How can you unplug the main drain pipe in your pool?

Answer 1

The main drain is the bottom suction typically located in the deep end often two drains will be tee-d together with just the one pipe returning to the equipment

While it seems obvios to many of us I wanted to point out that many people think the main drain is just that a drain. they may be looking for a valve. I guess the name is a little confusing. in worrking on thousands of pools i have seen one actual drain it was on a city pool. for the rest of us a "main drain" is just a "skimmer" on the bottom it improves circulation and allows you to run your pool without the skimmers if the need should arise.(looking for leak ?) and can be used to pump out pool for liner replacement or plater/tile repair.

Answ:

I would add to that. The main drain, which is not a drain in the literal sense, like in household Plumbing, but another means for better water circulation. Without a main drain and just the use of a skimmer or skimmers only the upper two feet of water in the pool would circulate leaving the lower two thirds of the pool water to be somewhat stagnate. This lack of circulation, sometimes seen as sand or dust or bugs are seen to collect in one or two patches of the floor, can and will cause reduced sanitizer in those areas resulting in algae in or near those areas. Also, there are no valves for the main drain in most newer pool construction. Fifteen plus years ago some builders used valves for many functions on the pool equipment pad to redirect water flow and there was a valve specifically for the main drain. The gate valve was mainly for the pool maintenance tech to help in vac the pool -- by closing that valve he could vac the pool faster because the closed valve directed all the flow to the skimmer.

K

Answer 2

I have had mine to clog to the amount of trees in the yard. All you have to do is take your garden hose to the exit point of the drain. Wet a cloth put the hose in the end wrap the cloth around the hose. As tight as you can. Turn the water on. It is pushing in the other way. It has always worked for me.

I usually use a "Clog Buster". It's a rubber bladder that connects to a water hose and it will expand to the size of the pipe then flush water through the pipes. You can search Google for "Clog Busters" and find 'em usually. Also, Home Depot and lowes carry them as well.

When I purchased my property the fibreglass pool had rust coloured marks in various places on pool floor. I tried diving and using a pot scourer to remove them..but to no effect as both air and energy quickly ran out. The only solution was to completely drain the pool to get right down to the problem. Now I thought that draining the pool was to be as simple as "pulling out the plug" as one does when emptying the bath at home. Not so! For some reason that escapes me, when I unscrewed the plastic outlet plug, the pool proceeded to backfill with foul smelling sandy water up through the plughole ! Now why would a pool have an outlet hole which just interfaces the underlying ground surface of the pool instead of having an outlet pipe connected just like a household bath through which to drain out the water using the pool's own water pump? You tell me? As if this wasn't worrying enough, I noticed that as I walked down to the depest end of the pool I felt unsteady on my feet as if I was becoming ill and going fall over at any minute. I did begin to feel queezy because the sensation was like that of seasickness...an if you've had that you know exactly what I mean! But No! I wasn't ill at all for as I retreated up the slope to the shallower part of the pool I felt perfectly ok again! Now I really was confused. How could I feel so sick in one place and not another! So, I gingerley started stepping forward again down towards the deeper end of the pool. Whoah! Whoa! there comes that crazy day feeling again ! I took one step back while looking down. And guess what? The whole pool floor was actually flexing up and down in a wave like motion as I walked upon it. I looked at the drain hole and with every step I took the sandy water would swoosh up from the drainhole and when I stepped back it was be drawn back down again into the plughole! What a joke! This could only mean that there was a pool of water of indeterminate size and volume under the pool proper. Anyway I had to use the pool pump to suck the water out of the pool as low as the vacuum hose extension would allow me to. Then I rigged up a small 240volt water pump from an old backyard water fountain system with a washing machine hose and a length of garden hose attached to suck out some more. The final dregs were taken out using a plastic dustpan as a scoop to put the last drops into a bucket. Phew!...it was a sunny day of about 25 degrees celsius, but inside the pool was like being in a kind of enclosed oven. This took me a whole day and I was exhausted. Next day I diligently set to using dampened fine wet or dry paper to rub the pol surface to remove the rust stains, and at first it worked a treat. Then I found that I had been working on the SMOOTH fibreglass surface area. Yep! you guessed it life wasn't meant to be easy for for a "do it yourselfer" like me. Now I had to tackle the stippled fibreglass surface area, and yep, you guessed that one too........this was where the majority of the big rust stains were! Is pool ownership such a good idea? I found myself endlessly and punishingly asking myself ! Now I was down to using a toothbrush and Jif paste cleaner to try and remove the rust stains. On the stippled surface I found it very difficult. It was a bit like trying to scrub an deeply piited orange peel. In the end, I settled for a small improvement attempt then gave it up as a bad job! OK so now I had an empty pool with some scuffed out markings in various places on its bottom. T Don't laugh !...........can you guess? Yep, that night it rained quite heavily! As our Australian sunshine State of Queensland is currently badly drought affected, the news bulletins had a field day RAVING ON ABOUT THE WONDERFUL DOWNPOUR, which although welcome, would do little to change the newly imposed water use restrictions. Can you guess what this Do It Yourselfer was screaming out loud all day? You can? OK so there's no need for me to print the filthy diabolical diatribe! Now like most of you I have stumbled onto this site as I search in vain for some hero to give me the freebie info I need to remedy the water table problem I have. You know the next time you have a bath, I want you all to say a prayer for the smartass who invented the 100 liter home bath plughole ...with a downpipe..so that ignorant do it yourselfers like you and me could simply pull a plug and have the unwanted water drain away to a place..who knows or cares where ! Then I want you all to set up your candles and voodoo gear and Satanic ritual stuff, and Yep!..you guessed it ... Put Beelzebub's Curse on the twit who thought the best way to empty a 30000 litre swimming pool was with a hole directly into the ground underneath it!

