Method #2: Hose siphon. A clogged swimming pool drain can be a major headache, and can bring your swimming pool usage to a halt. 1. Thanks. Remember that the pool water will be emptying at this location, so do not put the hose where you do not want water to drain. WARNING! This is the risk you take when you drain a pool. Don’t drain your pool if the temps are expected to be above 90 degrees. You can sometimes push out the blockage by using a small towel to create a seal between a garden hose and the drain opening under the deckside strainer basket. Remember that the pool water will be emptying at this location, so do not put the hose where you do not want water to drain. The best way to drain water out of a pool is through a 1 1/2" waste line. Repairing Your In-ground Swimming Pool Main Drain Pipe In this article I'm assuming that you're looking to find and repair a main drain line leak at the very bottom of your pool, and that it has a deep end. Swimming pool water can get bad over the years — so bad that chemicals lose their effectiveness. The water will continue to drain as long as the hose end is lower than the water level in the above ground pool. Then, you should connect the clean out pipe from the sump pump to the sewer, if your municipality allows that amount of drainage, or direct the water to irrigate your plants. Whether you need to rebalance your chemicals, lower your TDS (total dissolved solids), or just clean up an in ground pool that has not been maintained, draining all the water from your swimming pool can help fix your problems and clean it fast. Go to the back of the filter and unscrew the drain plug. Conducting an inground pool drain is something that all pool owners have to deal with at some point. But if you have a cartridge filter you may not have this feature and you may be spending hours draining your pool with a garden hose. How do I drain my above ground pool 6 inches below the skimmer? This spigot should be close enough that you can easily reach the pool and have plenty of slack left in the water hose. How to Drain Your Swimming Pool. Though draining your inground swimming pool isn't something you do every day, once in a while it is required. Next, try using household water pressure to push out the debris if the pool drain is still clogged. Draining an inground pool is a slightly more complex task due to the larger amount of equipment involved, such as pipes, hoses or filters. The more hoses you use, the quicker the pool will drain. After draining the old water, you can refill the pool with a garden hose. Owning your own swimming pool can help you relax after a long day at work, but what if your pool is the cause of more stress? Instead of hiring a pool service technician to come drain your pool, you can do it yourself using a standard garden hose. It could be that there is even a hidden deficiency in the pool, or a pool was not built correctly decades ago, and draining can cause anything from small cosmetic problems, all the way up to huge un-fixable structural issues. To drain and refill your swimming pool, start by renting a submersible sump pump from a home improvement store, if you don't already have one.