Draining Your Swimming Pool - DIY or Hire a Pro?
While the thought of an empty swimming pool can be somewhat uncomfortable to many swimming enthusiasts, draining a pool might be a necessary evil. Even with the best pool maintenance techniques, wholly or partially draining the pool will be required every few years to replace the water and preserve its water quality.
When debating whether to drain a swimming pool, it might be tempting to turn it into a DIY project. However, there might be some unforeseen consequences of draining a swimming pool. Read this article to determine if you should hire a professional to drain the pool instead.
Why drain a pool
Pools are most commonly drained to remove water-dissolved solids. Over time, as more chemical treatments are needed to maintain good water quality, more dissolved solids are introduced into the pool. These solids' presence makes it more difficult to maintain water balance (alkalinity, pH, and calcium hardness). At over 2500ppm of total dissolved solids, balancing the water becomes next to impossible. Pools will also need to be drained for repairs or paint jobs.
Possible problems of draining a pool
Pools can store quite a lot of water. The sheer mass of liquid inside acts as a stabilizer, weighing the pool down and counterbalancing the surrounding soil pressure. When a pool is drained, it might pop out of its base, or the walls may buckle, especially vinyl and fiberglass pools. Even with the more substantial base of concrete pools, the surrounding groundwater is pushed out by the pool water's weight, so removing it might cause a cave-in.
Tips for draining a pool
If you decide to perform a DIY pool drain, there are a few tips to keep in mind. First off, dispose of the pool water far away from the pool. Dumping the water in the ground around the pool can cause a chemical disaster for the surrounding soil. Groundwater levels can skyrocket, creating a danger to the pool's base as the ground swells to accommodate the additional liquid.
Secondly, if draining a fiberglass or vinyl pool to maintain water balance, we recommend only a partial drain. Draining about a third of the water will have fewer adverse effects on the pool's structural integrity.
When draining the pool, turn off the lights, pumps, and filters. If air happens to get into the water pump, the entire pump might break. Additionally, rent or buy a submersible pump to drain the pool to minimize risk to the primary pool pump.
When the pool is ready to be refilled, use a regular garden hose. Two hoses will get the job done quicker, but still expect it to take hours to fill a larger pool. After the water has settled, test it to achieve proper pH and alkaline levels, which is especially useful for partial drains to determine how the water has mixed.
Hire a pro
If you're still uncertain how to drain your pool without incurring damage and more bills, hire a professional pool service to help. Older pools might have cracks or wear that are not readily visible but might rear their head after the pool's been drained and the damage is already done.
Pool Tile Cleaning Vegas offers pool tile cleaning, calcium removal, acid washing, pool draining, and media blasting services, in Las Vegas and Henderson. Call us at (702)605-6936.
