Pool not clearing up, and filter pressure not increasing

[nerdrium]

Good Morning.

I'm a 15+ year owner of a 16 x 32 in-ground (vinyl liner) pool with a 9 foot diving well.

Our house is on the market so I opened the pool much earlier than normal (late April). We live in Central Illinois.

I've been shocking, adding chlorine, adding algacide, vacuuming, stirring up the water, etc., etc., but I cannot get it to clear up.

My experience has always been that over time the pressure coming out of the jets gets lower and lower as more and more debris is getting caught by the filter, and not to back-wash until the pressure coming out of the jets is very low. That the junk in the filter will help do a better job catching more junk, etc.

Our pool has been running with water coming out of the jets full blast as if it has been back-washed 5 minutes ago. Something tells me either a) something is broken inside my sand filter, or b) somehow the water is bypassing the sand filter. The sand filter is probably 25+ years old and is the only major part of the pool I haven't replaced (liner 3 years ago, pump 2 years ago, underwater light last year).

If you folks are in agreement with me that the water coming out of the jets should gradually slow down as the filter gets more clogged, then my question becomes--are there parts in the filter I can replace, or is a new filter in my future?

Any other suggestions are obviously MORE than welcome.

Thanks very much for any replies!

Mike G.

 

[cowboycasey]

You can replace the insides but if sand is not coming out that should be good, do you have it on recirculate instead of filter?

 

[atttech-2]

I don't have a sand filter so this is just a guess based on reading threads nothing more so take it for what it is worth. It could be channeling sand clumped together and not filtering like it has in the past I would start with a deep clean and see if things improve. Take a look at THIS thread

 

[pookiesunshine]

if it is on filter not recirculate, the particles in the water are likely too fine to be removed by the sand. you could add some DE, search elsewhere on this site for how to do that to be sure it is compatible with your filter.