There is stuff on the bottom of my pool. When we get it the water clouds up but then it settles back to the bottom. The pump is not filtering this out. It's an intex pump. When vacuuming I just have the vacuum that attaches to the water hose with the little bag which is not going to catch this stuff. Any suggestions?
Cleaning sediment off bottom with intex vacuum
- Thread starter bluejack
- Start date
This would be the redneck rig-up way to do it with your existing equipment (plus 1 or 2 additional items).
1. Buy a length of 1" pool hose long enough to reach across the pool.
2. Plug the intake opening to the pool.
3. Disconnect the intake hose from the pump.
4. Attach your new long hose to the pump.
5. Toss the other end of the hose over the side into the pool.
6. Hold the end of the hose under the water and let it fill up, then cover the end with your hand and lift it up so the water runs into the pump. Do this a couple of times to get rid of as much air as you can.
7. Hold the end of the hose under water and have someone else turn on the pump.
8. Direct the hose over the sediment as close to the bottom without touching as you can.
9. If you start to lose suction then you need to turn off the pump and clean the filter cartridge.
If you can get the sediment into a pile before you try to vacuum that would be great.
This is not an intex or TFP approved method to clean your pool. This is desperation.
If you are interested in the intex being your pool of choice for years then you would do well to invest in a 1/2 hp pump and a sand filter. The pump would have enough power to run a real pool vacuum and the filter would keep you from having a lot of sediment in the first place. What size intex do you have?
1. Buy a length of 1" pool hose long enough to reach across the pool.
2. Plug the intake opening to the pool.
3. Disconnect the intake hose from the pump.
4. Attach your new long hose to the pump.
5. Toss the other end of the hose over the side into the pool.
6. Hold the end of the hose under the water and let it fill up, then cover the end with your hand and lift it up so the water runs into the pump. Do this a couple of times to get rid of as much air as you can.
7. Hold the end of the hose under water and have someone else turn on the pump.
8. Direct the hose over the sediment as close to the bottom without touching as you can.
9. If you start to lose suction then you need to turn off the pump and clean the filter cartridge.
If you can get the sediment into a pile before you try to vacuum that would be great.
This is not an intex or TFP approved method to clean your pool. This is desperation.
If you are interested in the intex being your pool of choice for years then you would do well to invest in a 1/2 hp pump and a sand filter. The pump would have enough power to run a real pool vacuum and the filter would keep you from having a lot of sediment in the first place. What size intex do you have?
I have a 16 x 4 ft intex pool. Yesterday evening I hooked my pump up and was able to fit a water house on the outlet and ran it across the bottom. Of course it stirred up a lot of it that was on the bottom. This morning there is still a ton on the bottom of the pool. It's clear other than the reddish brown colored stuff on the bottom. I guess I'll just keep trying this until I can get it cleared off. My filter is picking up some of it because when I clean it out after the filter has that red color on it.
I had the same intex pool and quickly became dissatisfied with the pump/filter that came with the unit. Besides not being able to vacuum properly, you'll find it necessary to clean or change the cartridges almost daily.
If you're planning to keep the pool for a few years, I would follow zea's advice and invest in a sand or DE filter. I was able to find a used 1hp DE unit on Craigslist for a few hundred dollars. It was well worth it.
If you're planning to keep the pool for a few years, I would follow zea's advice and invest in a sand or DE filter. I was able to find a used 1hp DE unit on Craigslist for a few hundred dollars. It was well worth it.
I previously posted the following in the Intex Census thread, but since it is directly related to the original post in this thread, will post it again.
After lots of trial, error and frustration, I have found a pretty good way to vacuum an Intex pool. The vacuums you connect to a garden hose are worse than useless. Even with a true vacuum system, if all you have are the standard paper filters, most of what you vacuum out flows right back into the pool. So you need some way to vacuum to waste.
This method is simple and has worked well for me. You will need a vacuum hose, a vacuum head and a pole to attach them to. 1. Fill the hose with water by holding it in front of the return. 2. Turn off the pump and disconnect the hose where water flows into the pump and let the water run out onto the ground. 3. Remove the strainer or skimmer from the outlet that leads to the pump and connect the hose to it. 4. The suction created will allow you to vacuum to waste, permanently removing that crud from your pool. You could use the garden hose style vacuum head with this method. Just put duct tape over the hole where the bag goes, so all the suction is coming from the bottom.
The suction will usually be enough to keep the hose connected to the outlet without physically attaching it. If not, there are several ways to attach the hose with various adapters. My vacuum hose fits my skimmer adapter pretty well, so that is what I use.
Another option has less suction, but all you need is a garden hose. 1. Run a garden hose from the faucet to the pool. 2. Turn on the faucet and let water run into the pool long enough to get all the air out of the line. 3. Turn off the faucet and quickly disconnect the hose. Water will start to flow out of the pool through the hose. 4. Get in the pool and use the suction created to vacuum to waste. I use the first three steps to remove water from my winter cover.
After lots of trial, error and frustration, I have found a pretty good way to vacuum an Intex pool. The vacuums you connect to a garden hose are worse than useless. Even with a true vacuum system, if all you have are the standard paper filters, most of what you vacuum out flows right back into the pool. So you need some way to vacuum to waste.
This method is simple and has worked well for me. You will need a vacuum hose, a vacuum head and a pole to attach them to. 1. Fill the hose with water by holding it in front of the return. 2. Turn off the pump and disconnect the hose where water flows into the pump and let the water run out onto the ground. 3. Remove the strainer or skimmer from the outlet that leads to the pump and connect the hose to it. 4. The suction created will allow you to vacuum to waste, permanently removing that crud from your pool. You could use the garden hose style vacuum head with this method. Just put duct tape over the hole where the bag goes, so all the suction is coming from the bottom.
The suction will usually be enough to keep the hose connected to the outlet without physically attaching it. If not, there are several ways to attach the hose with various adapters. My vacuum hose fits my skimmer adapter pretty well, so that is what I use.
Another option has less suction, but all you need is a garden hose. 1. Run a garden hose from the faucet to the pool. 2. Turn on the faucet and let water run into the pool long enough to get all the air out of the line. 3. Turn off the faucet and quickly disconnect the hose. Water will start to flow out of the pool through the hose. 4. Get in the pool and use the suction created to vacuum to waste. I use the first three steps to remove water from my winter cover.
when I had a Intex, I used a standard vacuum head and hose, and set a syphon over the side instead of using the pump at all- as long as you don't mind watering the grass, and replacing water (same as vacuum to waste!)
fill hose with water- start at one end, attach to vacuum to weight/hold underwater.
push hose underwater along the length, so it fills entirely
when you reach the other end, water should bubble out of it
Hold both ends under water
grab the middle of the hose, throw it over the side so a loop is hanging lower than the water level in the pool
work back the length of the hose away from the vacuum head
throw the end on the ground where you want the water to drain
start to vacuum!
when done, lift vacuum out of water to break suction, and drain to other end so gunk doesn't come back into pool
fill hose with water- start at one end, attach to vacuum to weight/hold underwater.
push hose underwater along the length, so it fills entirely
when you reach the other end, water should bubble out of it
Hold both ends under water
grab the middle of the hose, throw it over the side so a loop is hanging lower than the water level in the pool
work back the length of the hose away from the vacuum head
throw the end on the ground where you want the water to drain
start to vacuum!
when done, lift vacuum out of water to break suction, and drain to other end so gunk doesn't come back into pool
Perfect. This is a great way to do it. I used to throw it over the side but this works way better. You can turn it on and off and it's easy to get started. Great idea.