SLAM underway since Saturday, do I need to clean filter?

[bmoreXHotPro05]

Hi folks,

As the title suggests, I started SLAMming my pool on Saturday and have came a long way since then. Water has went from a tadpole infested swamp to a cloudy-starting to look like a pool scene. And before you ask, yes I tried to save as many of the tadpoles as possible and lead them to the promised land just as Moses did.

I just went out to check the chlorine and while doing so I happened to look at the pressure gauge. When I first opened the pool and started everything it was hovering around 10. This morning it is showing about 17, which is where the "Clean Filter" designation is. My question is, do I need to clean my filter or should I wait until I finish the SLAM? I have never personally cleaned the filter myself, so I am unaware on what is required, but I would assume it will delay the SLAM and change the water chemistry while it is not running.

 

[Richard320]

Yes, you should clean it. It should have been cleaned at about 13-14 psi.

Do not wait. The flow will get less and less and you will stop filtering out the cloudiness because it's loaded.

Cleaning should be a snap, and you won't lose enough water to make much of a difference in the chemistry. Pool School - Maintenance and Cleaning of Pool Filters gives directions for each type. Yours is sand. The hardest part of it all will be running the waste hose somewhere, unless you're already hard-plumbed for that.

So backwash - rinse - backwash - rinse and drop the garden hose in to refill what you've lost. The actual doing will scarcely take more time than I just spent typing this.