How long will it take to clear my pool after it's opened?

You are excited for summer and you know it's just around the corner.  You can see the pool parties and lazy Saturday's floating on your favorite raft in your near future.  Ready to get a head start on the pool season you get your pool opened up and running.  As the cover pulls back off the pool your excitement turns to disgust as you stare at what looks like a backyard swamp! What should you do?

Every summer we hear of homeowners opening pools hoping for crystal clear water, only to find the opposite looking back at them.  The first question we get from new homeowners is "how do I drain and refill the pool?"  Before you start pumping out your pool here is some advice you may want first.

Most of the time, and I can't stress the word MOST enough, you can clear up a pool much cheaper with chemicals and some elbow grease than with draining and refilling.  Every pool is a different situation, we've seen black, brown, green, and dark green all clear up using chemicals.  It is possible to clear it chemically!

Leaf Rake used to dip debris from bottom of pool.

Before any rash decisions are made on how to clear the pool, try and find out how much debris is in the bottom.  Take a pole with a leaf rake attached to the deepest part of the pool.  Push across the bottom and pull it back up.  You may do this a few times.  But this will help determine where to start.  If the leaf rake pulls up empty or just a few worms, breath a sigh of relief.  However if you have a full leaf rake that seems to weigh 100 pounds, you have some work ahead of you.


If you are going to chemically treat the water there are a few steps to the process.  First you need to remove as much debris from the bottom as you can.  We know you can't see the bottom, but the more you remove the less chemicals you will need to add!  So if there is a lot of debris, use your leaf rake to dip debris for some time and then let the water settle from stirring it up.  You could be dipping leaves and debris for the entire day to week depending on how bad it is.  Once you feel like there isn't much on the bottom, try to vacuum the pool.  Vacuuming is an easier way to remove the smaller dirt, worms and debris by filtering them out.  Vacuums can clog very quickly when lots of debris is present, so make sure you get all the big stuff with your leaf rake.

**Tip: This is a great time to utilize a flocculant.  A flocculant will settle suspended particles to the bottom of the pool.  After everything settles, you can then vacuum the pool to waste which bypasses your filtration system and removes it completely.


Now that the hard work is done and you feel confident the bottom of the pool is somewhat clear, it's time to start the chemicals.  If you are in a rush to clear the pool, you can always start balancing the pH and Alkalinity while you are working on clearing the bottom.  Once the pH and alkalinity are both in range adding chlorine to the pool will help turn the pool back clear by killing algae and bacteria.

Pool water lab with customer getting
help balancing their pool.

If you aren't sure how to balance the pool or how much chlorine to add, bring a water sample into your local swimming pool store for a water analysis.  How much chemical your pool will need to balance and clear varies depending on how much algae is in the water to how far out of balance the water starts out.  When in doubt, keep bringing in water samples and let the experts help!

So you made it through all that and are now second guessing opening up the pool knowing what work is in front of you.  There is always the option to drain and refill and have your crystal clear water without all the work.  Why doesn't everyone just drain and refill their pool when it looks like a disaster?

Pool being filled from a water truck.  Pool water delivered by
a water truck can have a pool filled within a few hours.

First reason, most people will need water trucked in from a water filling service.  Depending on how big your pool is this could cost anywhere from $600 to $1500.  In our area the average backyard pool costs about $1000 to have new water trucked in.

The second reason is you still have to drain out all the old gross water from the pool.  In an earlier blog we talked about why your liner floats or pool pops out of the ground.  If you drain the pool, you always risk floating the liner which can ruin it or even shrinking the liner if the temperature is to cold.  If draining and refilling the pool is your option, choose a time when it will be warmer and sunnier to help prevent shrinking.  It helps to have the new water scheduled so the pool isn't empty very long.  The longer the pool sits empty the greater the chance the liner shrinks, floats or needs replaced!

If you still aren't sure what the best option for your pool is the best thing you can do is consult with your local swimming pool dealer.  They are there to help get your pool ready for the summer!