biter Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 Can anyone tell me if this is or isn't a good idea? I leave Florida for 5 months each summer. I have been paying a guy to take care of the pool plus the cost of chemicals and electric. But each year I have problems when I return. I'm considering drainging the pool (10,000 gallons) and leaving it empty while I'm gone and refilling in the fall when I return. I have a screen enclosure and there aren't any trees nearby. What are my exposures? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telstar Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 Can anyone tell me if this is or isn't a good idea? I leave Florida for 5 months each summer. I have been paying a guy to take care of the pool plus the cost of chemicals and electric. But each year I have problems when I return. I'm considering drainging the pool (10,000 gallons) and leaving it empty while I'm gone and refilling in the fall when I return. I have a screen enclosure and there aren't any trees nearby. What are my exposures? Thank you Any swimming pool contractor (especially in Florida) will tell you never-ever, ever drain any swimming pool regardless as to what the pool is made out of. Hydrostatic pressure under a swimming pool can have a very devestating effect if a pool is emptied. A very good example of what I am talking about can be represented with a empty glass in a sink. Take the glass, flip it upside down and hold it there while filling the sink with water-the upward pressure on your hand is similar to that of the water table affecting a pool. Hydrostatic pressure can break pipes, break the pool itself, make the pool rise out of the ground, break surrounding decks, to name a few. Homeowners insurance usually will not cover such an incident if it is caused by owner error. I dont know if you had the pool installed your self or it was in the house when you bought it; regardless, the point I am making is the same-good money was spent on its installation. Pools are getting more and more expensive every day, protect your investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-P-S-R Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Can anyone tell me if this is or isn't a good idea? I leave Florida for 5 months each summer. I have been paying a guy to take care of the pool plus the cost of chemicals and electric. But each year I have problems when I return. I'm considering drainging the pool (10,000 gallons) and leaving it empty while I'm gone and refilling in the fall when I return. I have a screen enclosure and there aren't any trees nearby. What are my exposures? Thank you [/quote Hello biter. I would not drain the pool for that long of time. Plaster has to be under water at all times. if the pool has no water in it, the plaster will start to dry out and will spider crack on the surface of the plaster. Then when you put the water back in the pool the plaster will blister up all over and the plaster will crumble up and you will have plaster blister holes all over the steps and floors. It will be more money then what it worth. I think I would try a new service co. It sound like the guy you have how is not doing he job servicing your pool while your gone. DO NOT DRAIN YOUR POOL FOR 5 MONTHS AT A TIME... Here a few picture of what will happen... http://www.swimming-pool-secrets-revealed.com/photo1.jpg http://www.swimming-pool-secrets-revealed.com/photo2.jpg http://www.swimming-pool-secrets-revealed.com/photo3.jpg http://www.swimming-pool-secrets-revealed.com/photo4.jpg http://www.swimming-pool-secrets-revealed.com/photo5.jpg Blake Melancon swimming-pool-secrets-revealed.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydenbrain Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Chemicals used to maintain pools and spas can hurt plant and aquatic life in streams, so be careful where you drain that water when doing pool or spa maintenance. Sanitizes swimming pools and is very toxic to fish. Chlorine damages fish gills, which can cause fish to drown. Sanitizes swimming pools, but does not break down over time like chlorine does. In high doses it causes many of the same effects to fish as chlorine. Used to kill algae in the filter system. It is very toxic to fish and can cause reproductive problems as well as tissue damage. This may also kill algae that aquatic life need to eat. Measures how acidic or basic water is. Ideal pH for aquatic life is between 7 and 8. Fish have a pretty narrow range of tolerance before they die. Many times the pH in pools is within this range, but because of the sudden shift from draining your pool fish can be injured or killed. Small rapid changes in pH can cause serious health problems for aquatic life. Pool water can be very warm compared to river and lake water. The sudden shift in temperature caused by draining pool water into the storm drain can affect the health and survival of aquatic life. Swimming Pool Enclosures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4serendipity Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 DO NOT drain your pool for five months...look at it like this: Situation 1: You come home from vacation and BUMMER...the pool is green. That lazy pool boy is not getting a tip from me! Situation 2: You come home from vacation and BUMMER...the pool is raised four feet out of the ground and the deck around it is ripped and heaved up like the san andreas faultline. The pool itself