First time opening myself - question about vacuuming

[pfitz4]

Hi! I successfully opened my pool by myself, rather than calling the family-owned pool company I've used for the past few years. Everything looks good so far. Day 1 - removed cover, got equipment working etc, added baking soda and salt, added chlorine to SLAM level, scooped out debris with the net, and brushed the entire surface of the pool. Day 2 - water is clearing and lots of clumps of sediment/dead algae at the bottom. Running pump 24 hrs.

My question is: How important is it to vacuum to waste, rather than vacuum to filter, at this point? I'm pretty slow at manually vacuuming, and I would prefer not to waste lots of water if I don't have to. Would it be ok to vacuum to filter and then backwash?

 

[wireform]

You don't have to vacuum to waste if you have something like THIS. It'll catch mostly everything and only let the water pass through back to the filter. Do some youtubes on this model to see how to incorporate this into the hose.

 

[pfitz4]

Thanks! I do not have something like that, but I will look into it for the future. I just have the hose attachment that goes over the skimmer basket. Amazon.com: Hayward SP1106 Skim Vac In-Ground Pool Skimmer: Garden & Outdoor

 

[wireform]

That will work except it won't catch the small stuff which gets through the holes in the basket. Now to contain the small debris going this route you can use a skimmer sock as it's called or you can buy cheap hair nets and line the basket with it. You can get them on Ebay in packs of a 100 for cheap money or just grab a few in your local store. I use them regularly in all my pools and it keeps the filter much cleaner. They get routinely changed every 3-4 weeks or sooner like after a wind storm.

 

[thefloatqueen]

I just bought an Aquabot Pool Rover robot cleaner and it’s soooooo much easier and well worth the money. There’s tons of other robot cleaners out there for different budgets but I know I’ll never go back to manual vacuuming or my old vacuum that plugs into the return jet. I only kept mine in case something happens to my robot lol

 

[pfitz4]

I just bought an Aquabot Pool Rover robot cleaner and it’s soooooo much easier and well worth the money. There’s tons of other robot cleaners out there for different budgets but I know I’ll never go back to manual vacuuming or my old vacuum that plugs into the return jet. I only kept mine in case something happens to my robot lol

 

[pfitz4]

Thanks! Glad you like your cleaner. I have a Polaris that works well during the swim season. My question is mainly about this “opening” vacuum/cleaning process. There’s much more sediment upon opening the pool, and I want to make sure I do it correctly.

 

[wireform]

Thanks! Glad you like your cleaner. I have a Polaris that works well during the swim season. My question is mainly about this “opening” vacuum/cleaning process. There’s much more sediment upon opening the pool, and I want to make sure I do it correctly.

HAIR NETS

 

[djdonte]

The pool robots are indeed lifesavers for keeping the pool debris free, but I would avoid using them when slamming. The high chlorine will wear it out faster over time. I made this mistake and I even saw some of the clear plastic get cloudy. Now I manually vacuum when slamming (which should only be at opening if you are properly maintaining even during winter) then put the robot in after for the rest of the year. I second the hair nets. I use them on my skimmer and they are filter savers. I use the zodiac leaf catcher with my robot, so it doesn't fit a net, but it still catches most of what I would have to empty out of the pump strainer.

 

[thefloatqueen]

The pool robots are indeed lifesavers for keeping the pool debris free, but I would avoid using them when slamming. The high chlorine will wear it out faster over time. I made this mistake and I even saw some of the clear plastic get cloudy. Now I manually vacuum when slamming (which should only be at opening if you are properly maintaining even during winter) then put the robot in after for the rest of the year. I second the hair nets. I use them on my skimmer and they are filter savers. I use the zodiac leaf catcher with my robot, so it doesn't fit a net, but it still catches most of what I would have to empty out of the pump strainer.

Thank you for the advice! Thankfully I maintained my chemicals over this unseasonably warm “winter” and didn’t cover the pool so I shouldn’t have to SLAM (I’ve been testing the water regularly lately). Thank God because regular bleach is sold out EVERYWHERE around here and I only have a gallon left. ??