Gravel from shingles in pool

[Ale_Brewer]

I know it sounds crazy...but we had a huge hail storm recently! We are getting a new roof soon though, so yay! Anyway, when the hail came down it hit so hard that a lot of the little pebbles blew off the shingles and landed on the ground all around my house. A lot of it got in the pool because of how close the pool is to the house. My issue is that I can't get it out! I have a Polaris 9400 that is awesome. This thing picks up anything and everything. Even sand... and DE. But not roofing material. It just moves it around a little bit. I guess it's too heavy? I'm a little leery of brushing towards the main drains because if it's that heavy I don't want it to just settle in the bottom of the drain pipe. Short of strapping on the SCUBA gear and going down there with handheld broom and dust pan to sweep it up, any ideas? Has anyone dealt with this before?

 

[Isaac-1]

How about a traditional manual pool vacuum on a pole?

 

[Richard320]

Gravel, or grit?

I get shingle grit in my pool constantly. My cheap-o manual vacuum lifts it no problem. Surprisingly, so does my rechargeable Catfish Blaster with the fine silt bag.

Bigger stuff? I'd brush it all in a corner somewhere and scoop it out by hand when the water's warm enough.

 

[Ale_Brewer]

I would say gravel. Asphalt? I'm not sure what it is. Little rocks basically. I do have manual vacuum but I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know how to use it. I used it once when I first got the pool, didn't know anything, and didn't have a robot. I connected the hose to the suction port under the skimmer but then all the leaves I sucked up went right into the DE filter. Is there a way to use the vacuum where the gravel goes somewhere else? I would imagine if I out the backwash valve in the waste position then all the gravel would be stuck in the waste pipe since at the end of it the pipe comes up higher than ground level and dumps into the main clean out. Definitely don't want to clog that.


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[Richard320]

If you have a second hole in the bottom of the skimmer that goes to the main drain, this won't work.

Otherwise get a vacuum plate. It sits on top of the skimmer basket. I've seen 'em at Lowes, even.

Whatever gets vacuumed up will get caught in the skimmer basket. Stretch a nylon over it if you think the gravel will slip through the basket mesh.

 

[Smartjack]

I would think the manual vac will get everything for you. I had my roof replace last year, and a TON of that material ended up in the pool. Both of my cleaners were able to pick it up. The biggest issue was the small pieces that were on the vents for the main drain. When my cleaner went over the drain, it would pick up some of the material, but not all. So, I turned off the mains, and the robot got it all in a few passes.

 

[Ale_Brewer]

My robot got the bulk of it. Must have been all the smaller rocks. I'm guessing the ones it left behind are a little too heavy for it. I think I'll try the idea Richard had. The skimmer does have two ports but one (I believe) goes to what I've heard on here called an equalization port.


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