Newbie with questions on how to vacuum to waste

[gwtw]

Last year, we paid a pool service to come once a week to vacuum our pool. We are tired of paying people to do this so we would like to attempt to do this ourselves for the first time. We are going to have to vacuum to waste because there is some dead algae, pollen, and tiny leaves that we can't get up with our net. I've seen this done before and have watched videos on how to do it but I have a few questions that I'm hoping someone on here can answer for me.

1. Before attaching the hose to the skimmer, do we need to backwash the filter since the guage currently says that it needs it, or can we wait until afterwards since we are vacuuming to waste?

2. Since we are vacuumming to waste, should we add water to the pool before hand or should we just run the hose while we are doing it to add water to the pool? (I probably won't be able to do this very fast since this is my first time so I was wondering what would be best.)

3. Are there any valves on the equipment end that need to be opened or closed before filling up the vacuum hose with water and attaching it to the hole in the skimmer? (We only have one skimmer.)

4. After we fill up the vacuum hose with water and attach it to the skimmer hole, we know that we are supposed to turn off the pump, move the valve on the sand filter to waste, and then turn the pump back on again. Is there anything else that needs to be turned on or off on the equipment end at that time?

5. Is there anything that needs to be done after we are finished, other than backwashing and moving the valve to rinse? (We already know how to do this so no explanation is needed.)

Please forgive me for my ignorance. It has been a while since my pool guy showed me how to do this so I wanted to make sure I understand exactly what needs to be done.

 

[jasaxon]

Answers below

Last year, we paid a pool service to come once a week to vacuum our pool. We are tired of paying people to do this so we would like to attempt to do this ourselves for the first time. We are going to have to vacuum to waste because there is some dead algae, pollen, and tiny leaves that we can't get up with our net. I've seen this done before and have watched videos on how to do it but I have a few questions that I'm hoping someone on here can answer for me.

1. Before attaching the hose to the skimmer, do we need to backwash the filter since the guage currently says that it needs it, or can we wait until afterwards since we are vacuuming to waste? No, you don't need to backwash first - you are completely bypassing the sand filter when vacuuming to WASTE.

2. Since we are vacuumming to waste, should we add water to the pool before hand or should we just run the hose while we are doing it to add water to the pool? (I probably won't be able to do this very fast since this is my first time so I was wondering what would be best.) You can do it either way - I usually do it beforehand and get the water level up to MAX on the skimmer and then, depending on how fast I vacuum may need to add some during or after. If this is your first time vacuuming - you could vacuum to filter (not waste) and that way you don't end up dumping a lot of your water and having to refill (and adjust your chems (CYA, salt). At least until you get proficient at vacuuming.

3. Are there any valves on the equipment end that need to be opened or closed before filling up the vacuum hose with water and attaching it to the hole in the skimmer? (We only have one skimmer.) No (as long as you don't have any other drains). If you have a variable speed pump you may have to adjust your pressure to get the proper suction.

4. After we fill up the vacuum hose with water and attach it to the skimmer hole, we know that we are supposed to turn off the pump, move the valve on the sand filter to waste, and then turn the pump back on again. Is there anything else that needs to be turned on or off on the equipment end at that time? You have this correct. The only this I would correct is that you MUST shut off the pump before moving the valve on the filter (not supposed to). If you try to change the valve with the pump running you could have a huge problem on your hands (damaged equipment)

5. Is there anything that needs to be done after we are finished, other than backwashing and moving the valve to rinse? (We already know how to do this so no explanation is needed.) Nope, you don't even have to do that if you did it before (or don't need it because of pressures)

Please forgive me for my ignorance. It has been a while since my pool guy showed me how to do this so I wanted to make sure I understand exactly what needs to be done.

 

[GOONiE]

You should close all other skimmers and half close bottom drain when using one skimmer to vacuum. This gives you a stronger suction on the vacuum.

Youll be vacuuming more more water to waste than a garden hose can keep up. I’d fill up the pool to max level and keep hose going so you don’t loose too much water.

 

[Richard320]

Whoa whoa whoa.

Just how bad is the mess in the bottom of the pool? Is it like a carpet? Does it resemble waterlogged compost? Or is it just a mess, but you can still see more actual pool surface than debris?

You can vacuum to filter and then backwash. It's a lot less fuss, a lot less mess, and less water replacement which means less rebalancing. Unless your chemistry is out of whack and you could stand some replacement.

 

[Yev]

Richard is spot on about this. When I have huge piles on the bottom, I will do some vacuuming to waste for the largest spots of debris, but never more than 2 or 3 minuets of this activity. As a rule of thumb, a 1 HP pump with clean filter will roughly move 75 gallons per minute. YOu will drain down your pool pretty fast with Vacuum to waste.

Lets say you do this for 5 minutes. YOu will lose 375 gallons of water. Since most garden hoses move 5 to 7 gpm, that means it will take you around an hour to fill back up. See how this can get wasteful? If you just vacuum to your filter, you might not even need to backwash every time, so in teh end you conserve huge amounts of water.

 

[gwtw]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have a few more questions.

1. 90% of the pool's surface is relatively clean, but there is some yellow dirt in the bottom of the pool in the deep end that is either mustard algae or pollen. My pool was a swamp a week ago but after adding lots of chlorine and running the pump continuously, the water is clear now. If this yellow dirt is mustard algae, if I just vacuum regularly and not to waste, and then backwash afterwards, could the mustard algae get trapped into my filter and be reintroducted into my pool? If it could, I guess I could sweep all of the yellow dirt into a pile, let it settle, and then vacuum that small pile to waste but vacuum the rest of the pool normally so I don't lose as much water.

