Only half closed my pool.... what do I do now?

[gox]

I winterized my pool last year and did everything except putting the winter cover on. Obviously it looks like Crud now, has leaves and debris in it, and will need a bit of work before I can open it.



I haven't tested the water yet, but from the general look of it, am I going to be better off draining and refilling or can this be solved with skimming, vacuuming, filtering, and the magic of chemistry?

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum! Is this an above ground pool?

I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[gox]

Welcome to the forum! Is this an above ground pool?

I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

yes, it is an above ground pool

 

[Newdude]

We've helped fix WAY worse. That said, with the price of chlorine these days, draining and refilling will be both easier and cheaper, providing you have a good path for draining and cheap fill water.

You won't want to totally drain or you risk the liner shifting, so we rec keeping 12-18 inches of water. It'll be much easier to scoop any debris out when the water is much lower. Then upon refilling, you only have to battle the remaining part of the original swamp that's dulited 3 times over.

 

[gox]

We've helped fix WAY worse. That said, with the price of chlorine these days, draining and refilling will be both easier and cheaper, providing you have a good path for draining and cheap fill water.

You won't want to totally drain or you risk the liner shifting, so we rec keeping 12-18 inches of water. It'll be much easier to scoop any debris out when the water is much lower. Then upon refilling, you only have to battle the remaining part of the original swamp that's dulited 3 times over.

Thank you! How soon before I want to get it up and running do you advise I do that?

The town charges a little over $9 / 1000 gallons of water, so that shouldn't be terrible.

 

[Newdude]

How soon before I want to get it up and running do you advise I do that?

Let it ride until it's time to open. If you're not going to maintain it yet after clearing it, you'll have ypur 2nd swamp.

The town charges a little over $9 / 1000 gallons of water, so that shouldn't be terrible.

Chlorine was $9 a gallon at HomeDepot last I saw and people use a dozen or two fighting the swamp. Draining saves so much of the battle.