Pool frozen almost to the very top and no way to drain :(

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thefloatqueen

thefloatqueen

Bronze Supporter
Dec 24, 2018
1,377
Columbus, Ohio
Pool Size
8000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
As many across the country are experiencing, we got a ton of snow and it is up to the bottom of the top rail of my Intex Ultra Frame pool. The water level pre-snow was right below the skimmer but frozen at least a couple feet so I had no way of draining water out. I have a brand new AGP on the way so I don’t care as much as I normally would about my current “temporary” pool, but I do plan to sell my Intex in the spring since it’s in good condition and I’m sick of seeing the price gouging (I’ll be selling it for wayyyyy less than other used Intex pools in worse shape) , but any ways, I am afraid of any potential damage to the pool because of the high water level and being unable to drain with no above freezing temperatures in the forecast until Sunday (it is supposed to be 40 Sunday and Monday).

For those who don’t know, I closed my pool without a winter cover. Last winter was a breeze since it was so unseasonably warm. This is my first time dealing with a REAL winter and having a pool. Any advice/suggestions? Thank you in advance!
I will definitely post a photo when I go to let the doggies out in a bit lol

- The Freezing Float Queen 🥶 👑
 
If it's frozen, all you can do is wait for the big thaw. Then inspect it all to see if there are any issues.

Did you pull the hoses and drain the filter and pump before the freezing weather?
 
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proavia said:
If it's frozen, all you can do is wait for the big thaw. Then inspect it all to see if there are any issues.

Did you pull the hoses and drain the filter and pump before the freezing weather?
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Absolutely. My pool was fully closed other than a winter cover back in November. Not worried about the equipment at all — just the pool and maybe the skimmer.
 
If the skimmer is full of water it is a solid block of ice connected to the big skating rink. The risk comes when the rink starts to melt and it yanks the skimmer part with it. Some have been lucky. Others saw unrepairable wall damage when it caved a foot into the pool. If the skimmer is plugged/sealed off and dry you should be fine. If not all you can do is wait and see. Millions of pools have survived fine since ever, so It’s very possible yours will be too.
 
Weird question from someone who has no clue (Floridian). Can you somehow melt the ice at the skimmer? Like we used to use a hand held hair dryer to defrost the fridge back in the day? 😂
 
kellyfair said:
Can you somehow melt the ice at the skimmer? Like we used to use a hand held hair dryer to defrost the fridge back in the day? 😂
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You definitely could given the obvious precautions of standing in snow with a hairdryer and all that entails, But the 6 inch (?) block of ice won’t go without a rather long fight.
 
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BoringDamo said:
Doesn’t salt melt ice? Is there any way to melt what’s in the skimmer with salt and then do the necessary
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Salt lowers the freezing point by a couple degrees, which in many areas can help the roads stay clear and be the difference when the storm hits at 30 degrees. Or if it’s colder it can help the snow stay in a slushy mush consistency that is much harder to freeze solid, but it won’t help much here.
 

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I don’t think snow weighs as much as water does - if I’m saying this right 🤷‍♀️
The snow we got here is just fluff so if yours is the same when it thaws it will not be the inches that u r seeing now. I have a cover on & made sure to drain it almost dry before the snow hit - for fear of displacing the pool water with ice on the cover . My pool water was several inches below the skimmer.
Now it looks as if my whole cover is filled with snow but it doesn’t seem to be displacing the water so I don’t think its that heavy. Since u have no cover u don’t have to worry about that pulling on & damaging the walls/ top rails anyway. I think it will be fine. I forgot to cover my skimmer (so I could open it & peek) & now its lid is frozen too but it’s open on the bottom & has a nerf ball in it so i’m not too worried. A new skimmer is like $35. I thought about pouring warm water on it so I could open it but haven’t yet.
 
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Well I found a solution lol. Pulled the drain cap (or whatever it’s called) and attached the adapter to a garden hose and drained the water a bit. I am going to do it little by little because of the below freezing temperatures and our yard is already icy enough as it is. But I drained about 4 inches. It is still WAY too high but I’ll worry about it later. I’m surprised there was enough water that wasn’t ice to even drain as much as I did lol
 
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