Fine Dust Not Being Filtered

[dshocker]

First of all, thank you for taking time to read this.

We recently bought a home with an older in ground pool, older equipment. The Sand Filter (Hayward S244t) isn't catching the fine dust it takes in every night. It spits it back into the pool and no matter how much we brush the pool or vacuum (into the filter) the dust returns the next morning, piling up in the same areas (close to the returns).

We have had two techs come over, one replaced the o ring in the top of the sand filter (didn't help) and the other tech told us that sand filters can't catch fine dust. The second tech suggested a pool clarifier.

Having had pools growing up all of my life, even in dusty Phoenix I've never seen this.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

[Richard320]

Very likely the sand has gotten clumped. You have clods not grains, so there are large crevasses between them that the dust can pass through. Backwashing probably makes it worse, because the reverse flow will unseat them from each other. The cure is a Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

The less-savory possibility is that you have a low-grade algae bloom you're just barely holding in check and that is dead algae settling out every night, not dust passing through the filter.

 

[domct203]

What do you have for a test kit? You should really do an OCLT to see if anything is brewing in there, but you will need one of the recommended test kits to do it properly.

Dom

 

[kimkats]

Two great answers!

I will jump in to welcome you to TFP! You have found the place to get your pool clearer than you ever thought possible!

BUT you have to help us help you by getting a good test kit. Look in my siggy below to find where to get them.

Kim

 

[dshocker]

Richard, Dom, Kim,

Thank you all for taking time to answer! I have a basic pool test kit (Poolmaster 22260 5-Way Test Kit with Case - Basic Collection)

So maybe I need to upgrade. Numbers are good according to my results...

David

Two great answers!

I will jump in to welcome you to TFP! You have found the place to get your pool clearer than you ever thought possible!

BUT you have to help us help you by getting a good test kit. Look in my siggy below to find where to get them.

Kim

 

[kimkats]

Your test kit is a okay basic kit BUT................your FC only goes to 5 and there is no test for CYA.

Please see me siggy for where to buy a good test kit. Since you are going to have to SLAM you will really need the TF-100 XL.

Let us know when the test gets there. Until then keep your FC up to keep ahead of the green algae monster.

Kim

 

[Hayward Pool]

Not sure how old the sand is in the filter but it may be time for a deep cleaning or replacement. If you replace remember to use #20 silica. Sand filter when clean remove down to about 30 mircons and become better filters as they get dirty. Make sure not to continually back wash. Very fine silt and dead algae will not get picked up by a clean sand filter very well. How did the clarifier work?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Sand rarely needs replacement, but you could do a deep clean and also try adding a bit of DE to the filter to help with the small bits of schmutz.

Pool School - Add DE to a Sand Filter

 

[kimkats]

Old sand is better sand. IF you want to touch up your sand you can add pool DE in it to help filter out the smaller stuff.

Kim