We were having a problem with sand in the pool this year. Not a ton, but enough that you could feel it on the bottom and the dolphin was picking up a tablespoon or so when ran about every other day. I figured I had probably damaged a lateral when I did a deep clean of the sand filter near the end of last year. It sounded easy enough to try to replace the laterals myself, but I just didn’t have the time or energy to deal with it, so we hired a pool repair service to do it. After they were finishing up my partner noticed there was a ton of sand on the pool floor near each of the 4 jets. Like strips of 2-3’ x 1’ and and inch or 2 deep. He asked them if he could just vacuum it up and he said the guy seemed kind of surprised by the question, but then said yes. We started to vacuum it up, then the vac head broke, so now it’s on hold until we can got to to pool store tmrw. But it does make me worry that something went wrong with the repair. It’s Friday night and I’m guessing I won’t be able to reach anyone at the company until Monday morning. Does anyone have any thoughts on what’s going on? Is this normal?? (I tried to post pics but they’re too big and I’m not savvy enough to know how to make them “smaller”)
Sand in pool after laterals replaced?
- Thread starter LHK
- Start date
- Jul 3, 2013
- 9,028
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool SJ-40
No sand should be coming out at all if it was "fixed" You will only get sand coming out if it was not "fixed" 
Update: So this morning there was sand by the jet that we had already vacuumed up yesterday. So the sand is continuing to spill out of the filter.
I called the number I had received a call from right before they came out. That guy said he’s just the installer and told me there must be something else wrong with it. I told him it wasn’t just that the problem was not fixed, but that it was much worse now. He said he’d pass it along to the owner. I missed the call from the owner, but the message he left said basically “something else must be wrong besides the laterals, but we’ll come out on Tuesday to look at it.” I called back to explain that I was losing a significant amount of sand and that I’d like done further instruction in what to do between now and Tuesday. They’re closed now, so I doubt I’ll hear back until Tuesday…
I have the filter turned off because at this point I’m estimating I have 1/3 to 1/2 of the filter sand in the bottom of my pool and it’s been a little less than 24 hours since the “repair.” But I can’t leave the filter off for 3-4 days until they come on Tuesday. Any suggestions??
I called the number I had received a call from right before they came out. That guy said he’s just the installer and told me there must be something else wrong with it. I told him it wasn’t just that the problem was not fixed, but that it was much worse now. He said he’d pass it along to the owner. I missed the call from the owner, but the message he left said basically “something else must be wrong besides the laterals, but we’ll come out on Tuesday to look at it.” I called back to explain that I was losing a significant amount of sand and that I’d like done further instruction in what to do between now and Tuesday. They’re closed now, so I doubt I’ll hear back until Tuesday…
I have the filter turned off because at this point I’m estimating I have 1/3 to 1/2 of the filter sand in the bottom of my pool and it’s been a little less than 24 hours since the “repair.” But I can’t leave the filter off for 3-4 days until they come on Tuesday. Any suggestions??
- Jul 3, 2013
- 9,028
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool SJ-40
Updated update:
The sand has slowed down, no more giant piles, but continues to leak into the pool more than before the laterals were replaced. I spoke with the owner who said if replacing the laterals didn't fix it then something else must be wrong and we probably need a new filter altogether. He didn't seem particularly concerned with the fact that his guy left the job with huge piles of sand in the pool, which would indicate (to me at least) that something had gone wrong in the process. Each time I tried to tell him that the problem was worse since it was worked on, he went back to rewording it as "well if this didn't fix it, then..." So at this point I'm a little concerned about this company. He told me he can replace the filter next week, but there's only one available from 3 suppliers and he doesn't know how long this one will be there.
I asked him if it was possible that somehow a ton of sand got into the pipes during installation and now what seems to be a sand leak could just be that the lines aren't cleared of sand yet (which, if this was the case, would me we don't need to replace anything, we just need to wait). and he said "no, you shouldn't have any sand getting back into the pool at all." But he doesn't want to admit that something went wrong when we had piles of sand in out pool when the guy left??? Again, feeling a little concerned about this guy and his company.
So I called another company, explained the problem, and he said it could be a the gasket or valve head (?) on the multiport valve, which sounds waaaay different compared to "you need a new filter." He also said he could replace the filter, but it would be several weeks out.
So I'm just looking for thoughts on what the experts here think could be wrong or what to do. Gastet/valve head? New filter? Wait it out? Thanks for your help!
The sand has slowed down, no more giant piles, but continues to leak into the pool more than before the laterals were replaced. I spoke with the owner who said if replacing the laterals didn't fix it then something else must be wrong and we probably need a new filter altogether. He didn't seem particularly concerned with the fact that his guy left the job with huge piles of sand in the pool, which would indicate (to me at least) that something had gone wrong in the process. Each time I tried to tell him that the problem was worse since it was worked on, he went back to rewording it as "well if this didn't fix it, then..." So at this point I'm a little concerned about this company. He told me he can replace the filter next week, but there's only one available from 3 suppliers and he doesn't know how long this one will be there.
I asked him if it was possible that somehow a ton of sand got into the pipes during installation and now what seems to be a sand leak could just be that the lines aren't cleared of sand yet (which, if this was the case, would me we don't need to replace anything, we just need to wait). and he said "no, you shouldn't have any sand getting back into the pool at all." But he doesn't want to admit that something went wrong when we had piles of sand in out pool when the guy left??? Again, feeling a little concerned about this guy and his company.
So I called another company, explained the problem, and he said it could be a the gasket or valve head (?) on the multiport valve, which sounds waaaay different compared to "you need a new filter." He also said he could replace the filter, but it would be several weeks out.
So I'm just looking for thoughts on what the experts here think could be wrong or what to do. Gastet/valve head? New filter? Wait it out? Thanks for your help!
Apologies for multiple updates, but I keep learning new information...
Yesterday the sand problem seemed to be slowing down until I backwashed the filter, and when I restarted it, it shot out large amounts of sand at the return jets, and we're right back to where we started after the service guys left on Friday. Google and Hayward troubleshooting guide tell me that this may mean that the filter has too much sand. I spoke with the owner of the pool service company and he was incredibly rude, and told me there was "no way" that the filter had too much sand because his guy added the required 200 lbs. After this conversation in which he interrupted me to say "you're wrong!" when I was trying to explain that we now have a different problem than when we asked him to come out, I do not intend to work with the company any further.
Thoughts on what could be behind large amounts of sand in the pool after backwashing?
Yesterday the sand problem seemed to be slowing down until I backwashed the filter, and when I restarted it, it shot out large amounts of sand at the return jets, and we're right back to where we started after the service guys left on Friday. Google and Hayward troubleshooting guide tell me that this may mean that the filter has too much sand. I spoke with the owner of the pool service company and he was incredibly rude, and told me there was "no way" that the filter had too much sand because his guy added the required 200 lbs. After this conversation in which he interrupted me to say "you're wrong!" when I was trying to explain that we now have a different problem than when we asked him to come out, I do not intend to work with the company any further.
Thoughts on what could be behind large amounts of sand in the pool after backwashing?