How often should you drain the water in my pool?

Answer 1

How often you drain the pool depends on if the pool is indoors or outdoors. If the pool is indoors you may need to drain the pool if the TDS (total dissolved solids) get to high. This usually occurs if the TDS goes over 2000 ppm (parts per million) at that point you will notice the pool is cloudy and you cannot get it to clear up. If you should need to drain any pool you need to be aware of the water table in your area. At the bottom of every concrete pool there should be a hydrostatic relief valve that will allow the water under the pool to come into the pool relieving the pressure of the water under the pool and keep the pool from "floating" out of the ground. Before you drain the pool make sure that you have this valve, you will find it in the main drain in the deep end of the pool. DO NOT DRAIN THE POOL IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THIS VALVE AS IT CAN LEAD TO THE POOL POOPING OUT OF THE GROUND. If the pool is an outdoor pool when it rains it will be diluting the TDS and unless you have a very dry season or you live in dry area you will not have to drain the pool unless the surface of the pool needs to be cleaned. So draining the pool should be a very rare event.

Answer 2

About every 5 to 8 yrs. If the water tastes salty get the water tested for hardness etc. That is the best way to determine when the water is getting old and should be drained.

*Note, above is the old answer. Here's what I would say: you can't tell if the water is hard if it is salty! Some salt pools rely on salt for the sanitizing of the pool water. You should create a relationship with a pool professional or pool company that you have test your water (once a month) while you monitor it at home with test strips on a regular basis during the week. TDS or total dissolved solids are something that your pool company can help you test for. When your TDS level gets too high it means that your water has so much "stuff" in it that it can't hold any more chemicals etc., and you would want to drain out (possibly some) to help allow space for your water to balance effectively.

Note this post about draining your pool:

Additional Notes: You should not drain a pool unless you have a very specific reason to do so, and/or you are doing it with the assistance of a pool professional. A fiberglass pool with no water in it is like a giant bathtub, and if the water pressure in the ground is more than the force keeping the pool in the ground, you can have what is known as a "pop out". This is very expensive problem to have to address.

The same goes for a gunite pool. The gunite pools are usually equipped with a hydrostatic valve who's job is to pop open if the ground water pressure is more than the water in the pool. Again, providing this is working properly, you should be fine. In the case of performing an acid wash on a gunite pool, or when we are doing a remarcite or repebble job, our crews will also drill holes in the bottom of the gunite pool to allow any ground water to come through the holes while work is being performed.

A vinyl liner pool is the least expensive to fix if you "accidentally drain the pool" or if you have problems. The liner depends on water to keep it set properly in the bottom of the pool. If you drain a liner pool, the liner can shift and cause wrinkles or bubbles to get trapped under the liner. Is this a major problem? Not really, the pool should still be able to function and hold water. It may not be pretty or aesthetically pleasing. If you have continual water problems under the liner, you may need to address the drainage or add a sump pump system to help handle the ground water. In a worst case scenerio, if you need to redo a liner you are talking thousands of dollars versus the case of a fiberglass or gunite problem which would more likely be tens of thousands.

Answer 3

If you don't have the ability to test your water, take a sample to your favorite pool store. Ask them to test for "TDS" "Calcium hardness" and "CYA" they should be able to determine if it's time to replace all or part of your water. ( If you're in Vegas I'll test it for you, free)

Answer 4

Consider draining and refilling approx. every 5 to 8 years. Have the water tested by your local pool store to determine if that would be nesessary for your particular pool.

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Answer 5

Generally you might drain a pool about every 5 to 8 years.

In places where the water is very hard, it is advisable to change the water every 1 to 3 years.

Answer 6

It could be drained in an hour with the right equipment.

Answer 7

So long as you are not having any trouble maintainng the pools water there is no reason to change the water. or put another way "If it ain't broke don't fix it".

Answer 8

Before TDS and calcium hardness reach high levels.

Answer 9

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