Background - We bought a new home a little over a year ago and had a pool. Pool was built in the 80s. This is my first experience as a pool owner. Initially had a company come out and check everything. The first gentlemen seemed very knowledgeable. Said we were ready to start service and then recommended we change a bunch of stuff around the pad. A lot of it seemed like he was upselling (installing wifi pump timer, etc). We used them for a bit but they were very unreliable. We were approaching swim season so we switched to another company. The new person was super nice and very reliable but later found that he may not have been as knowledgeable and we ended up having a lot of issues. Algae, etc. After the swim season decided I'd try to tackle things on my own. I just recently found this site and am learning sooooooo much and have a better handle on what I should have been doing and what I should be doing going forward.
Return Issue: My pool has what looks to be 5 returns in the pool and 2 skimmers. That said, it looks like only 3 of the returns actually do anything. 1 is has quite a bit of force. The one directly on the opposite side has some force but not nearly as much as the 1st. The 3rd is down stream from the 2nd and has very little pressure. The other 2 are don't have anything coming out of it. When I start the pump 1 of them will usually have a few bubbles that come out and then it stops which makes me think nothing is clogged or anything.
I've messed with all the valves at the pump and can shut off the returns, skimmers, and the spa area but nothing seems to activate these 2 returns. It has made me question if these are even returns.
Since I'm starting this pool maintenance journey now, I'm just trying to get a grasp on all this and make sure that all my plumbing and equipment are up to snuff. I know the bubbler for the spa does not work and needs to be replaced.
Here are a few pictures:
The biggest issue is the bottom circular area there is almost no movement down there and doesn't circulate. It seems like if there was pressure out of the one in that area it would fix it.
Anyway, any help would be appreciated
Return Issue: My pool has what looks to be 5 returns in the pool and 2 skimmers. That said, it looks like only 3 of the returns actually do anything. 1 is has quite a bit of force. The one directly on the opposite side has some force but not nearly as much as the 1st. The 3rd is down stream from the 2nd and has very little pressure. The other 2 are don't have anything coming out of it. When I start the pump 1 of them will usually have a few bubbles that come out and then it stops which makes me think nothing is clogged or anything.
I've messed with all the valves at the pump and can shut off the returns, skimmers, and the spa area but nothing seems to activate these 2 returns. It has made me question if these are even returns.
Since I'm starting this pool maintenance journey now, I'm just trying to get a grasp on all this and make sure that all my plumbing and equipment are up to snuff. I know the bubbler for the spa does not work and needs to be replaced.
Here are a few pictures:
The biggest issue is the bottom circular area there is almost no movement down there and doesn't circulate. It seems like if there was pressure out of the one in that area it would fix it.
Anyway, any help would be appreciated