Just be thankful that after you pulled the plug that your pool did not float out of the ground once the pool was even partially empty. I just cannot imagine what fowl things would exit your head then. The "Main Drain" unlike a bath tub is meant to draw pool water from the bottom of the pool for better circulation throughout the pool. It's connection goes directly to the skimmer and then directly to the pool pump. Great story LOL. Another reason to not hire a house plumber to plumb your pool

Yikes.... concerning the second answer...

The main drain has two pipes. One leads directly back to your pump/filter and is the proper one to use for expelling water from your pool. You simply shut off your return valve and open your backwash valve and water will be pumped out of the pool. There is nothing to be done to the main drain at the bottom of the pool. There is NO "pulling the plug". ...Alternatively, you can rent a commercial submersible pump if you want to drain the pool quickly.

The second pipe (the one opened by the afforementioned answer) is a hydrostatic release valve. It's purpose is not to drain the pool!!! It is to release pressure from ground water residing underneath the pool (explaining the foul sandy water entering the pool when opened). This valve needs to be opened when draining the whole pool to prevent the pool from cracking or popping out of the ground. When you drain the pool is can become very much like a boat and will want to float on top of the ground water beneath.

Your quite lucky that you didn't crack your pool or watch it rise from the ground!!!

Answer 3

Unless you have multiple hand cranked valves at the equipment pad you can't. Some pools systems have a valve of sorts in the bottom of the skimmer that will reduce the flow but may not entirely shut it off. Why the need to shut the main drain?

Ken

Answer 4

The main drain should have a removable cover. If your cover is broken you need to replace it with an approved antivortex cover. ( a cover that will prevent entrapment). Some covers are screwed in place while others just snap on. Consult with a local pool supply store for more advice. The job should be done properly. Best left for a pool tech with that background knowledge. He will know the proper cover for your particular pool and know the codes.

Ken

Answer 5

How do you know that the main drain is plugged? When was the last time that you back washed or cleaned the filter? If there is no flow at the main drain - check to see if a valve has been closed or adjust the variflow valve in the skimmer - located at the bottom of the skimmer- if you have that type of skimmer. Also check the pump basket - it may be full of debris.k

Answer 6

Unless the pool has a dedicated main drain line and a positive seal valve it is best to use a submersible pump. Most newer pools have the main drain line connected to the skimmer and there is a diverter valve in the bottom of the skimmer that regulates the ratio of main drain vs. skimmer suction. Once the water level drops below the skimmer throat the suction is usually lost. Check with your local codes and laws as some areas require draining into a sewer cleanout and other areas allow draining into the storm drain system as long as the chlorine has been allowed to dissipate and the pH is between 7 and 8.

Answer 7

A lot of people confuse the hydrostatic valve at the bottom of the pool for a main drain. this is in fact not a drain but is there to allow water into the pool from outside if the pool is empty or partially empty to stop it from floating in ground water.

Since hydrostatic valves are positioned in the sump next to the main drain pipe, unless you remove the drain grate you won't even see the hydrostatic valve. I have never heard of anyone mistaking one for the other as one looks kind of like a plug and the other is obviously a pipe. I have had to correct many of the answers from the original answerer of this and many other questions and would not follow any of his advice. I speak from 34 years of pool building and remodeling experience and am considered by my peers an expert in this field. I have drained about 20,000 pools and except for a handful of times have always used a submersible pump.

Answer 8

My pool has two main drain openings, to prevent entrapment. I use a Kreepy Krawly pool cleaner so the main drain stays closed all the time, otherwise, the Kreepy Krawly would get stuck every time it passes over the main drain. There is a valve located with the pool equipment (filter/pump/various valves) which is used to open and close the main drain. I'm no expert, but that's the way mine works.

Answer 9

Bring the level of the pool below the static skimmer level then find the lowest point in your pool pipes and let the water out.