Do you drain below the returns every winter or just plug them?

[Joe Smith]

I’m getting ready to close the pool and always second guess this part. Some years I drain the water below the returns other years I just blow them out and plug without lowering the water much. I’ve heard strong opinions both ways. Curious what people actually do year after year without issues.

 

[John Knight]

I’m getting ready to close the pool and always second guess this part. Some years I drain the water below the returns other years I just blow them out and plug without lowering the water much. I’ve heard strong opinions both ways. Curious what people actually do year after year without issues.

I used to drain below the returns every time but I stopped a few years ago. Now I just blow the lines until there’s only mist, plug them and leave the water level higher. No problems so far and it makes opening easier.

 

[Warren Dale]

I’m getting ready to close the pool and always second guess this part. Some years I drain the water below the returns other years I just blow them out and plug without lowering the water much. I’ve heard strong opinions both ways. Curious what people actually do year after year without issues.

Climate matters a lot here. I’m in an area with deep freezes, so I still lower the water below the returns for peace of mind. It might be overkill but I’ve never had cracked fittings.

 

[Danny Meerman]

I’m getting ready to close the pool and always second guess this part. Some years I drain the water below the returns other years I just blow them out and plug without lowering the water much. I’ve heard strong opinions both ways. Curious what people actually do year after year without issues.

One thing that helped me decide was how accessible my plumbing is. Since mine is buried and hard to fix, I’m more cautious. If repairs were easier I’d probably rely more on plugs alone.

 

[Ionut Kaminski]

I used to drain below the returns every time but I stopped a few years ago. Now I just blow the lines until there’s only mist, plug them and leave the water level higher. No problems so far and it makes opening easier.

Reading what John Knight shared, I’m pretty much on the same page. I stopped lowering the water too much and just focused on blowing the lines dry. As long as you’re confident there’s no water trapped, I don’t see it causing issues, and opening the pool later feels easier. That approach has worked fine for me so far.

 

[Robert Smith]

What finally settled this for me was thinking about returns differently than skimmers. Returns usually don’t crack because of water in the pool, they crack when a little bit of water gets trapped behind the plug and has nowhere to go when it freezes. So the real variable isn’t the water level, it’s how confident you are that the line is actually empty.

I leave my water level fairly high now, but I’m picky about how I blow the returns out. I wait until it’s not just air but that dry sputtering mist, then plug while the blower is still pushing. I also angle the eyeballs down slightly before closing so gravity works in my favor. That’s been enough through several winters with no issues.

If you’re unsure about your blower strength, plugs, or how well your lines drain, lowering below the returns gives you a safety net. But if you know the lines are dry and sealed, the water level itself isn’t really doing the protecting. It’s more about removing trapped pockets than exposing the fitting.

 

[Alma Weber]

Climate matters a lot here. I’m in an area with deep freezes, so I still lower the water below the returns for peace of mind. It might be overkill but I’ve never had cracked fittings.

Reading what Warren Dale mentioned about deep freezes, I lean toward that approach too since my winters get pretty harsh. Even though blowing the lines until there’s only mist is technically enough, I still lower the water slightly below the returns just for extra peace of mind. For me it’s about risk tolerance because frozen plumbing repairs are expensive. As long as my pH and alkalinity are balanced before closing, I feel a lot more relaxed heading into winter.

 

[Michael Williams]

If I were you, I wouldn’t treat “dropping water below the returns” as a hard rule every year, because what really matters is whether the return lines are truly cleared (blown out) and plugged tight. In milder freeze areas, plenty of people are fine keeping the water higher and just doing a solid blow-out + plug, but if you get deep, sustained freezes, lowering the water a bit below the returns can be a reasonable extra layer of insurance to reduce the chance of trapped water at the fittings. The main thing is picking an approach you can execute cleanly and consistently, not halfway.

 

[Henry Graham]

I went back and forth on this for a couple seasons too. Early on I always drained below the returns because that’s what most closing guides say. Eventually I realized the bigger factor was how well the lines were blown out, not the exact water level.

Now I usually leave the water fairly high but I’m careful during the blowout. I run the blower until the returns aren’t just bubbling but actually spitting that dry misty air, then I plug them while the air is still pushing through. That helps make sure there isn’t a little pocket of water sitting behind the fitting. My filter pressure also drops to zero by that point, which is usually a good sign the system is empty.

The only time I lower the water below the returns now is if I’m not totally confident about the blowout or if we’re expecting a rough winter. In those cases it’s basically just an extra safety buffer. For normal winters the lines being dry matters a lot more than whether the pool water is an inch above or below the returns.

One small thing that helped me too was angling the return eyeballs slightly downward before closing so any leftover moisture tends to drain away from the wall fitting. Not a huge change, but every little bit helps when freezing temps hit.

 

[Katherine Morgan]

I used to stress over this exact thing every fall. For a while I always drained below the returns because that’s what the old pool manual suggested, but after a few seasons I realized the bigger factor was just making sure the return line was actually cleared out well.

Now I usually leave the water level a bit higher and focus more on the blowout itself. I run the blower until the return stops doing the big bubbling and starts spitting that dry misty air, then I thread the plug in while air is still pushing through. That seems to prevent that tiny pocket of water that can get trapped behind the fitting. I also keep an eye on the pressure gauge at the filter, once it drops off and the line is just moving air you know you’re close.

One other small thing I started doing is loosening the return eyeball a little before winter so it’s not sealing tight against the fitting. Might be overthinking it, but it seems to let any leftover moisture drain instead of sitting there. Havent had a cracked return yet doing it that way. Curious if anyone else watches their pressure gauge during blowout to know when the line is actually dry.