What am I doing wrong with my vaccum technique?

[bwest5]

Hello All,

I just went through the process of pressure washing the concrete around my pool and noticed I got some of the crud in the pool. I set my sand filter to waste and sloooowly vacuumed the crud out trying my hardest not to stir anything up. I just went outside (4 hours later) and still see all the crud back on the bottom of the pool floor. Did I do something wrong? My vaccum suction was fine...

Thanks in advance!

 

[JasonLion]

The two main possibilities are: the crud went right through the filter, probably because it is channeled or there was more stuff in the water than you initially noticed.

 

[raidencmc]

I hate my vacuum. I have something similar to this. http://www.poolcenter.com/p/vinyl-l...AJBS2jTCngqvoEnL4ePDo--xFTzcY3P_59wFl02vD_BwE I think that the biggest problem is that it has brushes surrounding the hole that the debris is sucked through. So when you brush forward you are pushing the debris away from brush. I removed one section of bristles and it helped a bit. But not enough to believe it is the solution. I also feared if I removed more I would end up having the vacuum head dragging on the bottom and possibly tearing the liner. I rarely use the vacuum and opt to brush the pool more frequently hoping the filter will pick up the debris. I understand that with a sand filter it might be different. On the rare occasion that I do use the vacuum I just accept the fact that one use will never do the job. So I leave it out and use it several times in a day until I am satisfied it is done all it can do.

 

[Richard320]

You always spot stuff you missed after you've coiled up the hose and put everything away. It's Murphy's Law.

 

[Adamsaudio]

The brushes are supposed to stir anything they pass over. This frees up the debris to be easily sucked up. If you used a clear vacuum head, you can see the debris getting pulled out. The key for me was to go at a slow enough pace that I didn't stir up the debris with the water until the vacuum head passed over it. I don't know specifically for your model, but I can say for mine that the brushes are essential to leave enough gap between the vacuum head and the pool liner so it doesn't get sucked completely down flat and lock down.

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

 

[edgerton]

So is it essential when vacuuming with a sand filter to set the valve on waste? I have not been doing this...

 

[Richard320]

So is it essential when vacuuming with a sand filter to set the valve on waste? I have not been doing this...

If you have a carpet of sludge that will clog the filter immediately, waste is a good idea. If it's just the usual bits of dust, run the vacuum on filter mode.

 

[maieranne]

So is it essential when vacuuming with a sand filter to set the valve on waste? I have not been doing this...

No, most only filter to waste if you have large amounts of dirt and or debris on the bottom that you will be vacuuming up that you do not want to go thru your filtration system. If you do not vac to waste you may be backwashing more often.