I ended last season with the liner sagging quite a bit. About 4 inches down from the edge, and about 4 ft wide section. I simply closed the pool and said I'll worry about it later. As I started opening the pool this week, I've noticed there is a lot of water behind the liner. Any recommendations on how to get it out? I dont have any special pumps or anything. I have the one I use for on top of the cover. Could I maybe use siphon method? Not so excited about getting a mouthful of that water though. Other options? Once the water is out and when the weather is warmer I'll see if I can stretch the liner back into place but not very hopeful. 4in sag seems like a lot. Liner is otherwise in good shape. Less than 5 years old.
Liner sag plus water behind liner
- Thread starter Qadirf
- Start date
I just recently did this at opening after doing as much research as I could. Like you, I could tell at closing it was going to be an issue. Before you start try to secure the liner with tape or something where it’s popped out so it doesn’t continue to pop out
Yes, you can siphon, but I’ve read people use shop vacs, or transfer pumps (i actually bought one but it delivered late and I was impatient).
My experience with siphoning was that it didn’t look like the water was going anywhere (level not going down), but they hydrostatic pressure from the water inside the pool was forcing the ground water up, making it look the same level. Eventually almost all the wrinkles and bowing worked themselves out. I would suggest monitoring it as you’re taking the water out, and repositioning the liner where it needs it as you go.
As the water goes out, you’ll want to pop the bead back in the coping in most places. Have some hot water handy in buckets, and pour it down the side from the coping. This will help you stretch the liner and pop it back into the coping.
I was really dreading this repair, but it wasn’t bad. Lesson I learned is to make sure the water level stays high through the winter. I think I had pool water drain onto my cover, so when I drained the cover, the ground water pressure overtook the liner.
Yes, you can siphon, but I’ve read people use shop vacs, or transfer pumps (i actually bought one but it delivered late and I was impatient).
My experience with siphoning was that it didn’t look like the water was going anywhere (level not going down), but they hydrostatic pressure from the water inside the pool was forcing the ground water up, making it look the same level. Eventually almost all the wrinkles and bowing worked themselves out. I would suggest monitoring it as you’re taking the water out, and repositioning the liner where it needs it as you go.
As the water goes out, you’ll want to pop the bead back in the coping in most places. Have some hot water handy in buckets, and pour it down the side from the coping. This will help you stretch the liner and pop it back into the coping.
I was really dreading this repair, but it wasn’t bad. Lesson I learned is to make sure the water level stays high through the winter. I think I had pool water drain onto my cover, so when I drained the cover, the ground water pressure overtook the liner.
Thanks for the feedback. Glad your repair went well. I will be attempting mine over the next week or so.
Yep I have a deep end 8ft. Liner does not appear lifted there. Just on the shallow end.
If you have water behind the liner up near where it is out of the track you have water all the way down into the deep end.
To do it right that water needs to come out of there. Then the water level will drop all around the pool sides till it gets to the bottom, water drops. I am sure your liner is not tight enough to keep water from getting all the way down.
What i do is use a good piece of a garden hose, thick wall, rubber. Cut off the end for sure. I have use flexible black poly pipe also. It will need to be greased real good. Remove your liner in the corner on the deep end. Slip the pipe in and get is down as far as possible . Should be easy as i bet ya there is a path way going right down there because of the water under the liner. Now you need a little pump that will attach to the pipe or a wet vac with enough lift to pull water up that distance. Once that water is removed your liner will be pinned very tight everywhere around your pool. Now get a few of your strong friends to pull that pipe back up. IF it comes out easy then there is still water behind your liner. I have done this many a times and is the only way to get all the water up and away. A powerful wet/ dry down only 3 or 4 feet any place along the wall can in time pull everything up but the liner will need to sealed perfectly to the coping or air will get in and pulling a vacuum will not be possible. Going to cause you a few bucks but much cheaper then getting and man out to do it for ya. Plus you end up with a pump that has many uses.
Then, install "liner lock" and when you get water behind the liner again it will not lift the liner up and out of the track.
To do it right that water needs to come out of there. Then the water level will drop all around the pool sides till it gets to the bottom, water drops. I am sure your liner is not tight enough to keep water from getting all the way down.
What i do is use a good piece of a garden hose, thick wall, rubber. Cut off the end for sure. I have use flexible black poly pipe also. It will need to be greased real good. Remove your liner in the corner on the deep end. Slip the pipe in and get is down as far as possible . Should be easy as i bet ya there is a path way going right down there because of the water under the liner. Now you need a little pump that will attach to the pipe or a wet vac with enough lift to pull water up that distance. Once that water is removed your liner will be pinned very tight everywhere around your pool. Now get a few of your strong friends to pull that pipe back up. IF it comes out easy then there is still water behind your liner. I have done this many a times and is the only way to get all the water up and away. A powerful wet/ dry down only 3 or 4 feet any place along the wall can in time pull everything up but the liner will need to sealed perfectly to the coping or air will get in and pulling a vacuum will not be possible. Going to cause you a few bucks but much cheaper then getting and man out to do it for ya. Plus you end up with a pump that has many uses.
Then, install "liner lock" and when you get water behind the liner again it will not lift the liner up and out of the track.
This all sounds consistent with the research I did. Probably the right way. Only caveat might be where the water came from. If your pool was leaking, and you’ve fixed it, getting out all the water will be more effective. But if it’s from ground water/high water table, then it’s only temporary. Another heavy rain and it will be surrounding your pool anyway. In that case the only way to correct it is through installing additional drain tile.
How high is your water in your pool? If your property is fairly level or you have a pond/creek nearby, the ground water can get pretty high during late winter/spring. The liner almost always has some level of ground water behind it but what causes a liner to float is that the weight of the water in the pool isn't enough to displace the ground water. If you fill up your pool up to the top of your skimmer, you should see the "water bag" effect on your liner go away.
This happened to me a few years ago when I ignored my low water level in winter and we had 12 inches of rain over a couple weeks. I just filled it up and it immediately fixed the problem but I ended up with a long wrinkle about 1/2 inch high in the shallow end. It was an old liner which I replaced within a year anyway.
As far as the liner coming out of the track, you are going to need to get into the pool to have enough strength to push it back up. When I notice my liner getting loose in spots, I use a wooden spoon to push the liner bead into place slowly working my way horizontally. I have never had 4 feet to fix before, just 6-10 inches, so good luck.
This happened to me a few years ago when I ignored my low water level in winter and we had 12 inches of rain over a couple weeks. I just filled it up and it immediately fixed the problem but I ended up with a long wrinkle about 1/2 inch high in the shallow end. It was an old liner which I replaced within a year anyway.
As far as the liner coming out of the track, you are going to need to get into the pool to have enough strength to push it back up. When I notice my liner getting loose in spots, I use a wooden spoon to push the liner bead into place slowly working my way horizontally. I have never had 4 feet to fix before, just 6-10 inches, so good luck.
This is Canadian but i'm sure you can find a look a alike in the US. I have used this one for Many years .
