Cleaning Out Lots Of Dirt In The Pool

by Bruce Corbett
(Simsbury CT)

Question: Pool Vandalized With Paint

We were away on vacation and our pool was vandalized when we were gone.

Somebody threw a bunch of potted plants in the pool.

There may be up to 10-15 gallons of potting soil on the bottom of the pool.

Is this too much dirt to vacuum out of the pool?

Thanks

Thank you for the question Bruce

I understand how frustrating it is when you have a filthy pool from vandalism.

I've taken care of a bunch of them and it can be a real pain.

First you will need to carefully scoop out as much debris as you can. Get a good leaf rake, not a blue square skimmer.

Go slowly because you're going to have dirt and debris floating around and you'll want to minimize that.

The question says that there's 10 - 15 gallons of dirt in the pool. I would suggest that you vacuum to "WASTE" if you can.

The dirty pool water will bypass the filter and go straight into the sewer. But be careful and keep an eye on the water level.

You'll want to keep it topped off, and no less than 1/3 up from the bottom of the skimmer.

Anything less and the system will draw in air and that will reduce the suction of the vacuum.

If you do vacuum to "FILTER", you'll be backwashing every 5 minutes or so while vacuuming.

Hope this helps and have a great rest of the Summer

Robert

Question: Spilled Paint In A Swimming Pool
Date: Mar 01, 2012

Vandals threw in 5 gallons of latex paint into full size swimming pool it has settled to bottom.

How do I clean it up? The water is clear.

Sorry to hear about this. I know it's frustrating. I've had a few calls about vandalized pools and had to clean them up.

Here are the steps you can take. More than likely you're going to need to drain the pool and refill with fresh water. Get a submersible pump and drain as much water as you can without clogging the pump. Don't allow any paint to get into the pump. If all the pain has settled to the bottom you can accomplish this by suspending the pump off the bottom.

Get a pair of rubber gloves and old clothes

Turn off the filtration system and take everything out of the pool i.e. ladders, chlorine tab floater, etc... and clean them with mild soap and water

Make a thick pile of newspaper where the spill is most concentrated or use a large plastic bucket

Get a swimming pool leaf rake and line the inside and outside of the net with a fine muslin mesh cloth. You can either tie or duct tape the muslin around the plastic opening.

Very carefully and slowly scoop out the paint starting at the most concentrated point. When the mesh cloth becomes saturated with paint, remove it and replace with new mesh.

Once you've removed as much paint as you can, it will be time to drain the rest of the pool and refill with fresh water. Don't use your pool pump or drain to WASTE as this might clog up the lines or get residual paint in the lines.

After the pool is drained it will be time to remove the remaining paint. Lots of paper towels and sponges will be needed.

Be prepared for alot of work.

Hope this helps and let me know how it turns out for you.

Robert