To Drain or Clean?

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ChristineM

ChristineM

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Bronze Supporter
Jun 16, 2017
60
Brentwood, NOR CAL
Well my pool has turned into a swamp again before I had a chance to get to it (weird, warm weather here in CA)
anyway, I was going to shock it, clean vacuum etc... then cover but honestly, I don't know if I have it in me to do all that work right now. But then thought it might be better to drain it instead.
Any suggestions?
Thank you :)
 
Even if you did decide to do a healthy water exchange, you never want to drain it completely. If you do, you run the risk of the walls or liner shifting. So are you in NoCal where it's cold enough to close, or are you just in an area with mild-cold temps? How about posting your test numbers so we can see what you have to work with chemically and we can try to give you some ideas forward?
 
I lived about an hour or so from that area for a while. I can relate to the chilly temps, but freezing is probably not a huge concern. So whether you leave the pool running (minimal run times) or actually close it like they do up north, it would be best to do a SLAM Process now to kill and remove the algae. Read that page over first though. It's important to know you have to use your TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C test kit to measure the CYA and FC accurately, and you have to maintain that SLAM Process process until all 3 criteria have passed. If you wish to exchange a good amount of water first just because water may be cheap in your area and/or it might accelerate the SLAM Process process, that's fine as well. Don't go any lower than about 18-24 inches though. Better safe than sorry to avoid movement. But once you top-off the pool again, you'll need to do that SLAM Process to kill any residual algae in the water and plumbing.

Once you complete the SLAM Process, it should be smooth sailing in the bay ... :) ....... with water temps getting cold you won't need much chlorine or pump run times each day.
 
Unless it could actually freeze, and be damaged, I'm not sure what else would get me to close a pool. The money I'd save on chlorine would not compensate me for the labor involved in closing a pool. I don't like the idea of it being out of sight. And I quite enjoy looking at the water all year 'round. It makes up for the fact, in part, that I can't swim in it all year 'round.

Definitely don't drain it. Fix it, leave it open, I say...
 
Okay, thanks. We get A LOT of debris blown into the pool from trees etc. I didn't maintain it last year and it turned into a pond, literally. Had ducks coming in.
I'm trying to decide what to do that would require the least amount of work during the winter.... still learning here.
 
I don't close or cover my pool, but I've read here that others that cover theirs do so in such a way that the cover doesn't lay in the water all winter. Leaves fall on it, dry out there, and blow away. So I think the key to having a cover is to keep it out of the water.

I've gone to great lengths to minimize the maintenance of my pool, so I'm with you. But at some point, you do reach a minimum effort required, and so you'll eventually have to come to terms with that. Five minutes a day here, 10 minutes a week there, can go a long way to avoiding problems that can take weeks and hundreds of dollars to address. But ask away, if there's a way to shave down the chores, someone here will know it! ;)

Please add your general location, or nearest city, to your Profile Location. A lot of advice given here is based on location, and So. CA and No. CA would be quite a bit different. For example, there are experts here that know the make up of fill water based on city! No joke. Help them help you with a comprehensive profile and signature...
 
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