How to Drain an Above Ground Swimming Pool Inexpensively

Sometimes, no matter how many chemicals you add, your above ground pool just won't come clean. When the algae is blooming so thick you can't see the bottom of your above ground pool, it may be time to just drain and refill it. Draining an above ground pool can be done with a rented pump from your local hardware store, or it can be done using a few items found around the house, saving you a lot of money better spent on chemicals to prevent algae in the first place.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garden hose
• Outside faucet
• Bucket or bowl

1. Attach the garden hose to the outside faucet.

2. Place the other end of the garden hose in the pool, resting gently on the bottom near the deepest part of the pool.

3. Turn on the water at the outside faucet. Let it run for approximately 30 seconds.

4. Grab the hose about 2 feet from the faucet and bend it so that no water can flow.

5. Turn off the water and detach the hose from the faucet.

6. Move quickly to drag the end of the hose you are holding to a low spot at the end of your yard or driveway. Remember that the pool water will be emptying at this location, so do not put the hose where you do not want water to drain.

7. Release the hose so that the water flows out. The water will continue to drain as long as the hose end is lower than the water level in the above ground pool.

8. Repeat the above steps if the water stops draining, until most of the water is out of the swimming pool.

Tips & Warnings

• Once the water is drained, a small amount will need to be removed by hand, using a small container such as a bowl or bucket.

[thefensk]

on 10/11/2009 Yes, it is slow, but that is not a particularly bad thing when disposing of this much water.

The only change I made was to use another hose as an extension, moving the junction to the downslope where I wanted to drain the water. Then with the water still running, I simply unscrewed the two hoses. The flow started immediately.

[Cdavid]

on 9/7/2008 will draining my pool for the season will it ruin the liner?

[shawn2008]

on 5/26/2008 we need help. our above ground pool is not level and full of water anybody know anyway to fix this problem please help.sharon

[AngeliG]

on 4/12/2008 Once you have drained your above ground pool, should you scrub the liner to help remove the algae? Should you use bleach on the liner?

[mikeoaks]

on 11/18/2007 fine enough for ghetto above ground pools, and simple/free. My pool is 10,000 gallons and i rented (36$) a submersible sump pump from hd capable of spitting out 50gal/min! refilling the pool with the hose took 12 hours, so i imagine it'd run out of the hose (when draining) slightly slower than that. thanks for sharing the hose folding-while-running trick!