2. One person mentioned that I should half close my main drain. How do you half close it? I know where the main drain lever is located, but I thought it was either all of the way open or all of the way closed? Do you always need to half close the main drain, or only when you are vacuuming to waste? And when do you half close the main drain? Do you do this before you connect the vacuum to the skimmer, and does the pump need to be off before you move it?

3. Will a heavy vacuum head with wheels damage the surface of a fiberglass pool? I recently bought one since that is the type my pool service used, but after seeing how heavy it is, it has me worried.

I'm sorry to be asking so many questions, but I want to make sure I know exactly what I need to do before doing this for the first time.

 

[Richard320]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have a few more questions.

1. 90% of the pool's surface is relatively clean, but there is some yellow dirt in the bottom of the pool in the deep end that is either mustard algae or pollen. My pool was a swamp a week ago but after adding lots of chlorine and running the pump continuously, the water is clear now. If this yellow dirt is mustard algae, if I just vacuum regularly and not to waste, and then backwash afterwards, could the mustard algae get trapped into my filter and be reintroducted into my pool? If it could, I guess I could sweep all of the yellow dirt into a pile, let it settle, and then vacuum that small pile to waste but vacuum the rest of the pool normally so I don't lose as much water.

Mustard algae tends to grow on the shady side of the pool. And it's the color of Grey Poupon. If you think that's what you have, then you need to kill it. To do so, first you SLAM Process-- not just blindly dumping in chlorine for a few days, but in a logical orderly fashion until all three criteria are met. Then you raise the FC even higher, to "Mustard Algae Shock" and keep it up there for twenty four hours. It's all in that SLAM Process link.

2. One person mentioned that I should half close my main drain. How do you half close it? I know where the main drain lever is located, but I thought it was either all of the way open or all of the way closed? Do you always need to half close the main drain, or only when you are vacuuming to waste? And when do you half close the main drain? Do you do this before you connect the vacuum to the skimmer, and does the pump need to be off before you move it?

I suppose it matters what type of valve you have. One designed specifically for pool plumbing will allow you adjust the flow. Just move the lever towards the closed position. The main drain doesn't really do much. Some pretty good-sized above-ground pools do just fine without one. You can run it partially closed all the time like I do, so that you get better suction at the skimmer so it draws in more floating debris, and shut it all the way off to vacuum. If you find the pump is starving for water, or the suction is so strong that the head gets stuck, then you open the drain up a little while vacuuming. It's best to not close valves while the pump is running. Some have a seal inside that can be damaged or loosened. A whole lot of specific stuff is going to have to be discovered by experimentation.

3. Will a heavy vacuum head with wheels damage the surface of a fiberglass pool? I recently bought one since that is the type my pool service used, but after seeing how heavy it is, it has me worried.

I highly doubt it. Once it's in the water, it gains buoyancy. That's why it's weighted. If it wasn't weighted, it'd be lifting off the surface all the time. Mine's weighted and it still does that.

I'm sorry to be asking so many questions, but I want to make sure I know exactly what I need to do before doing this for the first time.

 

[gwtw]

Thanks for the advice. The yellow dirt is the color of mustard but it is not in the shaded area of the pool. My spouse thinks it may be pollen since there is a lot of vegetation around the pool. The water was green a week ago, so it also could be dead algae. I'd like to vacuum it up and then do an overnight chlorine test to make sure the algae is all gone before deciding to slam it since the water is already clear. If this yellow substance is algae, and I just vacuum it up normally instead of to waste, is there a chance that it could be re-introduced back into the pool even if I backwash afterwards? How much dirt can a sand filter take while vacuuming before it will clog up? There isn't an abundance of dirt in the pool, and I can probably get all of the leaves out with the net before vacuuming. I really don't want to vacuum to waste if I can help it, especially since I have never vacuumed a pool before. I just thought that it would be good to get the dirt out before doing the overnight test so I can get accurate results from the overnight test.

 

[Richard320]

Thanks for the advice. The yellow dirt is the color of mustard but it is not in the shaded area of the pool. My spouse thinks it may be pollen since there is a lot of vegetation around the pool. The water was green a week ago, so it also could be dead algae. I'd like to vacuum it up and then do an overnight chlorine test to make sure the algae is all gone before deciding to slam it since the water is already clear. If this yellow substance is algae, and I just vacuum it up normally instead of to waste, is there a chance that it could be re-introduced back into the pool even if I backwash afterwards? How much dirt can a sand filter take while vacuuming before it will clog up? There isn't an abundance of dirt in the pool, and I can probably get all of the leaves out with the net before vacuuming. I really don't want to vacuum to waste if I can help it, especially since I have never vacuumed a pool before. I just thought that it would be good to get the dirt out before doing the overnight test so I can get accurate results from the overnight test.

I have a DE filter, and my floor can be littered with the debris from a good windstorm, and it all vacuums right up and doesn't raise the pressure. The pump basket catches the bigger stuff anyway. Be sure to empty that when you're done

The dust you're seeing probably wouldn't fill a dixie cup once it's all gathered up.

Just vacuum to filter and if the pressure rose 25% or you just want peace of mind, backwash and rinse afterwards.

When you vacuum, move the head slowly. Sneak up on the dust. Otherwise, you create a wave in front of the head and it pushes the dust away. You want to approach it slowly and have the suction draw the dust into the vacuum before the head gets to that spot. And it's just like vacuuming the house. A section at a time, forward and backward Like this: |\|\|

My guess is that you've already spent more time worrying about it than you will vacuuming. Millions of pool owners have been vacuuming for decades. You can do it, too.