vacuuming pool

[Urodoc]

I am considering taking over my pool care from my pool company.
Great info in this forum!!

I have a polaris 280 cleaner on a booster pump. It works fine, but my pool company vacuums the pool weekly when they come out.
My pool is 50% covered by oak trees. Fall is heck!
In addition, when we get a Texas thunderstorm, I get a lot of washout into the pool which takes a couple of days and a lot of work to clear the pool.

I am thinking of buying a pool vacuum that hooks up to the skimmer so I can clean the pool as needed. (My pool company uses one) I'm hoping to do this weekly or less. The Polaris is kind of random and it would be nice to be able to spot clean as well. Overall, it does a good job, though.

Any recommendations for a vacuum head or hose? Would you recommend a different device?

Thanks a lot!

 

[CUTiger78]

Any recommendations for a vacuum head or hose?

I use a manual vac for just the reasons you mention. I have no specific recommendations for the head or hose, but I do have a recommendation for an accessory.

In the 18 seasons I have had my current pool, I've replaced the vac head and hose a couple of times with whatever was available at the local pool store. Bought the typical vac head for plaster surfaces, the one with rollers, not brushes. No complaints - works as expected.

Here's the accessory I bought this year and am very happy with it - a large capacity in-line leaf canister for the vac hose. I always got the best suction by connecting the vac hose directly to the suction inlet in the skimmer. I lost too much suction using a vac plate on top of the skimmer basket. I was always worried, though, about sucking up too much debris, like leaves, and clogging the suction line. This in-line can alleviates those worries since it traps both small and large stuff and holds it, keeping that stuff from going through the suction line and back to the filter.

Here's an extra, unexpected benefit - it has a filter sock built in that traps lots of sandy debris. I used to have to vac to waste or some debris would get through the filter and right back into the pool. With this in-line can, I can vac on filter mode no worries.

Using a manual vac is pretty simple & easy and this in-line can makes it more efficient for me.

Good luck!

 

[Christian]

Leaf canisters are great! And if you end up with one that doesn't have the filter sock or if your filter sock rips here's a little trick. If you line the leaf canister with pantyhose it will trap fine debris amazingly well and get rid of all that sand and silt! Any vac head will work, there are a ton available and they all do pretty much the same thing. I do like the ones with rollers as they move around the pool more smoothly.

 

[Urodoc]

Thanks for the advice!! Regarding the leaf canister. How do I connect it to the pool hose. Do I need to purchase special fittings?

 

[CUTiger78]

Thanks for the advice!! Regarding the leaf canister. How do I connect it to the pool hose. Do I need to purchase special fittings?

Probably not. If I remember correctly, mine came with a short hose to go from the skimmer to the can. Then you hook up the vac hose to the other end of the can.

 

[Urodoc]

I purchased a 1.5" male to male connector to connect the vacuum hose to the leaf cannister, and a 3 foot hose (lowes) to connect the cannister to the skimmer suction.