Fine dirt on bottom - help needed.

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T

TwinsPool

Silver Supporter
Oct 3, 2021
9
Los Angeles
I've read quite a few posts about this, but I still have questions (pool came with newly purchased house; I've never had a pool).

For the very fine dirt/dust/whatever on the pool bottom (it looks like brownish/reddish dirt to me) that becomes a cloud when my leaf net scrapes the bottom, what is the best way to get rid of this? I've read that it might be brushed to the deep end and then vacuumed with something (what sort of vacuum?), but, really, what is the best way?

I presume a mesh type filter (as in a robot, for example) will not catch these fine particles. The pool came with only the leaf net and the pool machinery. I have no vacuum apparatus at all. If I need to vacuum it, what sort of vacuum is suggested for my plaster pool? If a suction vacuum connects to the skimmer, should I let the DE filter catch everything, or do I need to try to make the vacuumed water "go to waste"? If it goes to waste, I'm not sure how to make my valves do that. I think the water only goes directly to the filter from the pump, although the Pentair DE filter has a backwash lever. But I presume the backwash is only to reverse the flow on the DE filter (maybe it washes the DE off the membranes??) and would not perform a "go to waste" procedure, but I could be completely wrong about that, since I've never done a backwash.

Any help getting this fine dirt off the bottom is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

PS: Water is in decent shape, at least I am keeping the clorine level up semi-consistently (we haven't actually moved in yet, so I get to the house irregularly but at least on weekends for fixups). I had a pool guy (who worked with the original owner) for a few months but had to let him go, because he was trying to pull the wool over my eyes about the hardness of the pool water (he said it was fine, but my TFP kit says it is 1700! ...water hardness is a problem for a different post).
 
Vacuum to waste sounds logical to me. However, I checked my system and the water flows directly from the pump to the DE filter with no valve on that pipe. So I suppose if I want to use the DE filter to trap the dirt/algae, then I will probably need to either backwash or remove the filter panels and do a major filter wash. Is that how it's usually done when there's no valve for "vacuum to waste"?
 
just let it go into your filter. You can clean the filter when your psi rises to 25% above normal,

That said, I bet the dust comes back in 24 hours because, as pool medic says, the issue is algae, not dirt. Do you have a test kit?
Please read "Pool Care Basics" up in Pool School
 
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Thanks, Dave (and Pool Medic), for your input. I'll go ahead with vacuuming into the filter as you suggest. I'll need to first buy a hose and a vacuum head.

I am not sure what the normal psi level is, since I haven't cleaned it since we bought the house last fall (still not moved in yet), although the temporary pool guy said he cleaned it (maybe only backwashed it) around November. So I may need to give it a major cleaning to find out the baseline. I noticed that the psi was 37 at 3450 RPM a few days ago, which seems high from my erratic checks of it. I have noticed that the water turbulence at the skimmer does not seem as vigorous as in the past (and also I see no turbulence at all at lower pump speeds), so that is probably another hint that the DE needs a complete change.

I have the TF-100 kit, but lately have only been checking chlorine and pH. I add a gallon of 12.5% HASA chlorine every week, even if I'm too busy to do the tests. It's been hot here (in the 90's) lately. Water looks clear. I'll go read the Pool Care Basics as you suggest (I need all the help I can get).
Thank you again.
 
A psi of 37 tells me your circulatory system is virtually blocked and inoperative. If you decide to keep a clean and sanitary pool, you will need wa-a-a-ay more than a gallon of chlorine weekly and you will need to unclog your DE filter.

We'll help as much as you need but that pool now is basically neglected and you have a lot learning and cleaning to do to get it back in swimmable condition
 
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You're going to find a very dirty filter and when you do crack it open, take pics and show your pool guy and then fire him. He's stealing your hard earned money. If you stick around and put the "time in" to learn, you can implement pool maintenance with 5 minutes a day and have a better working and better looking pool.
 
Thank you TFP Experts for your constructive criticism and confirming my filter is clogged. Much appreciated. I will take apart the filter ASAP, add fresh DE and takes notes on the baseline PSI at various speeds. My purchased vacuum hose and head arrive later today, but I will first clean the filter before any vacuuming. I'll keep an eye on the PSI after vacuuming.

I admit the pool is not maintained as it should be. We are still renovating the house (from a 30-min drive distance and while working), but I will check it more often and get the chemistry in order. My 10-yr-old twins will be happy if Dad can get the pool into swimmable shape for upcoming weekends.

The pool guy was fired months ago (a friendly guy that I liked, but unfortunately not honest). I will definitely stick around and will be posting more questions soon after I read all the pool care articles.

As a rough estimate and so I can appropriately stock up on chlorine, about how many gallons of 12.5% chlorine per week might usually be required for a ~19K gallon pool in 90+ degree weather? I guess I will eventually figure it out, but a rough preview will help. Thanks.
 

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