Opening a 5+ year completely neglected "pond."

[JesseWV]

A friend of mine recently moved into a house with a pool that has been not been maintained for an unknown period of time. As far as we know it has been left uncovered for at least 5 years. The sand filter housing is cracked all the way around so we know we'll have to buy a new one. I'm guessing the previous owner did not properly close the pool and it gets down to zero degrees F here in the dead of winter.

The water itself looks more like a stagnant pond than a pool. I'm fairly certain there are creatures living in the pool. I can't imagine trying to treat the existing water.

Am I correct to assume that the water should be completely drained? Should we scrub the liner and what with? What other steps do we need to take to get headed in the right direction?

 

[JohnT]

Is this an inground or above ground?

The water could be cleared as is, although he'll probably end up changing a lot of water by vacuuming to waste to get the sediment out. Draining a pool with an older liner isn't trivial. The liner will never lay right when you refill it because it's lost much of its elasticity. Unless it was only a couple of years old when the pool was last used, it may need replacing anyway.

If it's an inground, I'd want to pressure test the plumbing before doing much else. For an AG, I'd just get a pool leaf rake and dip as much gunk out as possible and then get the pump and filter going and pour the chlorine to it.

 

[AnnaK]

Before you start scooping the solids (sediment, leaves, decomposed whatever) have a disposal plan. You are going to produce piles of very smelly stuff and you won't want that in the yard. It will certainly begin to smell very soon after coming out, and it will attract hoards of flying insects. If your municipality has a yard waste dump you could maybe haul it there?

 

[JasonLion]

My personal rule of thumb is that with less than one foot of debris on the bottom you should leave the water in and with more than one foot of debris you should look into other options. Draining may well mean getting a new liner, so dealing with it with the water in has advantages, even though it can be a real pain.

 

[kenmar]

Pictures?

 

[JesseWV]

Is this an inground or above ground?

Above ground.

The water could be cleared as is, although he'll probably end up changing a lot of water by vacuuming to waste to get the sediment out. Draining a pool with an older liner isn't trivial. The liner will never lay right when you refill it because it's lost much of its elasticity. Unless it was only a couple of years old when the pool was last used, it may need replacing anyway.

I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to buy a new liner if not absolutely necessary. When inspecting the liner, what should we look for to determine whether it must be replaced? If we get lucky and it's still in fair condition, how much water can safely be removed out before risking damage?

 

[JesseWV]

Before you start scooping the solids (sediment, leaves, decomposed whatever) have a disposal plan. You are going to produce piles of very smelly stuff and you won't want that in the yard. It will certainly begin to smell very soon after coming out, and it will attract hoards of flying insects. If your municipality has a yard waste dump you could maybe haul it there?

Thank you. I never would have thought of this. It seems like a mesh bag would work great for allowing the debris to drain before putting it in heavy duty trash bags.

It's a shame we don't have an industrial size garbage disposal with a 12' drain.

 

[JesseWV]

Pictures?

Sorry, didn't take any pictures yet. We won't be doing this until next week. I'll take some then.

I wanted to get a plan of action before we started doing anything.

 

[JohnT]

Before you start scooping the solids (sediment, leaves, decomposed whatever) have a disposal plan. You are going to produce piles of very smelly stuff and you won't want that in the yard. It will certainly begin to smell very soon after coming out, and it will attract hoards of flying insects. If your municipality has a yard waste dump you could maybe haul it there?

Very good point. Sometimes what I get out of my skimmer basket smells pretty rough. 5 years worth from the bottom of the pool could probably bring tears to your eyes.

 

[Infe]

Please tell us if you ever got this pool remotely clear

 

[JesseWV]

The owner fell on some financial hardships for the time being and can't afford a new filter at this time. I've been trying to find a replacement housing for the sand filter but it seems that is the only part that Hayward does not sell. The pool is still bursting with plant, animal and insect life.