Northerners - Do you drain your in ground pool during winter?

[HannibalX]

Just curious if this is needed. I had a in ground swimming pool in FL but it of course never gets cold there so I left it filled year round. I might buy a house up north where the temps are below freezing for most of the winter. Should I drain the pool?

 

[Stiganator]

yes you should or you'll crack the pool.

Edit: Are we talking in ground pool, above ground pool, what kind of material?

 

[villageidiot111]

Yeah, you gotta drain the pool.

 

[BoomerD]

When we lived in cold country, no one drained their pools. You take a HUGE chance of damaging the plaster if it's allowed to dry out, and ground water levels can actually pop a pool out of the ground if it's empty. That's fugly to see...and expensive as hell to fix.


The information can be found here:

http://www.poolwarehouse.com/swimmingpoolwinterize.html

http://www.backyardcitypools.c...izing-Instructions.htm

http://www.google.com/search?s...ng+an+in%2dground+pool

 

[wetcat007]

Get an indoor pool 🙂

 

[BigJ]

Absolutely not. It gets drained to below the jet line, but not all the way.

See here:

http://findarticles.com/p/arti...B/is_21_41/ai_94160712

 

[Colt45]

empty it part way, not completely.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

where do you expect to do your polar bear swims if you empty it!?

 

[SpunkyJones]

No, you do not.

 

[CptCrunch]

gets drained to below the inlet, then all the water is removed from the pipes, put a cover over the pool and call it a day

 

[legoman666]

If you have an above ground pool (we couldn't get a permit to put one in-ground) you can't drain the pool. You'll dry out the liner and it'll shrink. During the winter, we disconnect the pump and put a huge tarp over the top to keep crap out.

 

[Pepsi90919]

drain below water intake a bit, unscrew any plugs in the pump lines, open all valves, shut off the breakers, gas valve, install pool cover.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Yes. Not having cracked pipes is a good thing.

 

[HannibalX]

Thanks all. 🙂