How should I prep my above-ground pool for a period of disuse?

July 13, 2010 5:41 AM

Can I let my (full, covered) above-ground pool go a few years without opening or swimming in it? Will the pool still be OK should I wish to reopen and use it at some point in the future?

Our house came with a medium-sized pool that I'd like to put on temporary (2-3-year) hiatus. It has a cover on it currently, and has already gone at least two summers without being used.

I'm assuming the owners did the standard winterizing before they shut up the pool the last time, and wondering if it's likely to be OK in this state for a few more years, or if there's some other maintenance/storage procedure that I should be performing to make sure the pool, liner and filter machinery hold up during a long hibernation. For instance, some family members assert that the portion of the liner above the waterline needs to be wet down periodically to keep from cracking (although this seems unlikely to me). Should I be hosing the pool down periodically? Shocking it? Half-draining it? Putting some sort of super-duper extra-strength cover on top?

So far, Google hasn't turned up anything of use. Has anyone successfully done this with their pool? If so, how?

posted by Bardolph to home & garden (6 answers total)

I haven't owned a pool myself, but I know people who have. A few things.

First, drain the thing. Keeping a pool of standing water that you aren't going to clean or maintain is just asking for trouble. Not only is it going to put unnecessary stress on the structure--water is heavy--but since you aren't going to be adding the chemicals which prevent this sort of thing, it's going to be a breeding ground for algae, mildew, insects, and other various forms of life. Eew. Pools don't need to be wet as far as I know, so I don't know why you'd have to wet it down.

Second, unless you want to decommission the thing permanently, you should clean it out every year or so. It's going to accumulate dust at the very least, but also probably things like leaves, animal nests, mildew, rainwater, etc., all of which should be regularly removed and/or drained. This is a pain in the ass, but probably less of one than actively maintaining it. The alternative is playing home to pests and possibly winding up with a useless pool because the mice which have been living there for the past three years have chewed through the bottom or killed a pump somewhere.

Third, consider getting rid of the thing. Above-ground pools cost in the neighborhood of $1000-2500. If you're going to spend a couple of hundred bucks a year maintaining it--which if you want to use it again is entirely possible--it may be less of a hassle and not that much more expensive to just pitch it and buy a new one.
posted by valkyryn at 6:08 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Eew. Pools don't need to be wet as far as I know

No idea about above-ground pools, but this definitely isn't true for in-ground pools. The water pressure helps keep the concrete from shifting.
posted by schmod at 7:25 AM on July 13, 2010

The above-ground pool we had when I was a kid needed to remain filled with water at all times in order to maintain its structural integrity. I do not, however, know whether that is true for all of them.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 8:14 AM on July 13, 2010

Do yourself a favor and speak with a local pool maintenance company. How pools are maintained varies greatly based on where you're located, how it was installed and it's construction. For example, in some locations you can pretty much NEVER empty an in-ground pool. Frost heave or water table issues could cause it to literally pop up out of the ground, usually not in whole sections, and thus destroy it. It's the weight of the water that literally holds it into the ground. Above ground or liner pools have their own issues too. Speaking with a local professional can help clarify what's actually necessary in your area.

If you're not going to use it for several years then your best advice would probably be to remove it entirely. Most materials (vinyl and plastics) don't last forever out in the sun. So you'd just end up with an eyesore that would have to be removed anyway.

And then there's the safety factor. Out of sight, out of mind doesn't mean it's not still a VERY big risk to animals or children.
posted by wkearney99 at 9:09 AM on July 13, 2010

Another vote for getting rid of the pool if you aren't using it. It's going to be gross, algae-filled, and a mosquito breeding ground *at best.* At worst, it's a potential hazard to any poorly supervised children or pets in your neighborhood.

And nasty things happen to even maintained pools. The first winter after we moved into our house with an above-ground pool, water accumulated on the cover, making a pond that a bird subsequently died and was subsequently frozen into. Chipping it out to dispose of it was unpleasant, to say the least. We do not have that pool anymore.
posted by Andrhia at 11:28 AM on July 13, 2010

You would need to keep it filled (or at least 3/4 or so filled) for the duration of inactive time and you would need to maintain the water so that it wasn't completely untreated and standing (but not to swim quality).

You really should get rid of it. It sounds like you are severely underestimating the time and effort that pool-care requires and if you are unlikely to want to do it now, when it's a new shiny feature to you, I can't see you wanting to do it inthe future. It would just be easier for you to get a new pool in the future should you decide you want one in a few years (5? 7? 39?)
posted by WeekendJen at 1:50 PM on July 13, 2010