drain and replace water question

[jmlodin]

I am sitting here in Indiana watching the snow come down and wishing for pool weather! In the meantime, I have a question about draining our pool this spring. We had a new company close our pool last fall and the guy talked to me about draining our pool and refilling in the spring. The previous company we have used for 5 years closed our pool using about 80 gallons of antifreeze, which they then drained into the pool upon opening in the spring. The new company says that is bad for our water, especially over time and that we should drain and refill this spring. We have an inground pool with a vinyl liner and a very high water table. I told him I was concerned about floating the liner in the process. He says they have a system they have been using (I can't describe it!) whereby they can drain the pool without floating the liner. The problem is that it costs about $1600 to do this. Does this make sense? Is it ever necessary to totally drain your pool to get a "fresh start"?

Thanks so much for your help.

 

[JohnT]

You are being robbed.

We get enough rain in Indiana to replace a significant portion of the water every year. Don't worry about draining unless you have excess calcium or CYA.

 

[Bama Rambler]

What John said!!!

I'd like to know what this secret process is?? If you find out please post back and let us know.

Sometimes they use a plastic divider (sheeting) and pump water out one side while adding new to the other.

 

[jmlodin]

I also thought it was as ton of money. I am pretty sure the plastic divider idea is how he explained it would be done. We actually have an autocover so it is rare for rain water to get in our pool. We live on a very wooded lot so if it is raining with wind we always have the cover on to avoid all the debris getting in the pool. We have drained it ourselves in the past to about half way and then refilled with hoses.

I was just curious if there was any merit to his explanation that all that antifreeze would continually cause us problems with our water.

 

[JasonLion]

As long as they used the correct kind of anti-freeze (for pools/RVs), and I can't imagine that they would get that wrong, there is absolutely no problem if it gets into the pool. If they mistakenly used automotive anti-freeze there would be problems.

Nothing you have said even hints that a drain/refill is needed.

Doing a complete drain of a vinyl liner pool can be tricky. If the liner shrinks or shifts it can tear when water is put back in. When draining is actually required, it is often done using a mixture of sand bags and suction behind the liner to keep the liner in place while the water is removed. I have also heard of it being done inside a pressurized dome, with the extra air pressure holding the liner in place. It is extremely unusual to ever need to fully drain a pool, so this isn't done very often.

I agree with the others, it sounds like they are trying to invent work you don't need.