The main drain in your swimming pool is very easy to locate – it sits right at the bottom of the pool. But locating them isn’t actually the problem with swimming pool main drains. The problem is that they can be very dangerous pieces of equipment in the pool, and that many pool owners don’t realize it. Because of that, they don’t take care to properly guard their swimming pool main drain, until tragedy strikes.
One of the biggest misconceptions about swimming pool main drains is that they actually drain the pool. In fact, they don’t or rather, that’s not their main job. Some pools go from construction to demolition without ever being drained. What a swimming pool main drain actually does is act as a suction that takes the water out of the pool and sends it back to the filter to be cleaned, so that it can then redistribute it back into the pool.
In 2007 the United States passed the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. This act stated that any public swimming pools have dome-shaped covers over their swimming pool main drains so that the possibility of entrapment is reduced. The government did not make it mandatory that private pools take steps to replace existing main drains, however, if you will be doing any work to your pool it’s a great time to make the change for safety. New residential swimming pool code requires two main drains to be installed into the pool bottom, at least 5′ apart, and to also have these dome-shaped covers over their main drains.
There’s very little maintenance involved in a main drain of a swimming pool other than cleaning it and the cover. Cleaning the swimming pool main drain is important so that it doesn’t become clogged and so that it can continue to perform its job properly. There is also a pressurized clog remover that you can use on the main drain in your swimming pool to unclog any debris from the main drain with a highly pressurized blast of air. This is a great way to ensure that your drain is clear, but it does require that you drain and refill your pool afterwards.
Swimming pool main drains are much more than just that circle with all the little circles sitting at the bottom of your pool. And it’s important to fully understand what your swimming pool’s main drain does so that you can keep it working properly, and so that you can protect the swimmers in the pool from it.