Phoenix water is hard. Every time water evaporates from your pool, the minerals stay behind. After a few years the water gets so loaded with calcium and dissolved solids that chemicals stop working the way they should. Stains set into the plaster, and you start fighting cloudy water. The fix is to drain the pool and start fresh, and if the surface is stained, give it an acid wash while it’s empty. NextGen Pool Care does both for pools across the Valley. Call (623) 526-4945 to set it up.

What’s the Difference?

A drain and refill swaps your old water for new. It resets calcium hardness, dissolved solids, and cyanuric acid (the stabilizer that builds up from chlorine tabs). Your plaster stays as it is.

An acid wash is done while the pool is empty. A mild acid mix is washed over the plaster to strip off a thin top layer. That takes stains, scale, and algae marks with it, and the surface comes out brighter. It’s a deep clean for the pool finish.

Many pools need both. Some only need a drain and refill. We’ll look at the pool and tell you which one makes sense.

Signs It’s Time

• Your tech says the calcium or stabilizer is too high to bring down any other way
• Water stays cloudy or dull even with good chlorine and a clean filter
• The plaster has dark stains, rust spots, or a gray or brown cast
• There’s a crusty white line of scale at the waterline
• Black algae keeps coming back in the same spots
• It’s been more than a few years since the pool was last drained

In the Valley, a lot of pools need fresh water every 2 to 3 years. Pools that get a lot of fill water, like ones with a waterfall or a leak, may need it sooner.

Pick the Right Time of Year

Draining a pool in July is a bad idea. An empty pool in 110-degree sun can crack plaster and dry out the tile grout. Some pools can even shift if the ground under them is wet. We schedule most drains between fall and spring, when it’s cooler and the new water is easier to balance.

How the Job Goes

1. Check the water and the pool. We test the water and look at the finish so we know what we’re dealing with.
2. Drain it. We pump the water out the right way. Most Valley cities want pool water sent to the sewer cleanout at the house, not into the street. We handle that.
3. Clean it out. We remove leaves, dirt, and anything sitting on the floor.
4. Acid wash (if you chose it). We wash the plaster in sections, scrub stains, and rinse it down. Then we neutralize the acid and pump out the rinse water.
5. Refill. The pool fills with fresh water from your hose or tap.
6. Start-up chemicals. New water needs to be balanced before you swim. We add the start-up chemicals and set the pH, alkalinity, and calcium.

Then we get your equipment running again and make sure everything’s primed and flowing.

Things to Know Before You Book

An acid wash takes some of the plaster with it. That’s how it works. Done right, it’s a thin layer. But a pool can only take so many acid washes in its life, so we don’t recommend one every time. If your plaster is already thin or rough, we’ll say so. In that case, a drain and refill may be the better choice for now.

It won’t fix everything. Deep stains from metals or old etching may lighten but not disappear. We’ll be straight with you about what to expect before we start.

Keep the pump off until we say. Running the pump with no water can burn up the motor fast. We turn it off at the start and bring it back on once the pool is full.

Common Questions

How long does it take?

Draining and cleaning usually take a day. Filling depends on your water pressure and pool size, and it often runs overnight or longer. You can usually swim once the start-up chemicals are balanced.

Will my water bill go up?

Yes, for that month. A typical backyard pool holds 15,000 to 25,000 gallons. Some Valley cities have programs or rules about pool draining, so it’s worth checking your city’s water site.

Does it help with a green pool?

Sometimes. When a pool is very green, a drain and acid wash can be faster than chemicals alone. Our green pool cleaning page explains how we decide.

What about the white crust on my tile?

That’s calcium scale. A drain is a good time to clean it, since the tile is easy to reach. See our pool tile cleaning service.

What does it cost?

The acid wash price, which includes the drain and refill and start-up chemicals, is on our pricing page.

Schedule Your Drain or Acid Wash

Call (623) 526-4945 or ask for an estimate online. If you’re a weekly pool maintenance customer, your tech will let you know when your water is getting close.

NextGen Pool Care is licensed, bonded, and fully insured. Arizona ROC #356379.