How much does it cost to fill a pool with a hose?

HomeGuide publishes $40 to $400 for a garden-hose refill, and its repair guide prices the water at $30 to $100 per 1,000 gallons. HomeAdvisor reads about $55 per 5,000 gallons, with local water prices varying. The cost is the water bill; the time is 12 to 36 hours on HomeGuide's figures.

Is water delivery worth it for a pool refill?

HomeGuide prices it at $400 to $2,000 against $40 to $400 for a hose, and says the truck finishes in under an hour. The trade is money for time, and for a pool that has to be refilled on a contractor's schedule the hour can be the point.

Does draining a pool damage it?

It can, which is why the published guides treat it as contractor work tied to a resurfacing or repair rather than a maintenance habit. HomeGuide's guidance is to ask the contractor how long the pool must remain dry after resurfacing — the same person who drained it should own the timeline for refilling it.

Can I drain and refill the pool myself to save money?

The refill is a hose and a water bill on every published table. The drain is where HomeAdvisor and HomeGuide price a professional, at $175 to $650 depending on what is bundled, and the cleaning that follows is what the drain is usually for. If a contractor is resurfacing, HomeGuide's $600 to $650 drain-and-clean line is part of their job, not yours.

How much does it cost to get a pool drained and refilled?

Published August 21, 2026

Draining and cleaning a pool costs $600 to $650 and refilling it $40 to $400 by hose or $400 to $2,000 by water truck, per HomeGuide.

HomeAdvisor reads the front half lower: draining at $175 to $225 depending on pool size, plus about $250 for a cleaning once it is empty. Angi's summary of the same job is $425 to $475 for draining, refilling and cleaning before a resurfacing begins. The spread between the guides comes down to what is bundled — a drain alone is a pump and a hose, a drain with an acid wash or pressure clean is a crew.

Sources: HomeAdvisor, Angi

The two halves, priced separately

Step	HomeGuide	HomeAdvisor / Angi
Drain	$600 – $650 including cleaning	$175 – $225
Clean once empty	(included above)	About $250
Refill by garden hose	$40 – $400	About $55 per 5,000 gallons
Refill by water delivery truck	$400 – $2,000	—

Published prices for each step, with both readings where the guides differ.

Sources: HomeGuide, HomeAdvisor, Angi

HomeGuide's repair guide gives the refill a per-volume reading too: $30 to $100 per 1,000 gallons of water on its own. That is the line where the pool's gallon count finally matters. A 15,000-gallon pool refilled by hose is a water bill; the same pool refilled by truck is a delivery invoice, and HomeGuide says the truck fills it in under an hour where the hose takes 12 to 36.

Sources: HomeGuide, HomeGuide

Why a pool gets drained at all

Resurfacing is the usual reason — HomeGuide says the pool must be drained and cleaned before any new finish goes on, and that some finishes need 7 to 10 days dry to cure before the water goes back. Repairs are the other: HomeGuide's repair guide describes leak and drain repairs as jobs that often involve draining, fixing and refilling, and prices a drain repair at $400 to $1,500 with the drain and refill included.

Sources: HomeGuide, HomeGuide

Drain once. If the pool is coming down for a repair, ask whether the surface is due too — the drain and refill are paid per visit, not per job.

The honest checklist before the pump goes in

Ask whether the cleaning is in the drain price or a separate line — that is the whole difference between the HomeGuide and HomeAdvisor readings.
Ask hose or truck for the refill, and whether the water itself is in the quote.
Ask how many days the pool stays empty. HomeGuide says some finishes cure for 7 to 10 days, and an empty pool in wet ground is a question for the contractor, not a guess.
Get the drain, any repair, any resurfacing and the refill as separate lines on one written quote.

If the drain is for a resurfacing, the finish price by square foot is here: what pool resurfacing costs.

These are the pool companies AI assistants actually name when homeowners ask. Nobody can pay to be on these lists.

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Questions people ask next

How much does it cost to fill a pool with a hose?: HomeGuide publishes $40 to $400 for a garden-hose refill, and its repair guide prices the water at $30 to $100 per 1,000 gallons. HomeAdvisor reads about $55 per 5,000 gallons, with local water prices varying. The cost is the water bill; the time is 12 to 36 hours on HomeGuide's figures.
Is water delivery worth it for a pool refill?: HomeGuide prices it at $400 to $2,000 against $40 to $400 for a hose, and says the truck finishes in under an hour. The trade is money for time, and for a pool that has to be refilled on a contractor's schedule the hour can be the point.
Does draining a pool damage it?: It can, which is why the published guides treat it as contractor work tied to a resurfacing or repair rather than a maintenance habit. HomeGuide's guidance is to ask the contractor how long the pool must remain dry after resurfacing — the same person who drained it should own the timeline for refilling it.
Can I drain and refill the pool myself to save money?: The refill is a hose and a water bill on every published table. The drain is where HomeAdvisor and HomeGuide price a professional, at $175 to $650 depending on what is bundled, and the cleaning that follows is what the drain is usually for. If a contractor is resurfacing, HomeGuide's $600 to $650 drain-and-clean line is part of their job, not yours.

Written for homeowners by Most Recommended Pool Resurfacing, which measures which pool resurfacing companies AI assistants actually recommend in 12 U.S. metros. Nobody can pay to be on those lists. How we measure.