How and When to Empty the Pool
The upside of having a backyard pool is that you have a damn pool right in your backyard ! For example, a few steps from where you live, available for use as often as you want, throughout the summer. The downside of having your own pool is its maintenance and general care. And that’s a lot.
Of course, you can technically hire someone to do this, but you might be spending your entire budget on the pool itself, and hiring another person to service it is financially impractical. So you’re stuck doing it yourself, including the dreaded task of emptying the pool.
If you’ve never done this before, you are likely to have a lot of questions, starting with when to drain the water and how to do it.
First of all, check with your local water authority.
It turns out that many municipalities, cities, counties and other local water authorities have their own sets of rules when it comes to how, where, and whether or not to drain a pool, as noted by Tom Scalisi in a recent article for ThisOldHouse. .com :
For example, most municipalities will require you to run water from your pool through your home’s sewer line to allow it to flow to your wastewater treatment plant. Others may allow you to channel all this water down the storm sewer that lines your street. Municipalities may also have water chemistry standards. Some may require the water to be chlorine neutral, which would require a large amount of chlorine neutralizer.
When to drain your pool
As you familiarize yourself with the local rules for draining pool water, you may also notice that your area has rules as to when you are allowed to drain pool water. Typically, this is due to certain time windows during the day when you are not allowed to drain the pool water to prevent the streets and sewers from flooding with all that extra water, especially during the rainy season.
If your local water authority does not specify the time of year when pool drains are allowed, then it is up to you to decide what season and weather you can choose. Scalisi recommends doing this in the spring or fall :
Summer heat can cause blistering and destroy the pool liner if not submerged. Winter frozen ground can push an empty pool upward – a situation known as “pool burst”. Therefore, before starting, wait for good dry weather in spring or autumn, when the water table is low and the daytime highs do not exceed 85 degrees.
How to drain the pool water
We must start by making it clear that not all pools are designed to drain water, including fiberglass or vinyl. If your pool falls into one of these categories, check with the manufacturer if you’re unsure how to maintain it.
To drain other types of pools, Scalisi says you will need the following items and equipment:
- Fully submersible pump (can be bought or rented)
- Garden hose long enough to run from pool to drain.
- Sump to garden hose adapter (if not included with the pump)
- Replacing hydrostatic plugs
- Hammer
- Screwdriver or chisel
- Pliers, large
As you might have guessed, there are different instructions for draining aboveground and underground pools, and Scalisi walks you through the process for each in her article , as well as how to avoid the unpleasant phenomenon known as “pool splash”. … “