Hi folks,

I have a 27 foot-round above ground pool, and I drained it for Winter.
This is my first winter in this house, and with a pool, but I was
wondering what other pool-owner's ideas are on this. Did I make a
mistake in draining the pool?

The reasons for draining are mainly chemical costs. I figured $30-$55
a month in chemicals for the pool for winter, and draining and
refilling is MUCH cheaper... but once I drained the pool, two
obsticals:

1) The liner has pulled away from the edges of the pool... this isn't
a big deal, but will there be any issues with the liner bunching up
when I refill?

2) The small amount of water left at the bottom is starting to grow
TONS of algae. I've worked on sucking it out with a larger wet-dry
vacuum, but with our everyday weather and dew, water keeps collecting.
I could get a pool cover, but my reasons for training are cost... and
a pool cover is rather expensive.

Anyway, what are the opinions of other pool owners of similar pools?
Did I mess anything up with my decision to drain the pool? Also, some
background.. the pool is about 3-4 years old and in fairly good shape.
I guess dryrot is always a factor... but dunno. Also, I live in
Texas were freezing isn't generally an issue. We have maybe 2-3
freezes a year on a COLD year, so never anything serious.

Thanks again for any suggestions or ideas.

Alex.