STEP 5: How to Open Your Pool - How to Attach and Vacuum Your Pool

There are several ways to attach your vacuum to your swimming pool. This method is the best for those new to swimming pool maintenance. Because the pump is turned off while you are attaching the vacuum, you are best able to keep the pump primed and not lose suction.

 

Vacuuming should be done once a week. The more a pool is used the less vacuuming you will do. (The dirt is dissolved into the water and able to reach the skimmer and main drain to be filtered, instead of sitting on the pool floor. Don't be fooled into believing that you don't have to vacuum if you have a main drain. More on why main drains are useless in a later post.)

 

A lot of pool owners prefer using an automatic pool cleaner, the Baracuda, Ranger or Wahoo to clean their pools. We will feature the Wahoo automatic pool cleaner in an upcoming post.

Troubleshooting

Tighten the skimmer connection?

No suction. The filter system has lost its prime (not sucking water). Could be many things. Air leak or a restriction in the system. Tighten all possible ways air can seep into system. Remove all restrictions: empty baskets, clear pump impeller, backwash. See PoolCo for a complete list of solutions.

Dirty water returning back to the pool. How dirty is the pool? You might be better off vacuuming on the waste or drain filter setting. See PoolCo for complete directions on how to do this.

Tighten lid on pump?
Replace pump lid oring or lubricate?
Replace pump plug oring?

Don't backwash too much! Only backwash when the circulation has slowed and the pressure gauge reads 10 lbs over normal pressure. If you backwash too often (thinking that it will help the filter to work better) you are actually slowing the sand's ability to clear the water. Small particles trapped in the sand are sticky. As they collect in the filter, they will help attact more and more particles.