In Floor Cleaning Systems

In Floor Cleaning Systems

Some pool owners love their In-Floor Cleaning System (IFCS), and others hate it. However, there is no argument that an IFCS adds complexity to the pool system.

An in-floor cleaning system is a pop-up cleaning system on your pool floor. It consists of a series of heads that pop up on the pool's floor and steps. Their purpose is to drive dirt and debris towards an in-floor drain point, usually located in the deep end of the pool. These cleaner heads are usually scattered along the pool floor to clean the pool from different zones. The system is designed into the pool plumbing before the swimming pool is constructed or manufactured, depending on the pool interior.

They work great in areas that have a lot of dust and not a lot of deciduous trees. They don’t work well in areas that have a lot of trees and a lot of leaves. You may be told that they work just fine with leaves. But they just don’t work as well as robotic cleaners for picking up big debris. If you live in an area that gets a lot of dust and not a lot of leaves then it’s perfect. If you don’t live in that environment then don’t do it. Get a robotic cleaner.

An IFCS will have dead spots where the debris will get trapped. You will have to help the system by either brushing those spots or having some other cleaner.

IFCS are difficult to winterize and are usually found in areas where pools are kept running year round. Closing and winterizing a IFCS system needs to be considered during design and construction for it to be practical.

It is not practical to retrofit a IFCS to an existing pool.

IFCS Manufacters

There are only 3 or 4 manufacturers of In-Floor Cleaning Systems. Paramount, A&A Manufacturing (now part of Pentair) and Blue Square are often used.

In Australia, Cooke Industries sells IFCS. The water valves, popups, and names of some products on the their website look exactly the same as the A&A Manufacturing (now Pentair) products.

The Pentair/A&A system is the simplest of the group They design the pools IFCS plumbing - instead of the pool builder.

Not every builder may be authorized to install one of the above listed IFCS manufacturers products.

IFCS Components

An IFCS has pop-up cleaner heads, water-powered distribution valves, and, optionally, Venturi skimmers. The distribution valves have complex gears that cycle through the zones.

Most IFCS problems come from low pump water pressure, worn gear trains, or sticky pop-up heads.

IFCS Operation

When the IFCS is activated, water should be pulled from the main drains and any skimmers. If no water is pulled from the main drains, the floor debris has nowhere to go, and the infloor heads will just blow it around.

If you have a VS pump, it needs to be running at a speed that provides enough water pressure in the IFCS to cycle the zone valves and pop up the cleaning heads in the active zone.

The water zone valve is powered by water pressure and has gears that cycle the water flow from zone to zone. Each zone is active for a set time.

When working correctly, water put of the pop-up heads pushes dirt towards the floor drains where it flows not the filter.

IFCS Design

There are many ways an IFCS can be installed. The designs can include:

• IFCS system that must run full-time to clean and also do normal pool filtration and chlorination. The system does not have the usual skimmers and returns, and all return flow comes out of the in-floor heads
• IFCS system with in-floor heads as well as skimmers but no in-wall returns. So all return flow comes out of the in-floor heads
• Both a IFCS system and traditional skimmers and wall returns with valves to select when the system will run with the IFCS or without.

You don't want an IFCS that cannot be turned off. You want regular skimmers and returns and the ability to switch between the IFCS and standard skimming/returns.

Even with an IFCS, we suggest a GFCI-protected electrical outlet about midway along the pool's length—and at least the minimum distance required by code from the water's edge—for a possible future robot. You may also want a suction-side manual vacuum/pool cleaner line installed. This will provide several options for cleaning over the pool's life.

A venturi skimmer uses return flow to help with skimming. Having a separate vac/cleaner line will alleviate the need to plug a vac/cleaner into the skimmer, allowing skimming while the vac/cleaner is being used.

Remember, an IFCS requires a high pump RPM to work well and uses more electricity. You can need 2900 rpm to get adequate cleaning with an IFCS. An IFCS can run 2 hours twice daily at 2900 rpm for IFCS and the other 20 hours at 1200 rpm for continuous skimming and SWG chlorine production. Some run 24/7 by choice, but that doesn't mean you need to.

Some like low-voltage electric robots. But there have been reports of reliability and longevity.