does anyone actually LIKE doing a manual vacuum of their pool....

[homegameroom]

I don't mind vacuuming the pool - it is a Zen experience. You can't go too fast or you'll rustle up the stuff on the bottom as well as create too many waves on top.

And, just like vacuum tracks in a freshly-vacuumed carpet, it's satisfying to see a clean pool bottom when you are done!

 

[Rollercoastr]

For me it's exactly like painting: a rewarding, relaxing if not fun activity with annoying prep at the beginning and clean-up after.

 

[bmoreswim]

I've never vacuumed a pool. Never owned a vacuum. I had a pressure side cleaner (good riddance) and now a robot. I very rarely even use the leaf net to get anything. I'll just wait until I want to run the robot and get it all then. My wife does enjoy manual skimming and picking up items on the bottom with a net. But it's more like giving her something to do for a few minutes as she spends time by the pool. She likes that. But the minute it was required to keep the pool clean, or be the only cleaning, it would cease to be fun for her I'm sure. I did have to use the net the other day to retrieve a dog toy that slowly leaks water into it and sinks. So I know the net still works!

 

[Geebot]

I used to find it meditative until I realized my robot was a time machine. It took the hour that I usually spent on vacuuming Saturday mornings and freed it up for other tasks - dropping off clothes at the dry cleaner, picking up drinks for the cooler and snacks for the weekend and the occasional pool store visit. If I had unlimited time I might occasionally be tempted to do a manual vacuum, but adding an hour to my weekend has great value (not to mention the flexibility of running a cycle other times, as needed).

 

[red-beard]

My main focus is:

1. Get the worms out of the pool in the morning before they decompose/poop in the pool
2. Clean the surface with the leaf rake
3. Clean the large stuff with the leaf rake

The Robot gets the rest! I hate swimming with large stuff in the bottom or floating. Net takes care of that without having to hook up a vacuum.

 

[Vital Signs]

I hate it so much that after my first time doing it I ordered a robot. Skimming is enjoyable though...I like the process of getting the surface of the water absolutely free of any foreign object no matter how tiny (well as long as it is bigger than the holes in the net) it is.