How Do U Bypass The Filter When Vacuuming A Pool Sith A Sand Filter

Vacuuming your pool is i of the all-time ways to remove not but the gunk on the lesser of the pool, only also the microscopic algae spores that accept failed to be captured by your pool's filter system and are, as a result, lurking in your pool water merely waiting to bloom into life.

In this guide, nosotros walk you through how to vacuum your puddle, pool filter settings and how to fix upwards your pool vac.

The process is pretty straightforward.

How Often Should I Vacuum the Pool?

You should aim to vacuum your pool at to the lowest degree once a week. Skimmers are only capable of removing leaves, dirt, and debris that are floating. Most debris that enters a pool floats for three-4 hours, but later on that, information technology sinks to the bottom.

Manually vacuuming your pool means you lot can option upward leaves, fine clay, sand, blossom blossoms and any other droppings that has ended up on your pool's flooring. It'southward i of the best ways to clean your pool.

If your pool is full of mud and dirt, yous should follow our guide:
How to Clean a Pool Full of Mud or Dirt (Quickly)

What Equipment Exercise I Need?

A telescopic pole. We recommend this strong pole here.
A vacuum hose pipe. Nosotros recommend this hose here.
A vacuum head. In that location are 2 types: heads for concrete or tile lined pools which are equipped with wheels; heads for vinyl lined pools which have brushes. We recommend these Vacuum Heads here.

How to Gear up Pool Vacuum (Using Skimmer)

Setting up a pool vacuum is similar for about pools and filters. Grab your pool hose, scope pole and vacuum head. here'southward what you need to practise next:

1. Adhere the Vacuum Head

Take your vacuum head and the end of the hose and connect the two together. Some heads accept both the 1.25 and one.5 inch puddle hoses. Make sure yous have the appropriate size hose for your vac caput.

2. Attach a Pool Pole

Most pool poles are a standard bore and should fit a standard vac head. Scope ool poles come in dissimilar lengths. They're usually around half dozen or 8 ft and extend to around sixteen ft.

When you attach the pole, align the locking mechanism on the vac caput with the hole in the side of the pole. It'south a leap-loaded plastic or metal round "knob" that pushes in.

three. Alluvion the Hose Pipe With Water

Submerge the hose and permit it to alluvion with h2o. The bespeak is to remove trapped air that may otherwise be drawn into the pump and create an air block.

Pro tip: agree the hose next to the render outlet to chop-chop make full the hose with water.

4. Adhere the Hose to Skimmer or Suction Port.

If your pool has a dedicated suction port, adhere the hose to information technology. You'll observe this on the puddle wall. Careful not to attach it to the render jets.

If your pool doesn't have a dedicated vacuum port, you can use the skimmer to vacuum the pool. With nigh skimmers, y'all need to remove the basket in gild to attach the hose.

In addition, you'll need a special skimmer vacuum plate that fits within the skimmer. The vacuum plate will need to be specific to your skimmer type.

In one case you have this, put the skimmer vacuum plate in the skimmer and fit the hose to the tiptop of it.

How To Vacuum the Pool with a Sand Filter

i. Remove Large Leave or Debris.

Before you begin to vacuum, employ a scoop net to remove any peculiarly large leaves or debris that might otherwise block the vacuum head or hose pipe.

2. Fix Up the Puddle Vac

Nosotros detailed how to do this higher up. Just if you lot missed it, connect your puddle hose and pool pole to your vac head. Submerge them in water and fill up the hose with pool water then connect the hose to your skimmer or vacuum port.

iii. Switch on the Pool Pump

If y'all have a multiport valve, select either the "filter" or "waste" setting. Use the waste setting if your pool is particularly muddy.

For pools with a push-pull valve, move it to "filter".

Now switch on the pool pump.

4. Vacuum the Pool

Using the telescopic pole, movement the vacuum head slowly and deliberately beyond the bottom and sides of the pool.

