Pool full of water for 2 years

[mcordano]

We recently bought a house with a pool in the backyard. Full of water, but not been used in 2 years. It has a nice cover and supposedly was a very nice pool when they put in in 20+ years ago.

Can you just add chemicals to the water? Or do you need to completely drain and start over?

[czechmate]

Since you did not have a pool inspected in detail when you were buying the house it was obviously a bargain.
If the water is murky or green, pump it out while you washing sides with a pressure washer or at least a hose.
Empty pool will give you better idea of the plaster condition, should you decide on acid wash or re-plaster. Refill, put in a Stain water treat or other metal sequestrant, have a fill sample tested and input your volume in the Pool calculator. It will tell you what to add and how much. You can always get more help here if some things are out of whack.

[swimfit]

Best thing would be to drain clean and refill the pool.