I just took posession of a property I purchased and are planning some
remodeling work before I move in. The remodeling work will last 4 to 6
months.

I am trying to decide what to do with the swimming pool (below ground pool).
When I got it the pool is already in pretty bad shape - not structurally,
but hygiene wise. The house has been vacant for months and so the pool
looks green and murky - green is probably algae? I was told by the realtor
it is a heated pool but it's not working. The lighting along the side of
the pool still works.

So now I need to clean the pool. The location is in Miami, FL and I was
told by a friend that I cannot drain the water or else the pool may crack
because of the low water table. This may be a stupid question but - is
there a drain for a pool? I have no idea where the water comes from to fill
the pool and where the water goes. Is there a stopper thingie at the bottom
I need to dive in to pull out?

My decision to be made is - do I leave the pool the way it is for now, until
the remodeling is almost done, then deal with the pool? By then there will
be mold growing out of it...or do I drain the pool now and leave it dry
during the remodeling process? or do I drain/clean the pool and keep it
maintained for 4-6 months knowing it will not be used once (except may be by
the contractor). What is the best approach?

I also heard that there is a new system where you can just add salt without
the need for chlorination. Can someone provide any information or links?
Is this something I can switch to easily?

Thanks in advance,

MC

MiamiCuse wrote:
I just took posession of a property I purchased and are planning some
remodeling work before I move in. The remodeling work will last 4 to 6
months.

...

So now I need to clean the pool. The location is in Miami, FL and I was
told by a friend that I cannot drain the water or else the pool may crack
because of the low water table. This may be a stupid question but - is
there a drain for a pool? I have no idea where the water comes from to fill
the pool and where the water goes. Is there a stopper thingie at the bottom
I need to dive in to pull out?

When it's time to drain a residential pool, rent a portable submersible
pump. The filter pump usually cannot handle completely draining the
pool. Heed the warning about not draining it when the water table is
high -- the weight of the pool water keeps the ground water from popping
the concrete pool out of the ground. There may even be a safety valve
under the pool that will allow ground water to enter, thus saving the
pool's structural life.

If you don't plan on using the pool for a while, there is no major harm
in just leaving it as is. Just keep enough chlorine in it to keep it
from becoming a public health hazard, and maintain the pH so as not to
be corrosive. Once you're ready to fix up the pool you'll have to drain
it and clean out the muck.

One more very important point -- Have a fence at least five feet high
around the pool with a self-locking gate.

On Feb 4, 9:15 pm, "MiamiCuse" wrote:
I just took posession of a property I purchased and are planning some
remodeling work before I move in. The remodeling work will last 4 to 6
months.

I am trying to decide what to do with the swimming pool (below ground pool).
When I got it the pool is already in pretty bad shape - not structurally,
but hygiene wise. The house has been vacant for months and so the pool
looks green and murky - green is probably algae? I was told by the realtor
it is a heated pool but it's not working. The lighting along the side of
the pool still works.

So now I need to clean the pool. The location is in Miami, FL and I was
told by a friend that I cannot drain the water or else the pool may crack
because of the low water table. This may be a stupid question but - is
there a drain for a pool? I have no idea where the water comes from to fill
the pool and where the water goes. Is there a stopper thingie at the bottom
I need to dive in to pull out?

My decision to be made is - do I leave the pool the way it is for now, until
the remodeling is almost done, then deal with the pool? By then there will
be mold growing out of it...or do I drain the pool now and leave it dry
during the remodeling process? or do I drain/clean the pool and keep it
maintained for 4-6 months knowing it will not be used once (except may be by
the contractor). What is the best approach?

I also heard that there is a new system where you can just add salt without
the need for chlorination. Can someone provide any information or links?
Is this something I can switch to easily?

Thanks in advance,

MC



Do NOT NOT NOT drain the pool without consulting a pool specialist.
Your friend is quite right , the ground wwater below a pool can do a
lot of damage when the weight of the water is removed from inside the
pool.

Some pools are fitted with a relief valve for that purpose.

There should be ideally a water supply to the pool itself for adding
water lost by evaporation. In some cases this is just left to a garden
hose.

There should be plumbing from the pool skimmer and/or bottom drains to
a pool pump and filter. There is then one or more returns to the
pool.

Your best method , in my opinion , is to use a skim net on a pole to
remove as much loose debris as possible.
Then shock treatment with acid, to kill any growing algea . Repeat the
manual skimming.