Use long slow strokes and don't be tempted to blitz. Rushing this will merely stir up the clay that has settled on the bottom. The effect is you'll need to wait for information technology to settle again.

5. Aftermath the Filter

Information technology'southward a adept idea to aftermath your pool filter if your pool was especially dirty.

Plow the pump off and the multiport valve to the Aftermath position. The sand inside a sand filter system blocks droppings, dirt, and oil. The backwash reverses the flow of water and expels the dirty h2o via a waste line into the basis or drain.

Turn on the pump and backwash for 2 minutes or until the water in the sight glass (located on the filter) runs clear. Use the rinse setting for 30-threescore seconds after backwashing.

six. Make clean the Skimmer

With the pump switched off, close the skimmer valve, and empty the filter skimmer basket. When you're finished, reopen the skimmer valve.

7. Reset the Filter Valve to Filter and Plow On the Pump

Later on you're done, with the pump switched off, put the filter valve back into the "filter" position and switch your pump dorsum on to filter the water.

You're all done vacuuming and should take a clean pool!

How To Vacuum the Pool with a DE Filter

If your pool uses a diatomaceous world (DE) filter, the post-obit are the steps.

i. Go on with Steps 1-7, Above.

8. Furnish DE Powder. Unremarkably, this is washed via the skimmers. Follow the manufacturer'south instructions.

We recommend this replacement Diatomaceous Earth (DE) filtering media.

How To Vacuum the Puddle with a Cartridge Filter

If your pool uses a cartridge filter, the post-obit are the steps.

1. Proceed with Steps i-4, To a higher place.

8. Rinse Clean the Cartridge. Turn off the pump, remove the cartridge from its housing, and rinse/hose it off. One time cleaned, replace the cartridge, and plough the pump dorsum on.

How to Vacuum the Pool Without Using the Filter

If your puddle filter organization includes a multiport valve, it is possible to vacuum the pool by-passing the filter entirely and send the vacuumed water directly to the bleed.

This is both desirable and advisable when the puddle contains a specially high level of dirt, and especially when the water has an algae problem. Live algae easily passes through the filter media and re-enters the pool. And the same goes for dead algae post-obit a daze treatment.

A typical multiport arrangement has 6 different settings – Filter, Aftermath, Rinse, Circulate, Closed, and Waste matter.

1. Proceed With Steps ane-5, To a higher place.

6. Plough Off the Pump.

7. Turn the Multiport valve setting to Waste.

8. Plow On the Pump.

nine. Turn Off the Other Skimmer Valves. If yous take more than 1 skimmer, turn off the valves to all only the 1 into which your vacuum hose is plugged.

10. Close the Primary Drain Valve And so it is Half Open.

11. Vacuum the Pool. Movement the vacuum head slowly and deliberately beyond the bottom and sides of the pool.

12. Plow Off the Pump.

13. Disconnect the Hose Pipage from the Skimmer or Dedicated Suction Port. After disconnecting, yous tin dismantle the vacuum equipment.

14. Empty the Pump Basket. Close the skimmer valve that your hose was fastened to, then empty out the pump basket. When you're finished, reopen all the skimmer valves and reopen the Main Bleed.

15. Reset the Filter Valve to Filter and Turn On the Pump.

Note: because vacuuming to waste flushes water directly out of the pool, you may demand to height upwardly the pool water when you've finished. In this example, you demand to test and correct the pH and chlorine remainder. Click here for a guide on different ways to test your pool water.

Recommended Products

Puddle Vacuum Heads

Pool Vacuum Hose

Scope Pole

Swimming Pool Water Testing Strips

Swimming Pool Water Liquid Test Kit

Puddle Chlorine

Sand Filter Replacement Sand

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) Filtering Media.

Are you interested in saving time cleaning your swimming pool? You might like to read our article How to Clean a Pool: A Fourth dimension Saving Guide.

And further reading:

How to Get Sand Out of a Pool