Q&A for How to Vacuum Your Pool and Backwash the Filter

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Question

Does the swivel end of the vacuum hose go in the skimmer or on the vacuum head?

Community Answer

The vacuum end. It will allow air to be sucked in if it's out of the water.

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Question

Have I done any damage by vacuuming the pool with the filter in the rinse mode?

Community Answer

Assuming you are doing this with a sand filter, you have done no damage. Sand filters are forgiving; however, your method is causing you more work because after vacing in the Rinse mode, you will then need to Backwash, causing even more water loss. You want to vac on the Waste setting.

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Question

When I vacuum my pool, everything comes back out of the filter. What am I doing wrong?

Community Answer

Possibly, you are attempting to vacuum on the wrong setting. Vacuuming should be done on the Filter setting, and remember to prime the vacuum hose before attempting to vacuum.

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Question

With a sand pump for an above-ground pool, when hooking up the hoses to vacuum the pool, do I put it on backwash to vacuum, or on the filter setting?

Community Answer

Use the filter setting, or you can vacuum to waste, which means the water is discharged out instead of returning to the pool. Using the filter setting will save water, but you have to backwash the filter when you are done. Vacuum to waste when you have a lot of debris in the pool that you don't want going into your filter.

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Question

How do I prime my pool vacuum?

Community Answer

The pool vacuum will best work if the hose is filled with water (minimal to no air). The best way is to put the hose in the water, take the vacuum end, put it up to the pool "jet" (output of water flow). This will fill the hose with water. Leave the hose in the water, place the vacuum head to the end of the hose, and then connect to the filter suction end. You should notice the hose sink into the pool and the vacuum head rest at the bottom of the pool. Then you can turn on the vacuum setting on the control and it should start moving the vacuum head.

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Question

What happens if you forget to switch from backwash mode back to filter mode and the pump is set to auto run?

Community Answer

The water will be pumped out of your pool very quickly when the pump comes on!

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Question

How often do I need to backwash my pool filter?

Community Answer

If you put your hand in front of the stream coming into the pool, it should come out like a hot tub jet. If it comes out like a garden hose, you need to backwash.

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Question

How long does the backwash hose need to be?

Community Answer

Long enough to get the waste water from the pool to an area where it will not damage property by flooding.

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Question

How often do you change the sand in filter?

Community Answer

Empty it every season. It depends on where you live, but leaving wet sand in the vessel may cause it to freeze, expand, and crack it. You will also want to rinse and disassemble the equipment in the basement out of the cold.

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Question

When do I vacuum my pool?

Community Answer

Typically, people enjoy their pools most when free of debris, meaning vacuuming often is necessary.

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Question

What do I do if I'm not getting any pressure when vacuuming my pool?

Community Answer

Go to the pressure gauge and check pressure, it might be too high. Skimmer basket may be full, pump basket may be full, vacuum plate may be loose or not set correctly. It's a pain, but start again like it's a new vacuum.

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Question

After I am done vacuuming, and I turn the filter back to circulate, it blows sand into pool. Why is that?

Community Answer

After vacuuming, you should not go to "circulate" -- you should go to filter. Circulate just moves the water around. The water must move through the filter to be cleaned.

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Question

What do I do if I backwashed, but the sight glass is still green? How do I clear it?

Community Answer

Keep back washing until it is clear. Unless something is stuck in the sight glass. If that's the case, turn the pump off and remove the sight glass and clean it, then reinstall it and backwash again until it is clear.

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Question

Will sludge clog up the pipes when backwashing my filter?

Gavin Donnelly

Community Answer

The purpose of backwashing is to remove any gunk that is in the filter, so all the dirt and debris in the fiter will come out of the backwash hose.

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Question

I backwashed my inground pool which has a salt water sand filter system. The pressure has dropped down to 10 instead of the usual 25 and it is nosier than it was, although it seems to be running well. Does it sound like everything is OK?

Gavin Donnelly

Community Answer

You should consult the operator's manual for the regular operating pressure, but it sounds like it may have just been operating at a higher level because it was dirty and now it is dropped back down to normal. It could be louder because it is filtering more water through it since it isn't clogged anymore.

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Question

I have an above ground pool with a sand filter. When I vacuum it should I leave my settings on 'filter' or 'backwash'?

Gavin Donnelly

Community Answer

When you vacuum it you need to use the pool skimmer's suction, you do not need to use the multiport settings on the pool's filter. Just leave the pool filtering as normal.

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Question

How do I get greater suction when vacuuming my pool? Can I close the skimmer and main outlets to gain greater suction?

Community Answer

Leave the skimmer valve open and close the main drain. (If you have 1 skimmer.) If you have 2 or more skimmers, you will need to close them and the main drain. But leave 1 skimmer open, that is where you'll hook up your vacuum hose.

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Question

Can I close the skimmer and main outlets to gain greater suction when I have a separate vacuum outlet?

Community Answer

You close the skimmer and main drain to get more suction. You can leave the main drain pinched open just a little if wanted.

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