Help this mama solve a mystery

[chaimowitza]

LOL Hi. First post here and I need some help please. I live in NY and have an 18x36 inground pool with a DE filter. I had professionals open my pool a couple weeks ago and attach the pump etc. I noticed when I got home that my dark green pool was pretty still. The water was not really coming out of the jets and not really being sucked into the baskets. The PSI is on 30. It normally runs around 20. I know, I should have called the pool company right away, but I figured maybe I could fix it myself. Ive been vacuuming on waste, put some shock in and whoala after days and days my pool lots great except the jets and suction by the baskets are very weak and the pressure is high. I have emptied the baskets, the basket in the pump, and I even opened up the filter and washed the cartridges off until the inside was spotless (brand new cartridges too) and restarted it and the pressure starts at 20 and creeps up to 30 in under 5 minutes. I called the pool company. The service call is $100 minimum. They told me to first put it on recirculate to see what happens and water poured out of the place the water comes out when you backwash it. It didn't SHOOT out but heavily poured out. The pool company said water shouldn't come out of there at all. So now they need to come out . Any ideas? Thank you all in advance!!!
Amy

 

[chaimowitza]

LOL Hi. First post here and I need some help please. I live in NY and have an 18x36 inground pool with a DE filter. I had professionals open my pool a couple weeks ago and attach the pump etc. I noticed when I got home that my dark green pool was pretty still. The water was not really coming out of the jets and not really being sucked into the baskets. The PSI is on 30. It normally runs around 20. I know, I should have called the pool company right away, but I figured maybe I could fix it myself. Ive been vacuuming on waste, put some shock in and whoala after days and days my pool lots great except the jets and suction by the baskets are very weak and the pressure is high. I have emptied the baskets, the basket in the pump, and I even opened up the filter and washed the cartridges off until the inside was spotless (brand new cartridges too) and restarted it and the pressure starts at 20 and creeps up to 30 in under 5 minutes. I called the pool company. The service call is $100 minimum. They told me to first put it on recirculate to see what happens and water poured out of the place the water comes out when you backwash it. It didn't SHOOT out but heavily poured out. The pool company said water shouldn't come out of there at all. So now they need to come out . Any ideas? Thank you all in advance!!!
Amy

My brother said he thinks I need a new spider gasket and I should cancel the call for Monday and do it myself. Could that be the root of all the problems though?

 

[pooldv]

Sounds to me like you still have algae in the pool quickly clogging up your filter. Nothing clogs a filter faster than algae. Follow the SLAM Process process to kill the algae. Backwash or clean your filter when the pressure rises 20-25% above clean pressure.

If you are unsure whether you have algae you can perform an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to verify.

 

[chaimowitza]

Pooldv, thank you so much for your quick reply! It's funny you say that because just yesterday I told the kids they might not want to swim, the chlorine will most likely be too high, so I tested it - nothing! The chlorinator is on as high as it goes. I'll take apart the filter and do that again. What else would you suggest? What would you suggest adding to get rid of the algae. My pool looks beautiful and clear at the moment.

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Welcome to TFP chaimowitza

Please add you're pools info to your signature. This is the info we're looking for: Pool School - Getting Started
I'm going to guess at some of the equipment.

Not sure why you'd get a high reading on pressure from a bad spider gasket but from your description it sure sounds like that's an issue. If you go to recirculate then the pump should just be sucking in water and passing it right back into the pool bypassing the filter and nothing coming out the discharge line. If it leaks at all it's bad and needs to be replaced. One good habit to get into is to always turn the handle the same direction. For me clockwise is easiest. It's clockwise to backflush and then to rinse and then back to filter. As always, only make a change with the pump off.

One of many how to videos on the subject: How to: Replace a Spider Gasket on a Multiport Valve - YouTube

What do you have for a test kit ??

Sounds like you might want to perform a SLAM. It's safe to swim as long as you don't exceed the chlorine level (FC) in the table for your CYA level during the SLAM.
SLAM - - > Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

 

[chaimowitza]

How do I reply without adding the quote? It's the only option I get, then I had to delete it. Anyway, I am embarrassed to say I left the hose on overnight! The pool was full when I woke up. Not overflowing. Thank goodness. I decided to use the opportunity once again to vacuum to waste even though the pool looks almost perfect. I also backwashed for a long time and then RINSED for a long time. I usually rinsed only a couple of seconds. I let it stay on rinse about a full minute. My PSI is down to 25 and holding. It was 30. I hope I'm on to something. I do need to. Ha he the spider gasket. It looks pretty simple, but I agree I'm not sure that has much to do with the pressure problem. I'd like to take the filter apart one more time and rinse the cartridges but I did that just a couple days ago. Not sure it will help but also don't think it will hurt. Fingers crossed and thank you both so much for replying. I have a difficult time financially on my own and I'm trying not to call in professionals all the time. Hoping to cancel them for tomorrow.

 

[AimeeH]

HI and welcome to TFP

As pooldv said, I think algae is your filter pressure problem. You said the pool was dark green that says algae is suspected. DE filters clog a lot more quickly than sand filters because they filter so well. Pressure rises when the filter gets clogged. TFP is all about saving money by taking care of things yourself and there is a learning curve. Please start with these links.

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain
Pool School - Test Kits Compared

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

If you go below the last post there is an empty box to write a reply into. Just above it on the left is "+ Reply to Thread" in a blue background.
At the lower right corner is a "Go Advanced" option for emoji and attaching photos.

 

[chaimowitza]

There must've been a glitch because I wasn't given those option yesterday but I see them now. Anyway, my pool is CRYSTAL clear and the PSI is still down at 25. Jets are moving nicely and skimmer baskets are working well! Still need to change the spider gasket. I usually take my pool water to the pool store because I don't really understand testing. I'm going to check out this site though because I'm determined to learn Thanks again for your help!

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

You are very welcome. We all have moved from being "Pool Stored" to taking charge of our pools. Almost everyone starts out going to the pool store but sooner or later it's just in your own best interest to learn and take control of your testing yourself. It is a bit of a learning curve but it's just a matter of keeping the instructions handy including some how to videos and jumping in. We all started out not knowing what we were doing but it slowly starts making sense.

Big thing to watch out for is if the store is selling you chlorinating tablets. The problem with them is they add CYA to your pool and it keeps building up and can cause a situation where you get algae and can't properly get rid of it. Reason is the higher the CYA level gets the more chlorine you need to achieve the same effect in sanitizing your pool.

Up at the top is "Pool School". Lots of good articles in there and you can read at your leisure. Best thing about testing and treating the pool yourself is that you know it's sanitary and it's a lot cheaper doing it with the chemicals we use instead of the expensive stuff from the pool store.