A Step by Step Guide of How to Pump Water Out of Pool: For Above Ground and In-Ground Pools

UPDATED: Nov 01, 2019.

There are times that you might need to drain your swimming pool – for maintenance purpose, to prepare for winter, or simply to change the water after years of use.

This is the exert situation that I found myself in about 2 months ago. I did a lot of online research on how to pump water out of pool but I couldn’t get a step by step guide to help me with this tricky process.

Therefore, today, I’m here to help you pump that water out of your swimming pool – be it an above ground or in-ground one. We will look at how to use garden hoses and pumps to remove water from pools. (Here are tips for removing pool water safely)

Things You Will Require

Before we list the things that you will require to performance this exercise effectively, let me remind you of three occasions when you might require professional help from an expert:

• If you live in a place with high ground water.
• If you don’t know what kind of a pool you have.
• If you don’t know what type of equipment are installed in your swimming pool.

With that said, here are the things that you will require to drain an Above Ground Pool:

1. When Siphoning

• A garden hose
• A broom
• A sunny day/towel/vacuum hose

1. When Using a Pump

• A pump
• A garden hose
• A broom
• A vacuum hose/sunny day/towel

Here are the things for draining an In-Ground Pool:

• A pump

Guide for Draining an Above Ground Pool

We will look at two methods of draining this type of a pool:

1. Siphoning Your Pool
2. Using an Electric Pump

Siphoning Your Pool

Maybe you are wondering what are the steps involved. Here they are:

1. Get Enough Garden Hose

The first step is to ensure that you have sufficient hose to stretch out from your pool to the place that you want to dispose of the water.

If you only use the drain plug on the pool, you might end up having the surface under your swimming pool being washed away and the pool might end up caving in, resulting in damage to the frame.

1. Pick a Day with Lots of Sunshine

It is a good idea to choose a day when you will be home for a few days and a day with lots of sunshine.

When using a garden hose, you should expect to drain about 6 inches of water per hour.The rule of the thumb is: the bigger the hose, the faster you will drain your pool and the smaller the pool, the faster it will drain.

1. Insert Your Hose in the Pool and Siphon The Water

Traditionally, to get the siphon running, many individuals used to suck one end of the hose using their mouth and in the process drink dirty water. You shouldn’t do that!

You simply need to attach the garden hose to a tap, turn it on, and let the water flow into the pool, then swiftly remove that end from the tap while keeping it to the ground (below the pool) and the water will begin to flow from the pool.

Ensure that you swiftly move that end of the hose to the place you want the water to go.

1. Use Your Broom

The other step is to use a broom to remove any little bit of water that is left after the hose has done it part. I used a plastic broom. It was the best.

1. Let Your Pool Dry

Remember we said that you find a sunny day to complete this task. The last step is to leave your pool to dry in the sun or use lots of towels to ensure that it gets dry. Alternatively, use a vacuum hose, if you have one.

Using an Electric Pump

This process involves four simple steps:

1. Follow the Above first two steps

First, follow the above first two steps of draining a pool through siphoning.

1. Attach a Pump to the Hose

The second (or third) step is to attach a pump to the garden hose and then submerge it into your swimming pool and begin to pump out water. As you do this and get the water down to about 10 inches or so, you may use another hose to vacuum out dirt.

Also, remember that as you continue to drain the water, you might need to keep the hose down lower that your pool. Otherwise, the water might not flow smoothly.

1. Use Your Broom

Even when using a pool drainage pump, you might still need to sweep out any little bit of water that might be left behind.

1. Dry Your Pool

If you want to dry your swimming pool and store it for future, a shop vacuum might be the best for drying it. Alternatively, you may use a big towel or leave it to dry in the sun.

(Watch this video for draining water from above ground pool)

Guide for Draining an In-Ground Pool

Here, you will need to follow these steps:

1. Consider Three Main Factors

There are 3 main factors that you need to consider when draining an in-ground pool.

First, shut off all the return lines to your pool. Second, make sure that you do not allow air to be sucked into the drainage line into your pool when the water gets low. If this happens, the pool pump will lose power and the water won’t flow. Third, decide where to dispose the water.

Each of these considerations is discussed in the steps that follow.

1. Check You State’s Water Discharge Regulations

Many states prohibit disposing of water into the streets. The right process is to dispose of the water down your residence’s sewer clean-out which is usually located near your house or on a wall. Visit your local authorities to determine what is acceptable.

If you run too much water into your sewer system, you might run the possibility of excess water flowing back to your residence. It is advisable to reduce the gallon per minute (GPM) into the clean-out to about 12 GPM.

If you intend to operate off a ball valve, just shut the valve down to half. If you intend to use the “waste” mode on a multiport regulator, you should consider adding a ball valve at the tail of the waste port to lower the flow.

1. Close Return Lines

The water in your swimming pool often cycle through the pool’s filter and back into the pool. In this mode, there is no water that is added to your pool and thus, you don’t need to shut off these lines.

A related problem here is that if you shut off the return line and open just the waste one, the waste line (to street) will not be large enough to deal with the pressure from the pump. To solve this issue, follow the next two steps.

1. Open Waste line (De/Sand Filter)

If your pool has a De or sand filter, switch off your pump and rotate the knob on the multiport valve/regulator to “Waste” mode. Ensure that a waste line is attached to the “waste” port and then switch the pump on.

1. Open Waste Line (Cartridge Filter)

If your pool has a cartridge filter, turn on the ball valve to this waste line. If you simply have a garden hose outlet purge to your swimming pool water, you may consider replacing it with 1.5” ball valve.

1. Close the Top Suction Lines

When your pool’s water level gets below the half mark of skimmer opening, you need to turn off the skimmer suction to avert air from entering the suction line and interfering with or shutting down your pump motor.

Additionally, if you have a suction line connected to a suction cleaner, you should also consider shutting it off

In general, these lines are controlled by specific diverter valves. In addition, shut off the Spa drain before it totally drains the pool and the system begins to suck air via the port. Ensure that you shut off all the drains except the main drain system. The water needs to flow from this drain to the pump and then to the waste port.

1. Inspect Main Drain Process

When you shut off all the suction parts except the main drain, ensure that the diverter tap to the primary drain is fully opened and that the system is not jammed. If it is jammed, you will notice a decrease of water flow via your pump’s strainer cover.

If the primary drain is jammed, consider borrowing submerged water pumps to drain pool for a day to put at the base of your pool. They will come with their own waste hoses.

(watch this video of draining water from an in-ground pool)

In Conclusion

Don’t drain your pool water into the gutters, storm drains, or streets: this might violet your local rules and regulation and you might be cited for water waster. Drain your swimming pool into your sewer system to enable water to be recycled and reused.

That is how I came to solve my complicated task of draining my pool. If you liked the article or have any comment, feedback, or query, kindly contact us on the comment box below. Also, share this article with your friends and help the world know how to pump water out of pool.