack, or suffer damages from Hydrostatic Pressure otherwise known as ‘pool pop’.
Hydrostatic pressure is a major reason draining your pool can be risky, it is the force that groundwater in the earth around your pool exerts on the underside of your pool. This pressure is powerful enough to crack concrete, to force the bead track to pop out of place, or to break open a fiberglass pool. All types of pools can be a victim of pool pop, but fiberglass pools have a higher risk due to the lightweight nature of the pool shell. When your pool is full, you don’t have to worry about this because the water in your pool is heavy enough to counteract this pressure. While it may seem far fetched, it happens often enough that many modern pools being built today come with hydrostatic relief valves to avoid this scenario. If you need to drain your pool, be sure to consult a a pool pro to find out how to prevent these problems for the type of pool you have.
Avoiding structural damage isn’t the only reason you shouldn’t drain your pool. Emptying your pool isn’t just a risky and expensive alternative. Filling an average sized residential pool takes about 17,200 gallons of water, if your pool is older with a deeper deep end and a diving board it will often range from 28,000 gallons to 36,000 gallons. That’s a lot of water to pay for,and sadly it is not a bullet proof method for solving the problem you have. If you have rust-colored pool water, stains everywhere, or chronic algae issues, the actual cause may be the source of the water your refilling the pool with. It can also be water hardness, a faulty pool component, runoff from nearby golf courses or agricultural land that is to blame. Taking a little extra time to perform a robust water chemistry analysis on your pool water and sometimes on the water coming out of your tap will make diagnosis of the problem much easier and avoid you making it worse in the long run. Knowing what’s in your pool water that is causing the issue before you decide on a course of action will save you and money and lead to solving the problem for good.
How to Fix Your Pool Water Without Draining It
Most pool water problems can be solved with a little hard work and perseverance, or by hiring a pool pro to do it for you. If you choose to take on the task yourself, these steps will put your pool on the path to being crystal clear.
Steps to Clean Up Your Pool
Remove large debris with a skimmer net or leaf rake.
Shock your pool by using breakpoint chlorination guidelines. This is best begun at dusk as the chlorine will not start being degraded by the sun’s UV rays. until the morning sun rises.
Run your filter overnight.
Vacuum up any dead organic matter that has fallen to the pool floor.
Clean your cartridge filter or clean and backwash backwash your DE or sand filter and ensure you have enough sand or DE in the filter for it to operate properly.
Run the filter and pump 24/7 until the water clears up.
Make sure that the water’s pH is 7.5, and the total alkalinity is around 120ppm.
Check the calcium hardness; it should be between 200-300ppm for fiberglass or vinyl pools and 300-400ppm for plaster pools. If it’s not, consult your local pool expert for a solution.
Adjust and maintain the free chlorine level to be between 2 and 5 ppm.
Add additional chemicals as needed, such as pool shock or algaecide.
It can take up to two weeks to clear up your pool on your own, so make sure you have the time to allocate to this before beginning. Your persistence will pay off! Once you learn how to tackle the toughest water quality problems, maintaining your pool will feel like a breeze. If these steps don’t solve the problem, reach out to a trusted pool pro to diagnose the issue. A broken pool filter, corroding pool heater, or another faulty pool component might be adding to the problem. If you’re in a hurry to get back to swimming the average pool pro should be able deliver clear blue water within 24-48 hours in most cases,
Don’t give up when your pool looks like a hot mess! Unless a raccoon, beaver, a flock of ducks or geese, or some other form of wildlife has turned your pool into their toilet which will likely introduce tough to kill bacteria and parasites, draining your pool isn’t the right solution. The best way to clean up your pool water is to follow the above steps to clean up your pool. If those steps don’t do the trick, reach out to a pool professional like Awesome Pool Guy!
