We just got a new house and the in-ground pool hasn't been cleaned for well over a year. It has brown water, lots of frogs and tadpoles, etc. Any suggestions short of draining it and starting over? I hate the thought of our water bill if we have to fill it back up. NOTE: Pool is all concrete (no liner) with tiles.
Pamela from St. Augustine, FL
If you call your water utility company and tell them you are filling your pool for the first time, they usually charge you a fee not the normal per gallon fee. Our city charges a one time charge of $50.00. It is worth calling them (10/12/2007)
By
Sorry, no other solution. The amount of straining and disinfecting needed would be impossible and cost lots more than the water. Besides, would you want your kids to swim in that chemical mess? Drain, clean, and inspect for damage to concrete liner. Hire a professional. Good luck. (10/12/2007)
By booyogi
I am a manager of a pool store in New England, and in order to get your pool clean enough, I honestly think it would be much cheaper and a lot less work to drain it and start over. Pool chemicals get very expensive, especially with that much debris. (10/13/2007)
By Lisa
If you live in a small community with a local fire department, sometimes you can exchange their water for a cash donation to their organization. They will come and pump it in their off times. If you pay by check, it counts as a donation for your taxes, also. It may be a small town thing though, but you could check. (10/13/2007)
I would call Parker Pools (I live in St Augustine also) and see what they would suggest. (10/15/2007)
By Tami
Oh, people. I know you will most likely want to use your pool for swimming next summer, but I ask you to consider the frogs and tadpoles in it. Frogs are becoming rarer and rarer, a "bio-indicator" of bad times on our planet. Could you please remove at least some of them alive and relocate them elsewhere?
By Ellie
We removed as many of the frogs as we could (tadpoles also, they went into a small pond) and we added Shock it to get the mosquitoes so far. I will call Parker Pools tomorrow and see what else I can do. I did talk to the city and they will estimate the gallons and only charge for water, not sewer, etc. for the specified number if we want to drain and refill the pool (according to who I talked to, it should be about $60).
Thanks for all the suggestions. Hopefully Parker Pools can make a few suggestions also (how to clean it once it's empty, new pump, etc.). (10/15/2007)
By Pamela
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