1st time homeowner, pool hasn't been maintained for 7 years

[markorosz]

Ok, so before I start taking advice from my friends who always seem to know "someone" who has answers, I thought I'd ask some people who actually own a pool.

I'm a first time home buyer and never owned/maintained a pool.

The property I purchased has an in-ground lap pool, roughly 10' x 40'

My neighbor told me the previous homeowners never did anything with the pool, we're guessing around 6-8 years of not being maintained.

The pool is covered with plywood and still has "water" in it. This water is nasty... like black murk, a ton of leaves, branches, god knows what else... maybe a monster.

anywho....
My instinct tells me to drain the pool and scrub the hell out of it. I've read a few forums and sounds like that's the last thing to do. I honestly don't know how to run any of the equipment. I kinda figured I'd learn as I proceed, but i think im in over my head.

Can anybody help me out ?
mo