Curious—has anyone tried one of those collapsible above-ground pool drains that supposedly filter out debris? Wondering if they’d clog up or actually help with the mess...
Tried one a couple summers ago. In theory, it’s a neat idea—keeps the big stuff out, but honestly, it clogged up way faster than I expected once the fine silt started moving. Had to keep stopping to clean it out, which got old fast. I ended up just sticking with a regular discharge hose and raking up the leftover mess after. If your pool collects a lot of leaves or mulch, it might help a bit, but for sand or dirt, it’s more hassle than it’s worth.
I actually had a different experience with those filters last year. My yard’s on a slope, so I was desperate to avoid a muddy mess. I rigged up the collapsible drain with a mesh laundry bag inside—kind of a DIY filter. It caught most of the gunk, even the finer stuff, and I just swapped out the bag when it got gross. Not perfect, but it saved me from raking sludge all afternoon. Maybe it depends on the type of debris or how fast you drain?
That mesh bag trick actually works better than a lot of the commercial filters I’ve seen, especially if you’re dealing with leaves and grass clippings. I’ve tried similar setups on job sites—sometimes just a chunk of old window screen zip-tied to the end of the hose. The main thing I’ve noticed is, if you let the water out too fast, nothing’s going to catch all the fine stuff anyway. Slower drain, less mess. But yeah, every yard’s different... those slopes can be brutal for runoff.
I’ve done the window screen trick too—works in a pinch, especially if you’re staring down a ton of debris. One time I tried draining a pool on a steep backyard and even with the mesh, the water just carved out little rivers everywhere. Ended up laying out some old towels to slow things down. Not pretty, but it saved me from raking mud for days. Slower is definitely better, but sometimes that slope just wins...
That’s actually pretty clever—using towels to slow the flow. I’ve seen people try to “engineer” the perfect drainage setup, but honestly, sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got. Slopes are tricky, and water always finds a way. I’d say you did the right thing improvising. It’s not about pretty, it’s about practical, especially if it saves you hours of cleanup. Sometimes the best solutions are the ones that look a little weird but get the job done.
