Deep clean sand filter - tips to reduce water overflow mess?

[Actersabe]

I'm intrigued to try a deep clean of my sand filter in the spring:
Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

...but I haven't been able to find any tips on how to deal with all that water that will be overflowing out of the top of the sand filter tank. My filter is inside a structure and the overflow would make a big mess on the concrete floor. The water would eventually get outside but I'd rather avoid having all the 2x4s get wet, not to mention whatever nasty stuff comes out of there will then be on the concrete floor.

I was thinking of rigging a sump-pump but there doesn't seem to be very much room to do this. Reminds me the dentist having that water sprayer and suction in your mouth!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

How about taking the water up to the top (yet before it overflows) and pulling out any gross debris it brings up, then using a hose to siphon the water to outside the structure. Rinse and Repeat...just like shampoo! Do this until you feel its been cleaned sufficiently.

Maddie

 

[duraleigh]

I had the same problem. The ultimate solution would be to put one of those hot water heater "catch basins" under the filter. They're about 4" high and have a connection to let water drain out to the outside by hooking up a hose.

My filter was just to darn big to manage that (you don't say what size yours is) so I just let it overflow onto the floor (mine floor slopes away from the filter) and then put a fan on the floor and ran it for about 24 hours straight and dried everything up. Kinda' messy but it was effective and no harm was done.