Hi all, new pool owner with my first post...
I will try to lay out as much as I know here, bear with me.
I bought my house one month ago and I have been working to get the pool up and ready for the season. There was a lot of debris and no chemicals present but otherwise in decent shape. Suction was never great but seems to have gotten worse since starting out, as I did my first 1-2 vacuums plugging directly into the bottom of the skimmer before I got a skimmer plate. I now have a robot vacuum.
I know there is likely a clog because the pump filter area (with the clear lid) does not fill with water but has air inside and my skimmers(2) can barely pull the debris down into the basket. The air is still present even when I switch the valve to main drain only or both main/skimmer.
I have tried a number of things, including
1. hose with towel inside pump, pushing back out to skimmers.
2. Hose with bladder pushing back out to skimmers.
3. Both of the above from the opposite direction
4. 1 and 2 with a shop-vac sucking on the skimmer side at the same time
5. I have used a plumbers snake a little but found it completely ineffective so I gave that up quickly.
6. having the pump run and flipping the Jandy valve between main/skimmer. ( I hear a loud knock when I do it quickly enough)
7. I have cleaned the filter several times since starting (cartridge)
What else can I try? Is it likely I have a clog in both main and skimmer lines? Is it possible its just an air leak? I have not noticed the pool losing water at all.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
I will try to lay out as much as I know here, bear with me.
I bought my house one month ago and I have been working to get the pool up and ready for the season. There was a lot of debris and no chemicals present but otherwise in decent shape. Suction was never great but seems to have gotten worse since starting out, as I did my first 1-2 vacuums plugging directly into the bottom of the skimmer before I got a skimmer plate. I now have a robot vacuum.
I know there is likely a clog because the pump filter area (with the clear lid) does not fill with water but has air inside and my skimmers(2) can barely pull the debris down into the basket. The air is still present even when I switch the valve to main drain only or both main/skimmer.
I have tried a number of things, including
1. hose with towel inside pump, pushing back out to skimmers.
2. Hose with bladder pushing back out to skimmers.
3. Both of the above from the opposite direction
4. 1 and 2 with a shop-vac sucking on the skimmer side at the same time
5. I have used a plumbers snake a little but found it completely ineffective so I gave that up quickly.
6. having the pump run and flipping the Jandy valve between main/skimmer. ( I hear a loud knock when I do it quickly enough)
7. I have cleaned the filter several times since starting (cartridge)
What else can I try? Is it likely I have a clog in both main and skimmer lines? Is it possible its just an air leak? I have not noticed the pool losing water at all.
Thanks for any help you can provide.