Roots Under My Doughboy

by Bill
(Oceanside, CA)

I have a 32 by 16 foot oval Doughboy pool with a number of pine roots growing under the liner. I can't decide if I should ignore them or try to remove them. The liner is about 5 years old. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bill



Hi Bill. I have seen forests growing under pool liners when I have removed them to install a new one. It is not at all uncommon.

I have seldom seen tree roots damage a liner, they tend to grow horizontally, not vertically. So my suggestion would be to leave it alone until you need to change the liner. At that time you can cut them all out, add a little fresh sand, and start over again.

Because of the age of the liner, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to drain the pool completely and be able to reuse the same liner. It will shrink and become brittle, as soon as it is emptied. So plan on replacing the liner when these repairs are made.

If the roots are not posing any problems and do not appear dangerous to the liner, I would leave them be for now. If they are getting so big they get in the way of cleaning, or you are worried about cutting the liner as you clean, you may consider removing them now.

If there are sharp points you feel might puncture the liner, again, it might be time to remove the roots. But if you are just starting to notice them, and they are not posing any real problems, you probably have plenty of time left to get a few more years out of your existing liner.