Hi anybody know if I should empty my in-ground pool over the winter if it would cause any problems
pool has a liner?
" Completely draining an in-ground pool is risky and rarely necessary. The water inside acts as a heavy counterweight against hydrostatic pressure (groundwater and saturated soil pushing from the outside). Removing all the water can cause the entire pool shell to crack, shift, or even “pop” or lift completely out of the ground"
3 Likes
Not a pool owner but I do know. my son’s in-laws in next commune never empty their inground pool because of the reasons above mentioned and it is built into the side of a slope which has been reinforced to take the pressure/weight. They have a sliding cover as do many here to protect it during the winter and continue to treat it habitually.
Yes, read that recently regarding not emptying a pool. Sounds like good advice
Definitely as others have said, do not empty, if like most pools the builder did not connect the overflow to the skimmer then lowering the water a little, just under the skimmer is normal but without any photos or other information, I would hesitate to say more. Are you there permanently or just visiting and closing for the winter?
I warned a chap years ago with a fully concrete and block pool not to empty it, he didn’t listen and had a crack each side which we had to crack stitch with stainless steel spiral reinforcement and special epoxy mortar.
Another fibreglass pool had the water build up underneath and and rather than lifting the whole shell it just burst up through the bottom, not one I repaired as they called the manufacturer but it was very expensive to repair.
3 Likes
I don’t think you should. We never do and we’re often not even here from mid December until mid February. It does fine all by itself. Winterise it (just Google what to do) and leave the pump running for a couple of hours each day. Presumably it’s not surrounded by overhanging deciduous trees or other sources of debris that could clog anything up.
Really?
1 Like
Well I wasn’t going to write out what I do. I’d be here all day​
I’m very fastidious,
Another one here saying do NOT empty pool. In fact these days winters are so mild we don’t even bother to cover it (Lot et Garonne).
That said, if we really are in for a bitterly cold winter this year (El Nino and all that) winter buoys can be a good idea if the pool ices over. Mind you, in the early years we were here, we went down to minus 18 and the pool didn’t freeze.
1 Like
Yet to see the pool floats, the black commercial ones actually do anything.
If the overflow on skimmers was connected it would all be so much easier as excess would flow away and the pool would be at the correct level to support the cover and be ready without topping up in the spring when it’s opened again.
We are in the middle of a big pool project, my biggest fear is not getting it finished and filled before winter!
I can’t think of any reason to empty one over winter.
Neither can I but then I have a pond, not a pool and, as such, it has plenty of life depending on it for its existence. 
BTW, does pool water ice over in winter? Just wondering. 
Thank you all for your info. I will keep water in
2 Likes
It could if it’s cold enough, the danger is often the second freeze if the first is still in place as the ice can’t go up so expands sideways
Still quite warm so get on with it 
Thanks, just wondered if perhaps the content of chemicals prevented it. My own pond, which of course has no chemical content, sometimes gets a thin layer of ice on top but I believe is protected, not by the sun but the almost complete covering of large trees around it. They also prevent, or drastically reduce, any evaporation in summer which may occur. The level hardly changes throughout the seasons.
1 Like
The salt pools are maybe good for 1 degree more before freezing.