Don’t you know how to drain the water from your above-ground pool?
Perhaps you already know how to drain it, but you’d want to know how to do it in the quickest
and most effective manner possible.
There’s no need to worry about anything. We have covered everything in this article.
When Should You Drain an Above Ground Pool?
First, let’s talk about when you should drain your pool’s water because it isn’t always a smart idea.
The following are the most common situations:
Liner replacement
If you’re using a recognized underwater repair kit, you can fix a damaged pool liner without draining the water. Replacing a pool liner, on the other hand, necessitates draining the entire pool.
Replace stale water
If you don’t remove the old water first, there’s no use in adding new water. It’s important to remember that regular pool maintenance, including properly closing or winterizing your pool, should prevent the need for water replacement.
Pool chemistry adjustment
With the exception of the chlorine lock, the majority of chemical imbalances may be addressed without draining the pool. The only way to fix this is to replace the water, which is only possible if there is too much pool stabiliser or if there is a pH imbalance.
Shifting your pool
Moving an above-ground pool that contains water is a waste of time and money, not to mention the danger of harming the pool. Draining is essential whether you’re moving it a few feet or a few kilometres.
Storing your pool
In order to prepare for the winter or just to make room in the yard, it is necessary that water be drained.
How To Drain Above Ground Pool - 4 Methods
If you’re going to be dumping thousands of gallons of water into your backyard pool, it’s necessary to think about where the excess water will be directed and pooled (no pun intended).
Letting the water drain into your yard is fine as long as you know that the toxins in the water won’t harm your plants.
However, if you’re going to use gutters or storm drains, be sure they can manage a lot of water and that doing so doesn’t violate any local laws.
Use a sump pump
A sump pump of any capacity will handle the task of draining water from your swimming pool. Depending on how long it takes to drain, the size will vary.
The pool may be drained in an hour by a large commercial model with a hose diameter of 2 inches or greater. Even the smallest ones, which rely just on a garden hose, may need several days to complete the task.
An electric wire and a drain hose are connected to a sump pump, which is submerged in the water at the pool’s bottom. In order to drain your swimming pool, all you have to do is plug in an extension cable and run a drain hose from your pool to a nearby area where there is no water in the pool.
The water in a swimming pool may not be completely removed by a sump pump. Depending on the pump’s design, it may leave a gap of up to two inches.
There are certain sump pumps that are capable of sucking out nearly all of the water from the bottom. The majority of the pools are raised, but some will leave an inch or two of water in the pool to keep the temperature stable.
How long a sump pump will take to empty the pool may be determined by finding out how much water it pulls in every second and dividing that amount by the number of gallons in the pool.
Use a garden hose and a siphon
It is another method how to drain above ground pools. If you’re over 40, you may have been involved in the practice of transferring gas from one vehicle to another. This is precisely the same as what I meant.
This method of emptying a pool might be challenging for first-timers. However, it’s going to be OK.
You’ll need a working garden hose for this task. Many of these structures are old and riddled with holes and kinks, or they’ve been severely bent and collapsed.
Poor quality or non-functioning garden hoses will make the job more difficult or impossible altogether. Additionally, you’ll want weight for the hose’s submerged end.
- Put one end of the hose in the pool and weigh it down with anything heavy enough to hold it in place.
- The remaining hose should be run over the pool wall and into the yard or street, away from the pool. Occasionally, this alone can cause a siphon to form.
- As hard as you can, blow onto the end of the hose that is in your yard. It is possible to use an air pump or shop vac to blast air into the hose if it is long enough and you have one.
- Begin sucking air from the other direction immediately after step 3. In order to get water to flow from the pool to the yard, blow air into the hose.
If you’ve done everything correctly and have a decent hose, water should start leaking out of the pool and onto your yard. As long as the pool is not cleaned, this will continue.
Garden hose-spigot method
To create a siphon, you can try weighing down one end of the hose (step one above) and then momentarily hooking the other end of the hose to one of your outdoor spigots if the aforementioned method fails.
Take advantage of this opportunity to switch on the water. The pool will begin to fill with water as a result of this. The next step is to turn off the spigot, then quickly detach the spigot, and finally position the end of the hose in the yard.
The water in the hose will typically reverse flow, resulting in a siphon. Let’s take a look another method for how to drain above ground pool.
Poke holes in the liner (Only during liner replacement)
Because the primary reason to drain a pool should be to replace its liner (as stated above), this is our favorite technique of draining.
Draining an above-ground pool has never been easier than with this method. There’s no need to rent anything or rely on anything, and flooding your yard or your neighbor’s isn’t a concern.
You may use the pole that you use for your skimmer, vacuum, and brush to jam it into the liner at the bottom of the pool. This can be done using your pool pole. The pool will be able to gently drain into the soil as a result of this.
The pool will take a long time to empty if you merely poke a few holes in the bottom. This method might take a few days for some people. Poke extra holes in the lining if you want it to drain more quickly. The more holes you make, the faster the water will drain.
It is possible to completely dry out the pool’s bottom while draining it this way in preparation for a liner change. In some cases, the bottoms of above-ground pools aren’t extremely smooth.
There are a few exceptions to this rule, so be aware of that before you go. If your pool is located in a wet area (due to high groundwater levels), this method of draining will not be effective.
Furthermore, even if the pool drains, the ground may become too damp to do a liner replacement. Changing the liner of a pool in a wet location may not be possible if the ground is already wet.
Use the main drain
Of course, this is only a possibility if your above-ground pool has a main drain. Doing so will be a breeze. Here is how to drain above ground pool using the main drain method:
- Disconnect the skimmer’s valve.
- Open the drain valve at the main line. As a result, the suction is now focused solely on the drain’s main body.
- To empty a filter that uses a cartridge, remove the drain plug. The multiport valve should be turned to waste for sand filters.
- Connect a backwash hose to the drain out or waste and direct it away from the pool.
- Turn off the pool’s return valve. This effectively prevents any draining water from being returned to the pool.
- Turn on the pump and completely empty the pool.
Draining an above-ground pool unless you’re replacing the vinyl liner is never a good idea. If the water in your pool is so poor that you need to drain it, we recommend dumping it down to the bottom and re-filling it immediately.
Conclusion
Draining an above-ground pool is simple, if you know how. There are several methods here, given the size of the pool. Using a garden hose and a bucket or pump is the most cost-effective method, but hiring professional drain cleaners may speed up the procedure considerably.
Clearly, there are several methods to perform the task successfully. You may select the one that best fits your needs and the size of your pool.
Last but not least, after refilling your pool, make sure to restore its chemical balance.