is cracked to oblivion and every pipe connecting to the pool has been shattered. The costs to fix this repair can range from $30,000 to $100,000. The best possible advice that I can give to you is to arrange for a better maintenace company who is willing to provide you free service for a year if you come home to a green pool this time. I hope this information is helpful. S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkusmier Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 DO NOT drain your pool for five months...look at it like this: Situation 1: You come home from vacation and BUMMER...the pool is green. That lazy pool boy is not getting a tip from me! Situation 2: You come home from vacation and BUMMER...the pool is raised four feet out of the ground and the deck around it is ripped and heaved up like the san andreas faultline. The pool itself is cracked to oblivion and every pipe connecting to the pool has been shattered. The costs to fix this repair can range from $30,000 to $100,000. The best possible advice that I can give to you is to arrange for a better maintenace company who is willing to provide you free service for a year if you come home to a green pool this time. I hope this information is helpful. S Bingo, well said. At minimum, you should be able to neglect the pool for most of the time while you're gone, and have a good local pool store/service show up 2 weeks prior to your return and nuke, vacuum and repeat. You can balance the water upon your return but someone should surely be able to shock it clear before then. I'd offer to do it myself, but I live in the St. Louis area. Make some calls - you'll find someone, then make sure to start calling them a few weeks before you return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZMermaid Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Sounds like you have a problem with the guy you're paying to do the pool. Is he showing up? Some friends outside of my route area leave town in the summer and have had problems with their pool guy not showing up. I told them to get at least three recommendations from customers (at least one who's out of town for summer), then tell the guy that you've been worried about breakins and have installed a motion detector and camera that you can monitor from your computer out of town. If they think you're watching, they will show up and do the job correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnegan Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Can anyone tell me if this is or isn't a good idea? I leave Florida for 5 months each summer. I have been paying a guy to take care of the pool plus the cost of chemicals and electric. But each year I have problems when I return. I'm considering drainging the pool (10,000 gallons) and leaving it empty while I'm gone and refilling in the fall when I return. I have a screen enclosure and there aren't any trees nearby. What are my exposures? Thank you Any swimming pool contractor (especially in Florida) will tell you never-ever, ever drain any swimming pool regardless as to what the pool is made out of. Hydrostatic pressure under a swimming pool can have a very devestating effect if a pool is emptied. A very good example of what I am talking about can be represented with a empty glass in a sink. Take the glass, flip it upside down and hold it there while filling the sink with water-the upward pressure on your hand is similar to that of the water table affecting a pool. Hydrostatic pressure can break pipes, break the pool itself, make the pool rise out of the ground, break surrounding decks, to name a few. Homeowners insurance usually will not cover such an incident if it is caused by owner error. I dont know if you had the pool installed your self or it was in the house when you bought it; regardless, the point I am making is the same-good money was spent on its installation. Pools are getting more and more expensive every day, protect your investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnegan Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 This may be true for Florida, where the water table is higher than say, Arizona, but surely, *never* would then rule out ever replacing the water when it cannot absorb any more chemicals. I suspect that the sun would do more damage to the plaster and possibly the gunite as well in the southwest, more so than any hydrostatic pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 My understanding is that pool professionals in Arizona would say "never in summer" but would be willing to drain and refill in winter. This is different from what biter was asking about, drain *and leave empty for months*. It is also possible to get the effect of a drain/refill without literally draining. Actually there are two ways to do this. One is doing a Reverse Osmosis treatment of the pool water in place; there are some companies that provide this service in the southwest. The other is to do a simultaneous drain/refill, e.g. drain from the shallow end while refilling into the bottom of the deep end, or vice versa; balance the drain and refill rates such that the water level basically doesn't change. If you can arrange for minimal mixing while doing the simultaneous drain/refill it seems to work pretty well, I've read a couple reports by people who did this. --paulr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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