Then I would connect a floating filter of something like flywire , on
the pool pump intake (vacuum hose) to remove the bulk debris floating
i the water .

After that its several cycles of filtering and vacuunming with the
correct PH balance and a flocculant (causes particles to clump
together and either sink or float).

To avoid a lot of filtering , vacuum the debris directly to waste.
Then refill the pool - you might loose a foot of water this way.

Doing it correctly is not an enormous amount of work. It just needs
the right methods and chemicals.

Getting a quote from a local pool service may be a good idea, they
oftwen have a pump and filter setup for this sort of cleaning job.

On Feb 4, 9:15 pm, "MiamiCuse" wrote:
I just took posession of a property I purchased and are planning some
remodeling work before I move in. The remodeling work will last 4 to 6
months.

I am trying to decide what to do with the swimming pool (below ground pool).
When I got it the pool is already in pretty bad shape - not structurally,
but hygiene wise. The house has been vacant for months and so the pool
looks green and murky - green is probably algae? I was told by the realtor
it is a heated pool but it's not working. The lighting along the side of
the pool still works.

So now I need to clean the pool. The location is in Miami, FL and I was
told by a friend that I cannot drain the water or else the pool may crack
because of the low water table. This may be a stupid question but - is
there a drain for a pool? I have no idea where the water comes from to fill
the pool and where the water goes. Is there a stopper thingie at the bottom
I need to dive in to pull out?

My decision to be made is - do I leave the pool the way it is for now, until
the remodeling is almost done, then deal with the pool? By then there will
be mold growing out of it...or do I drain the pool now and leave it dry
during the remodeling process? or do I drain/clean the pool and keep it
maintained for 4-6 months knowing it will not be used once (except may be by
the contractor). What is the best approach?

I also heard that there is a new system where you can just add salt without
the need for chlorination. Can someone provide any information or links?
Is this something I can switch to easily?

Thanks in advance,

MC

If you are anticipating a remodel lasting 6 months or so, the last
thing that you need to obsess over is a swimming pool. The remodel
will fill your days and nights with all manner of nasty little
problems you will have to to solve, especially since the house has
been vacant for months. Get a good pool maintainance outfit on board
now, (and under contract), to take care of it, put the details behind
you and concentrate on the real problems that must be taken care of
first. It's called by the efficiency specialists, 'prioritizing'. Good
luck.

Joe

MiamiCuse writes:

I am in Palm Beach County and have seen worse pool messes after the
hurricanes.

You can clean up just about anything short of a septic tank with these
ingredients:

Low pH (pool acid)
Chlorine up to 10 ppm (sodium hypochlorite in the jugs)
Pump and filter running for days
Polaris 180, 280, or 380 to do the vacuuming

This may be a stupid question but - is there a drain for a pool?

See my page:

http://www.truetex.com/pool.htm

Specifically about relief fittings.

Remove the Baby Ruth

Where are you? I am in Miami Florida. It's 75 degrees out.

"Gerry Atrick" wrote in message
...
The outdoor temparature is MINUS 15 deg and windchill is 35 BELOW, and
you're talking about swimming pools. GIMME A BREAK !!!!

If that pool was here, you could drive on it today. !!!!


On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 22:15:55 -0500, "MiamiCuse"
wrote:

I just took posession of a property I purchased and are planning some
remodeling work before I move in. The remodeling work will last 4 to 6
months.

I am trying to decide what to do with the swimming pool (below ground
pool).
When I got it the pool is already in pretty bad shape - not structurally,
but hygiene wise. The house has been vacant for months and so the pool
looks green and murky - green is probably algae? I was told by the
realtor
it is a heated pool but it's not working. The lighting along the side of
the pool still works.

So now I need to clean the pool. The location is in Miami, FL and I was
told by a friend that I cannot drain the water or else the pool may crack
because of the low water table. This may be a stupid question but - is
there a drain for a pool? I have no idea where the water comes from to
fill
the pool and where the water goes. Is there a stopper thingie at the
bottom
I need to dive in to pull out?

My decision to be made is - do I leave the pool the way it is for now,
until
the remodeling is almost done, then deal with the pool? By then there
will
be mold growing out of it...or do I drain the pool now and leave it dry
during the remodeling process? or do I drain/clean the pool and keep it
maintained for 4-6 months knowing it will not be used once (except may be
by
the contractor). What is the best approach?

I also heard that there is a new system where you can just add salt
without
the need for chlorination. Can someone provide any information or links?
Is this something I can switch to easily?

Thanks in advance,

MC