Heavy rain flooded pool with dirt

[jbslade82]

Not sure this is the place for this. I have never had this happen before. But last night it rains many inches very quickly and flooded an area around the pool, the patio drain got plugged up and a lot of dirt ended up in the pool. I have a DE filter and have switched the DE out twice today with little impact on the pool. I'm looking for other suggestions on how to get it cleaned up. Thank you.

 

[Texas Splash]

Be prepared for a LOT of filter cleaning. If there is heavy sediment at the bottom, vacuum to WASTE if you can, but a lot of it will simply take time. Keep the FC elevated as you go to avoid algae, although a SLAM Process may be inevitable at some point. That stinks, but we see it a few times per year. Be patient and stay at it. Good luck.

 

[DorsalSpine]

That's going to be a pain with a DE filter. Can you vacuum to waste? Does it make sense to replace some of the water? Can you use a trash pump to get sediment off the bottom? Can you use a trash pump to run the water through a home made filter? A trash can with polyfill would trap the larger particles. You would have to have a hole in the bottom of the can to let water back in the pool.

 

[jbslade82]

I don't have a vacuum, I only have a pool robot which I have been running all day today and washing the filter every 30 minutes to get anything at the bottom.

I don't have a trash pump unfortunately.

I can vacuum to waste though. I might have to invest in a vacuum then. Is there an additive to help the dirt settle?

 

[DorsalSpine]

There are additives to help the dirt settle but you are going to have to be really careful with them since you can damage a filter that way. A flocculent will cause things to settle but you don't want it in the filter. You have to vacuum to waste.

I've used a clarifier in the past which can be filtered. Your problem is a DE filter is very efficient and you have a lot of stuff to remove.

You might let other people comment before you do anything. There are some risks involved and I'd hate to steer you wrong.

 

[Texas Splash]

Yeah, just grab a simple vacuum head & hose (like below) that you can put into your skimmer and vacuum to WASTE. It will take several attempts for sure. While it may sound temping to use a floc, I would avoid that for now. Vacuum, let it settle, and repeat. You'll get it.

 

[DorsalSpine]

I can't vacuum to waste so I start a siphon with the hose and vacuum dirt off the bottom. The water has to be clear enough to see it and the suction isn't all that great but it works. I had a big storm, no cover, a lot of stuff to remove and too much water in the pool. Killed multiple birds with one stone that way. Once the water level was low enough I let the filter handle the rest.

 

[DorsalSpine]

I reread some of the postings here on flocculants. Search for some of them yourself. They are usually the last resort because of the risks associated with using them wrong.

 

[Katodude]

What robot do you have? Its not in your signature. I would run that guy non stop and pull it out often to clean it.

I would also use a fine mesh net to try to scoop out as much as possible.

 

[DorsalSpine]

You can try turning the filter off overnight and see if the dirt will settle to the bottom at all. Then vacuum to waste.

 

[jbslade82]

Appreciate everyone's help. I ordered a vacuum setup which will be here Thursday. I'm going to constantly run my pool robot until then and switch out the DE a couple times a day. Sounds like I just need to work at it constantly. I don't plan to use any flocculants.

Again, many thanks!