APCO Pools Specialties, Inc.

Pool Service: How to Clean a Swimming Pool Drain

Keeping your pool’s main drain clean and free of clogs is a vital part of your pool maintenance efforts. The main drain is the primary point of drainage in your pool, and if it’s not kept in proper working order, your pool can become home to debris, algae or worse.

So when it’s time to clean your pool’s main drain, just follow a few simple steps every couple of weeks. Spending half an hour cleaning your drain twice a month can prevent complicated and costly repairs or necessary pool renovations down the road.

Clean out larger debris around the drain. Your first order of business should be to thoroughly clean the pool of any large debris, including leaves, sticks, yard waste, or any stray pieces of litter that have found their way into your pool. Think of pool maintenance in general from a top-down approach; if you take care of the larger messes at the outset of the process, they won’t get in your way when you’re trying to remove the smaller particles that can cause damage to your drain and filters.

Clean out the drain with a Clog Buster or similar tool. An important part of any pool maintenance regime is having the right tools, and a Clog Buster can be any pool owner’s best friend. Basically, this tool works by exerting water pressure on any clogs or debris in your drain. It uses no chemicals and is reusable. And it’s not only necessary to use when there’s a clog; if used regularly, a Clog Buster will eliminate any debris in your pool’s main drain and prevent clogs from happening in the first place. Best of all, they usually cost less than $20.

Clean out any remaining debris in the pool. Clearing out the drain itself will likely result in a bit more debris floating in your pool, as the drain ejects any small particles that have become stuck in it over the past few weeks. So you may need to break out the skimmer to completely clean your pool of debris.

Finally, after you’ve finished cleaning out the main drain, check the chemical levels of your pool’s water and adjust them if necessary.

If you’re interested in the highest quality pool service and equipment in Bucks County and Montgomery County, look no further than Apco Pool Specialties, Inc. We also carry an extensive inventory of pool liners and pool coping.