New house and new to pools

[ganjero]

Hi, I just bought a house with a pool (around 17,500 gallons, vinyl liner) and the pool has a ton of pollen, maybe dead algae, sitting on the bottom. I have a cartridge filter and I have been trying to vacuum all that stuff out but I saw it was coming out of the jets . I tried vacuuming a small part of the pool, cleaning the cartridge and continue vacuuming but the dirt comes out of the jets almost immediately. In the past two weeks I have tried several methods to clean the cartridge (products made for cleaning them, TSP and 1:1 acid baths, etc) but the dirt keeps coming out of the jets when vacuuming. I finally gave up on the existing cartridge since I believe is clogged and bought a new one. My question is how should I clean the new filter cartridge after vacuuming all that dirt? I don't want to ruin it right away.

Thank you,

 

[pooldv]

If the debris is coming out of the pool returns then there is a failure somewhere. Either it isn't put back together correctly, a problem with the filter housing or one of the filters. My Pentair cartridge filter will almost completely clog up and pass virtually no water and has never released debris back to the pool. I "might" have seen that happen in my one algae bloom ever. But there were no witnesses so it is just a rumor.

All of your filter cleaning comments are fine. I'm not a fan of the acid bath but I do all the rest from time to time.

 

[bigglesworth]

In regard to cleaning the cart, it sounds like you've done everything that's recommended. You've probably already looked at this, but if not:

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/4224-Re-How-to-clean-a-cartridge-filter

In regard to vacuuming, are you using (or able to use) a skimmer vac plate? If so, you might also use a skimmer sock while vacuuming... It might catch enough of the crud to keep your filter from getting gunked up.

 

[ganjero]

Thank you. I will check that everything is sitting correctly and look into using a skimmer vac plate and filter socks

 

[pooldv]

yep, filter socks is a good idea or some old pantyhose pieces will substitute in a pinch. If nothing else just to avoid having to clean the cartridge repeatedly.

 

[Patrick_B]

Filter socks are fantastic. Especially if you have small debris. Makes cleaning pump and filter baskets so much easier.

 

[kodiak1120]

Are you sure you're getting good suction from the vacuum? When I moved into my house, I had to deal with an algae issue. The algae died, but left something similar to what you are describing on the bottom of the pool. I looked up how to attach the vacuum, and it looked like it was getting vacuumed up, but it was just being stirred up by the vacuum. A few hours later, it would all be back on the bottom.

It turns out, I was using the skimmer box that was plumbed to the bottom drain. Also, I wasn't isolating the skimmer box I was using (I have two). When I used the right skimmer box, and isolated only that skimmer box, it all came out in one vacuuming.

Also, I'm not sure if you can do this, but on my filter, I can vacuum to waste, where the water that goes up the vacuum is diverted out of the pool, rather than to the filter. That way you can get it out without worrying about it going back into your filter/pool.

 

[ganjero]

Are you sure you're getting good suction from the vacuum? When I moved into my house, I had to deal with an algae issue. The algae died, but left something similar to what you are describing on the bottom of the pool. I looked up how to attach the vacuum, and it looked like it was getting vacuumed up, but it was just being stirred up by the vacuum. A few hours later, it would all be back on the bottom.

It turns out, I was using the skimmer box that was plumbed to the bottom drain. Also, I wasn't isolating the skimmer box I was using (I have two). When I used the right skimmer box, and isolated only that skimmer box, it all came out in one vacuuming.

Also, I'm not sure if you can do this, but on my filter, I can vacuum to waste, where the water that goes up the vacuum is diverted out of the pool, rather than to the filter. That way you can get it out without worrying about it going back into your filter/pool.

Yes, it is going through the filter I vacuum one side and it comes out of all jets. Unfortunately I do not have a valve to bypass the filter. I'm currently working on the other suggestions.