Vacuuming after FLOC - pool company vs common sense?

[HudsonValley68]

FIRST POST! I've followed a lot of threads here and look forward to learning enough to answer questions in the future, not just ask them.

We purchased a home with a pool that had not been open for 4 seasons. Had a safety cover and no water loss. Water was black with about 3-4" depth visibility.

We paid a local pool company to open the pool and subsequent cleanings and chemical treatments. They
- Opened pool and added 6lb FLOC & 4lb Turbo Shock
- Cleaning 1 week later
- 2 weeks later another Cleaning and 6lb Turbo Shock & 6lb PH minus

Every cleaning they did was with their own pump so FLOC accumulation went into the yard, not filter. This appeared to clear up the pool about 85%.

Then on their instruction, over time I added
- 15lbs Alkalinity plus
- 20lbs Calcium plus
- 4lbs Turbo shock

Our test levels from the pool store were completely out of balance a week ago, but our home tests are looking much better today and the water is quite clear! Now I'm focused on the 'get the gunk out' part of this project.

I'm nervous about vacuuming the FLOC waste directly into our filter, but there is a lot they did not get. I bought pool socks and attempted to clean it that way but the socks filled up about 5 minutes each, so after 6 or 7 rounds it was crazy to continue that method.

Can anyone advise on whether we should throw caution to the wind and suck up the last remaining gunk into our system and sort it out later?

Thanks!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hi there :WAVE:
FLOC SHOULD NEVER GO TO THE FILTER. Big huge headache. We never suggest FLOC use for so many reasons. It just gunks up stuff. Always vac to waste (where ever your pool is designed to waste water to. Some go to plumbing clean out lines, or the street/sewer...are you aware of how you're set up for waste?

Pool Care Basics

That said I can't help you chemically without any test results to see how clean your water is. Just because it looks clear doesn't mean its safe to swim in. Give us a full run down please:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Sa;t if applicable

Maddie

 

[HudsonValley68]

Thanks so much! I will get those test results this weekend!

Here is my setup today. Can I simply turn on backwash valve, connect backwash hose, and would that bypass the filter? Or am I disconnecting from the output of the pump and connecting backwash hose directly to that - before it gets to the filter system?





You can see the PVC pipe is broken because the pool service experts opened the valve 100% without realizing that wherever the backwash used to flow to is now clogged, so that set of connections is pointless now.

Also, will these adapters work to connect the hose to either of those locations, based on the connectors used? I am not at the house to disconnect & measure but want to get ahead of the parts I need before the weekend.

Any and all advice is appreciated. I'm handy enough but way out of my depth right now!

 

[mknauss]

You have a cartridge filter. You cannot backwash. The line you show that is broken is the drain line. You could remove the filter cartridges and then use that line (after repair) to pump to waste.

Plan to replace your filter cartridges. FLOC will destroy them.

 

[HudsonValley68]

Got it! More debunking of the pool service advice.
Is there any reason to avoid putting a drain hose directly on the pump output instead of pulling the filter apart?
Any thoughts on the links to the adapters and hose I'd like to purchase in advance? Are these connections & threading essentially standardized and safe to assume they'll work on my setup?

 

[mknauss]

Pump needs some backpressure on the pressure side or it can go to runout.
Most connections on pool equipment are proprietary threads.