Drain vs cleaning up my swamp each year

[Riven]

Each year it takes me weeks to get my pool clean, I slam it, adjust the ph, add the cya, vacuum and sweep daily, which can be exhausting after a twelve hour shift... this year we ran into some replacement part delays so we're even more behind! I'm really wondering if it wouldn't be easier to drain it in the spring and just refill... and very possibly cheaper as well.
We're in nebraska do our swim season usually runs May to September at the most, I usually seem to spend the first month getting it cleared up, one it's cleared I don't have issues really keeping it that way.

Note: we have an acreage with a yard/garden well. So we have plenty of room to drain it, and don't pay a water fee to refill like some do.

Thoughts? Pros? Cons?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

How do you close the pool? Do you cover it well? Do you close late and open early? Do you bring it up to SLAM level before closing?

I can't imagine losing all that time and spending on chemicals if I could avoid it.

 

[Riven]

Usually by the end of August I'm the only one swimming a couple times a week so usually we shut it down about beginning of September. The issue is it's still warm in Nebraska in September a lot of times this last winter was extremely mild and we had a lot of days that were fifties sixties and even up into the seventies with only one major snowstorm. We opened late this year because my grandpa got sick and passed away shewas basically my father and my grandfather in the last two weeks I have put approximately $20 a day worth of bleach into the pool and I'm still having troubles maintaining every time I almost get there we have a massive storm or a five-day rain and then I'm basically starting over. For the last week it's been cloudy and I'm working on getting the PH down and the cya up it's been a slow process

 

[duraleigh]

How big is your pool? A pool is far easier to manage than what you are going through. read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. That'll get you started. Any pool can normally be cleaned and ready in a week or less.

 

[Bryan C]

Just a thought but extend your season by a month in the beginning and the end. Even if nobody is swimming it's nice to be ready for that random hot day. It's way easier to get it up and running before stuff starts growing in the warmer water.

 

[Riven]

I don't know if I can spread my open season a lot but could try. Mother nature in Nebraska is somewhat bipolar. We can go from 3 foot of snow type blizzard to 70 in a week easy in the middle of December. I've been vacuuming every other day but not really getting much up now. I think the circulation could be improved but I'm not sure the best way to do it. I was considering actually putting a sump pump on the bottom to get things moving, I'm hoping to have it fairly good by next weekend. I kind if think last year I had to add DE to get it cleared up. This spring I opened the filter to check everything and sand level, it's good. When I back wash I get a lot out, been backwashing the three times a day and it's always really milky.

 

[Caco]

To my mind if you have good free fill water and a short swim season it would make sense to run your pool as a seasonal pool and refill every spring. Then you would prob only have to do a mini slam to kill off any algae left in plumbing and filter

So whats your fill water like?

I agree with the open early close late comments too

 

[KazzyK810]

Note: we have an acreage with a yard/garden well. So we have plenty of room to drain it, and don't pay a water fee to refill like some do.

Thoughts? Pros? Cons?

If it's not costing you for water and your pool is stable enough without water, I'd probably drain & refill each season.

In Michigan, our pool season is basically Memorial Day to Labor Day, so I open my pool on May 1st, so it gives me a few weeks to get it clear before Memorial Day.

I had an IG fiberglass pool at my last house and had to keep water in it, and now I have an Intex AG and I'd either have to take it all down and pack it away (which isn't happening after the ground prep I did), or keep enough water in it to keep it stable and stop it from blowing around.

 

[Riven]

It's a steel side ag, half buried. Our water here has ph of about 8.2, otherwise good. I'm still sitting at milky past the third rung... We've had three rains this week so that doesn't help anything. Might put the sump pump in there to get the bottom circulated good to see if that helps. Between work and family obligations I haven't had time to check it every hour or so, I've been keeping it over 10ppm tc when I check it 2-3 times per day. Vacuuming at least every three days. We have a party here Sunday, it's three am and just got home from an obligation with my daughter in a town two hours away and I work tomorrow so I guess we'll just see what we can do....