A: It's a waste, but fresh pool water is not safe for irrigating plants. It's because the chlorine in pool water is very toxic to plants. If the chlorine level is low enough, it's possible to use it.
Pool water contains chlorine or bromine, both harmful to plants. You'll see the results — leaves turning yellow or brown (the whole leaf or just around the edges) and extensive leaf drop. If your pool was uncovered all winter but still treated with chlorine, the chlorine levels might be too high to be safe for plants.
If you plan on using pool water to irrigate your trees, don't add any more chlorine to your pool. After four or five days, test the water. When its chlorine level dips below 0.5 parts per million, the water is safe for most trees.
But did you know there's an easy way to reuse the water that's already in the pool? All you have to do is recycle it! Meet reverse osmosis — the best way to purify your swimming pool water. It works by pushing the existing water through semipermeable membranes that hold off any impurities, particles, and buildup.
Gardeners know that chlorine kills bacteria and fear that chlorinated water will not make the garden happy. In fact, chlorinated water kills microorganisms in garden soil and compost piles, organisms beneficial to plant growth and health. However, because the chlorine level is so low, the damage done is minimal.
A: It's a waste, but fresh pool water is not safe for irrigating plants. It's because the chlorine in pool water is very toxic to plants. If the chlorine level is low enough, it's possible to use it.
A freshly chlorinated pool should not be discharged into the yard; the chlorine is harmful to yard plants and the environment as a whole. Using a test kit, your pool water needs to reflect a certain concentration of chlorine, such as 0.1 ppm (parts per million), before it is safe to drain into your yard.
Using Swimming Pool/Spa Water on Plants:
Backwashing, the cleaning of pool/spa cartridge or sand filters, is part of more regular maintenance. This backwashing water (approximately 75 gallons each rinse), and pool/spa drainage water, may be used to irrigate a variety of salt-tolerant plants.
When to Replace the Pool Water
You should replace pool water every five to seven years. As much as possible, you should drain and refill your pool during mild weather. It's to avoid pool damage caused by direct sunlight and heat. Moreover, a pool maintenance company can recommend the ideal time to drain your pool.
Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate is naturally alkaline, with a pH of 8. When you add baking soda to your pool water, you will raise both the pH and the alkalinity, improving stability and clarity. Many commercial pool products for raising alkalinity utilize baking soda as their main active ingredient.
Chlorine is a micronutrient, essential to plant growth. However, too much chlorine can accumulate in leaf tissue, resulting in leaves with a scorched or burned appearance. Trees with scorched leaves have brown or dead tissue on the tips, margins, or between the veins of the leaf.
In particular, chlorine is important for plant photosynthesis as it is involved in the opening and closing of stomata (pores in leaves that enable plants to take in and release carbon dioxide, oxygen and other gases as required. It also helps ensure leaves are firm.
Swimming pool water contains chemicals, especially chlorine, that can harm your trees and landscape plants when water drains and floods the area. Too much chlorine can damage tree leaves and other delicate tissues. Too much chlorinated water all at once can even kill trees.
Chlorine Toxicity in Soil and Compost
Soil and compost piles contain huge amounts of microbes. When the water initially hits, it will kill some microbes, but they quickly repopulate. Any effect that does occur is short lived. “In one study, researchers continuously applied highly chlorinated water to soil for 126 days.
Colorado's state extension service tells us chlorinated drinking water may kill a number of microorganisms in soil or a compost pile. However, their reproduction rate is so rapid that populations rebound in a short time. In one study, researchers continuously applied highly chlorinated water to soil for 126 days.
Palm trees, wax myrtle, yaupon (tree holly), devilwood, live oak, willow oak, southern magnolia, eastern red cedar and Siberian elm are all great choices.
So, as we all know, swimming pools, whether common or privately owned, need to be cleaned on a regular basis to prevent bacterial contamination, algal growth, dirt, excess chemicals, and other things.
I think the answer to your question is about 3-6 days. The problem is that the chlorine that you need to keep the bacteria in check is used up more quickly as the temperature rises, the activity increases, and as sweat and other body stuff is put into the pool.
The average cost to fill in an inground pool is $4,000 to $16,000 for full demolition or $2,000 to $10,000 to fill in with dirt. An above ground pool removal costs $300 to $800, or $2,500 with a deck. The cost to get rid of a swimming pool depends on the size, depth, material, and accessibility.
* Can i discharge the backwash water onto my lawn, will it harm the grass / plants? The DE doesn't harm the grass or plants, excessive chlorine or saltwater may. Alternatively you could backwash to a sewer outlet or clean-out.
As a general rule, you should be backwashing your pool about once a week or in conjugation with your scheduled maintenance. Another industry standard is to backwash when your filter's pressure gauge reads 8-10 PSI (pounds per square inch) over the starting level or “clean” pressure.
The first choice for draining swimming pool water should be to drain pool water into the sanitary sewer. In-ground pools typically have a sanitary sewer drainage inlet near the pool equipment. Pools and spas not plumbed with a sanitary sewer drainage inlet can be drained to a sanitary sewer line plumbed to the home.
During normal operation, water flows to the filtering system through two or more main drains at the bottom of the pool and multiple skimmer drains around the top of the pool. The main drains are usually located on the lowest point in the pool, so the entire pool surface slants toward them.
When draining your swimming pool, it's a wise idea to lower the chlorine concentration before allowing the water to drain onto the grass. You should never put water on your lawn that contains more than 0.1 parts of chlorine per million of water. Too much chlorine will harm your grass and the health of your soil.