For homeowners
Arizona water beats up a pool. Eventually it needs a reset.
Evaporation concentrates minerals in your water every single day here. Most West Valley pools need a drain and acid wash every 3 to 5 years. We tell you when yours actually does, not before.
Why it happens
The water never leaves. The minerals do not either.
A pool loses water to evaporation constantly in the desert, especially in summer. When you top it off, you add fresh water, but the calcium, salt, and other dissolved minerals already in the pool stay behind. Do that for years and the total dissolved solids climb and climb.
Past a certain point, chlorine stops working the way it should no matter how much you add. You get a calcium line at the waterline that will not scrub off, staining on the plaster, and water that is harder to keep clear week to week. Chemicals cannot fix water that has simply been concentrated too far. At that point the water itself needs to go.
What the job involves
Empty it, wash it, refill it, rebalance it.
We drain the pool completely, then acid wash the plaster or pebble surface to strip the stained top layer and the calcium buildup back to clean material. The pool refills, and we rebuild the water chemistry from zero: balance, sanitizer, conditioner, all of it dialed in fresh instead of fighting years of buildup.
Most pools around here need this every 3 to 5 years. Heavier hard water, more sun exposure, or a pool that runs hot will land on the shorter end of that.
Why timing matters in summer
An empty pool in July is not a small thing.
Plaster that sits exposed to direct desert sun while the pool is empty can crack or discolor if it is left too long. There is also hydrostatic pressure to account for: the groundwater under an empty pool shell can push up on it if the water table is high, which is a real risk after monsoon rain. We plan the drain around weather and groundwater conditions, and we do not leave a pool sitting empty longer than the job requires.
When you do not need one yet
We are not going to talk you into one.
If your chlorine is still working at a normal dose and you are not looking at a hard water line or heavy staining, you are probably not there yet, and we will tell you that on the visit instead of quoting a drain you do not need. Weekly service and the occasional filter clean can carry a lot of pools well past the point most vendors would push a drain.
Not sure if your pool needs one?
Send a photo of the waterline or call, and we will tell you straight.