Hurricane Advice needed!

[tgillesp]

I thought I posted this question earlier but cannot find it, so here goes again! I am in the path of the storm and have a 52 in above ground right outside my bedroom window. I am concerned about the possibility of it bursting and sending thousands of gallons of water into my home. What would you guys advise? Should I let some water out? Or will that weaken the pool further? What should I do about preparing it for a few days of no pump running? Thanks for advice!

 

[kimkats]

I too am in the path of the storm. I have a 33'x52" above ground pool.

I plan on putting my bleach at shock level on Mon. or Tues before I go to bed. It all depends on WHEN they say the storm will start hitting us. I plan on leaving the pump on to make sure I have a good mixture and just because.

I will also have my dump hose set and ready to go so I can dump water as needed.

We have put up all pool toys and outside furniture.

If we lose power I will use my husband to "stir" the pool! LOL He can/will/does walk/run in the pool and gets a good stream going around the inside of the pool!

We have way to may critters to leave so we will be here through out.

Good luck!

Kim

 

[erivette]

Good luck to y'all and everyone in it's path!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Leave it fairly full as long as it overflowing won't endanger the house. If you think you'll be out of power a while, raise it to shock level just before it gets to you.

If there is a good possibility it would flood the house if it gets damaged, I'd plywood and sand bag the nearest entrance point before the storm hits.

There's not a great chance that it'll get damaged to the point of rupture.

You really don't need to much of anything else. Secure all the unattached items of course.

 

[KurtV]

I think it's unlikey to rupture without storm surge and in that case it won't make a dime's worth of difference.

Agree with the posts recommending high levels of chlorine.

 

[zea3]

The only thing you would need to worry about is if a tree falls on the pool or it takes a direct hit from a tornado. Unless you are in the middle of a bald prairie the winds alone will probably not damage the pool. I am located about 6 miles from Galveston Bay and my pool was still standing after a direct hit from Ike. I was surprised to see how it had gone from crystal clear to black in about 2 days. In my case, I let it stagnate while we cleaned up the debris in the yard first. When I could tackle the pool I netted out as much debris as I could and followed the shock process when the power came back on 5 days later.

You can bring the pool to shock level before the storm but if you are on the wet side it probably won't help keep algae away. I would stock up on bleach and CYA. You will likely need both. The good news is if your CYA is sky high now it probably will be much lower after the storm! Also get a patch kit incase anything that blows into the pool damages the liner.

If you are in an area that is predicted to flood, take the pump inside. You don't want to try to run it if it was submerged.
Good luck and stay out of harm's way!


P.S. If you have an Intex style pool you should go ahead and take it down. I dont think one of those would survive a direct hit.

 

[anonapersona]

I also suggest that you take a look at the path that water takes to leave your back yard.

Typically there is a shallow U-shaped swale created in every yard during construction before grass is brought in. All too often homeowners unknowingly fill that in with plants or walkways or else it just fills itself in over time.

Before Rita hit Texas, with a house still full of family escaping Katrina, we cleared that swale by lowering the lawnmower to the max and cutting a swath of destruction at the side of the house through the gate, all the way to the street. We also had a tree trimmer come in the few days before the storm, to remove about 20 - 25% of the tree canopy and any low hanging limbs that might hit the roof in big winds. You want the trees to have some air space to let the wind though, so they don't topple.

 

[anonapersona]

P.S. If you have an Intex style pool you should go ahead and take it down. I dont think one of those would survive a direct hit.

Really? I thought the advice I usually hear regarding AGP is to fill it to the top or near the top allowing for the forecast rain levels to prevent catching wind and hope for the best in that regard. With a lot of rain, as expected in this slow moving storm, overflow will be a real issue. Plus, it may be that you NEED that water after a storm. If it is clean enough you can use it, even with no power, if you keep it chlorinated. I might not drink it but I'd sure want to keep that water and all the costly chemicals that it takes to rebalance a fresh fill.

I think if I had an AGP and worried about overflow, I'd secure a garden hose with the head about 5 inches below the rim of the pool. I'd snake that hose through the yard, the side yard and out somewhere very close to the front door. Might have to string several hoses together. Then during the storm if I could somehow see that the pool was threatening to overflow, I'd step outside and take a long suck on that hose to start a siphon. If the hose was empty to start (has to be empty, be sure of that), one draw would be all it took to get water moving out of the pool. It would flow until the pool level fell enough to break suction. Now, from my front door the water would naturally flow down the walkway to the street, your situation might be different.

And, that trick probably would not work a second time, since the hose would then be full of water and sucking on that enough to get a siphon started is much harder. Possibly one could raise the hose up into the air above your head, long enough for water to flow backwards to refill the air gap at the pool and drop it to the ground to get it started again, maybe.

I think that 5 inches would be enough space for storm rainfall, given that you could use this trick to get another 5 inches out if you had to. Odds are that the rain will continue long after the winds have passed so you ought to have a chance to go out and tend to the pool at some point if you must.

I do like the sand bag suggestion. If our spa was hit by a tree that water would surge into the living room doors. I have always thought that I would just partly drain the spa since it is so elevated and nearest the house. That would mean that while the pool was running the spa would be out of circulation, not a bad thing, I guess.

 

[zea3]

I'm not talking about an above ground pool with rigid metal sides. That is what I have and it made it through Ike just fine! I am talking about what is primarily a bag of water supported by flimsy steel poles. You can walk up to a full one and give it a good shake and feel the poles move. Persistant strong winds for several hours would likely cause it to collapse.

 

[anonapersona]

Thanks then Zea3, I do not know much about those, for sure. Maybe the hint about siphoning an AGP can help someone else then.