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If you have debris or particles lingering in your pool but don’t want them going through your filter, you’ll need to vacuum them out on the waste setting. It’s a simple process that removes particles fast.
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What is Pool School?
A podcast for pool owners covering pool maintenance and water chemistry.
Hey, everyone, and welcome to Pool School by Swim University, where we help you keep your pool clean and clear all year. My name is Matt, the founder of swimuniversity.com. And on this episode, we're talking about how to vacuum a pool to waste with a sand filter. Let's dive in. Real quick, if you want more help taking care of your pool, be sure to grab our free pool care cheat sheet at swimudot com/cheat sheet.
Matt Giovanisci:If you have debris or particles lingering in your pool, but you don't want it going through your filter, then you're gonna need to vacuum all of those particles out using the waste setting. That means as you vacuum, the dirty water bypasses suction in the line, it's a simple process that removes particles fast. So first, when should you vacuum to waste? You want to vacuum to the waste setting when you need to remove particles or debris from your pool, but you don't wanna go in through your filter, like I said. These are things like algae, sand, or pollen that might not get picked up by the filter and will just keep circulating back into your pool.
Matt Giovanisci:And chemicals like flocculent shouldn't go through your filter since it can actually clog it up. Now on your multi port valve, you'll see a a a setting called waste. When you vacuum with your filter on this waste setting, you are bypassing the filter completely. That means the dirty water is being pulled into the vacuum through the skimmer, through the pump, and then directly out the filter waste port bypassing the filter entirely. So keep in mind that your pool water level will drop while you vacuum And you don't want your water level to drop below the skimmer since your pump will start sucking in air.
Matt Giovanisci:So you wanna use a garden hose to add fresh water if your water level drops too low. So to vacuum your to vacuum the pool, you're gonna need a manual vacuum head, a telescopic pole to attach the vac head, a vacuum hose, a backwash hose, which is actually just another hose, but it's a flat hose. And optionally, you can use a skimmer vacuum plate or a vac plate. This plate sits over top of the skimmer basket. This makes sure that the debris is caught by your skimmer basket and doesn't make your its way into the pool pump, which also has a basket.
Matt Giovanisci:So you get 2 basket catching and it's good for, larger debris. So if you're vacuuming up like a lot of like leaves or things like that, it can be handy. So here's how to vacuum on the waste setting. 1st, you're gonna connect your backwash hose to the filter's waste port. Water will flow out of this port when you start vacuuming, so unravel the hose into a nearby area where water can flow out.
Matt Giovanisci:And you wanna make sure that your pool's water level is a few inches above normal. Because you're gonna lose water once you start vacuuming and you don't want that water level to fall below the skimmer. Then you're gonna attach the vacuum head to the telescopic pole and attach one end of the vacuum hose to the vacuum head. You're gonna lower the vacuum slowly into the pool, trying not to kick up any particles that are on the floor, and then you wanna make sure that the vacuum head rests on the pool floor. Then you wanna fill up the vacuum hose with water.
Matt Giovanisci:It's important to get all the air out of the hose so when it's hooked up to the skimmer, it's not gonna suck in a bunch of air to your pump. You can do this by submerging the entire hose underwater and waiting a few minutes until it fills up. Or, and this is my favorite method, you place the loose end of the hose against your return jet while the pump is running because this is gonna push water through the hose and drive all of the air out. You'll see bubbles rising up from the vacuum head on the floor of the pool. And then once the bubbles stop, that means all of the air is then out of the hose.
Matt Giovanisci:So now, it's time to set the filter to waste. You wanna always turn your pump off before you turn your multi port valve. I kind of, the way that I my analogy is like pressing a clutch before changing gears. You wanna turn off the pump, change your gears, and then turn back on the pump. Alright?
Matt Giovanisci:Once the pump is off, again, set your multi port valve to waste. And then everything you vacuum out of the pool will now bypass the filter, flow out of the waste port, and then through your backwash hose. Right? Once you got everything going, turn on the pump and water should start flowing out the backwash hose. Now, connect the vacuum to your skimmer.
Matt Giovanisci:You wanna remove the pump basket inside your skimmer and using your hand, block one end of the water filled hose. And then place the hose into the skimmer, making sure it's firmly inserted in the suction hole at the bottom of the skimmer well. You can also snake the hose through the opening of the skimmer and place it into the suction hole, whichever is easier for you. The goal is to create suction that pulls debris through the vacuum head, up through the hose, into the skimmer, and then through your filter system, and then obviously out the waste port. If your vacuum loses suctions, you just do all of this all over again.
Matt Giovanisci:Shut everything off, reattach everything, you know, or you actually can keep it running at that point. So if you're using a skimmer vacuum plate or a vac plate, you wanna attach it to the end of the vacuum hose. And again, block the opening with your hand to keep the water inside the hose and bring it over to the skimmer and skimmer basket. And then you wanna make sure that you create a good seal or the suction's gonna be lost. Now, water should be flowing from your vacuum head into the skimmer, through the pump, and out your backwash hose.
Matt Giovanisci:So at this point, it's time to actually vacuum the pool. Here's how you're gonna do it. Alright? Use long, slow strokes to vacuum the floor of the pool because rushing is gonna kick up all of that debris. And if the water does become re cloudy, you wanna have to you're gonna have to give it a couple of hours to resettle and then come back and vacuum again.
Matt Giovanisci:And if the vacuum head becomes stuck to the bottom of the pool, just switch off the pump for a second to break the vacuum force and that will set it free. If this keeps happening or your filter pressure gauges or pressure gauge rises 10 PSI or £10 above normal, just take a break, backwash your filter. Alright? Now, if you've vacuumed up larger debris like leaves, be sure to check your pump basket periodically while you're vacuuming. You may have to pause and empty it out, especially if you notice that your vacuum is losing suction.
Matt Giovanisci:And then, once you've vacuumed up all the visible particles or debris, you wanna turn off the pump, disconnect the vacuum, and set your multi port valve back to filter. And now you can run your filter normally. So if you notice that your filter's pressure gauge has gone up, you know, maybe 5 to 10 PSI or pounds above normal, then you wanna backwash your filter. And finally, just top off your pool with fresh water if the water level dips significantly while vacuuming. This is also time it's it's a good time to test the water and add chemicals since the fresh water is probably gonna dilute your water chemistry.
Matt Giovanisci:Also, while you're vacuuming, you can leave the garden hose in the pool and fill it while you're vacuuming if you need to vacuum out more than the time allotted. Alright. That's it, actually. So remember, if you need more help with pool maintenance, you wanna grab our free pool care cheat sheet at swimu.com/cheatcheat. And if you found this episode helpful, subscribe for more pool maintenance tips on your favorite podcasting app.
Matt Giovanisci:And when you do, leave us a review because your support will help more pool owners just like you find this show. That's it. Thanks again, and happy swimming.