Deep cleaning sand filter, possible mistake?

George D · Apr 15, 2020

Hi all.

I deeip cleaned my sand filter today, as per the instructions. I made sure the filter was disconnected from the pipes leading into the pool. After about 10 minutes of gently moving the hose around in the filter, I realized that the filter was still connected to the waste port, so all the water was being removed through the waste port. (Ok pool experts, laugh at my rookie mistake) :salut:

I then placed my hand over the standpipe and the water was being removed from the top of the filter as shown in the instructions. 2-3 minutes later, the water looked clear.
My question is, could this be an alternative way to deep clean a sand filter since the filthy water was being removed anyway and it was not returning into the pool?
plus a big advantage is it didn't make a mess in my garage.
Thanks.

Texas Splash · Apr 15, 2020

I'm sure it was better than not doing anything at all. You attempted it and the basic concept helped. By letting water flow-out to waste sooner via the MPV waste position, as opposed to over-flowing over the top, I'm not sure you received the full benefit of lifting junk of the top few inches of sand. Much neater I'm sure though.

@JohnT or @Bama Rambler, you guys have another perspective?

George D · Apr 16, 2020

Ok, when I covered the standpipe with my hand, the water was flowing out from the top. I made sure I removed as much debris as possible from the top of the sand before using the hose. Also, early in the process when the water reached almost to the top, there was foam and bubbles. More than in the instruction video.
Is this normal?
In the future, is it ok to add tape to the standpipe so the water could flow from the top or does the standpipe need to remain open? I would then need to make a union connection.

Bama Rambler · Apr 16, 2020

What you did wasn't a problem because your filter has a side mount valve. You basically did the same thing as suggested by the instructions but instead of overflowing the top it overflowed out the waste port. Which is fine.

Because the diffuser pipe is above the sand you get the same cleaning action as if it was flowing out the top.
Cleaning those side mount filters like you did is a good idea, but since the instructions are kinda of generic, having the water flow out the top works for all sand filters and doesn't complicate the instructions that could lead to misunderstanding by top mount folks.

Maybe you should write up a set of cleaning instructions for side mount filters.

George D · Apr 17, 2020

Thanks for the great explanation. Doing the deep cleaning this way is way less messy and much easier by having a side mount filter because there is no removing the MPV.
What if I had a top mount filter and did the deep cleaning this way? Any difference?

Bama Rambler · Apr 17, 2020

With a top mount valve you have to remove the valve in order to see and clean the sand so there's no where for the water to go but out the top of the filter. So it's not possible to have the water go out the waste port.

George D · Apr 17, 2020

Ok, Thanks for the great info.

George D · Apr 21, 2020

Update: The results of deep cleaning worked very well. I opened to a dark green pool because I did not open last season. The pool started turning blue after only 2 days.
I can see the bottom of the shallow area. I took the advice from the experts here about opening earlier, when the water is cold, which does not give algae a chance to grow. The water temperature was only 48.5 degrees. Thanks.