Sand In The Pool
by Al Poore
I kept the old pump and filter as the pool guys said they were good. I had them replace the sand in the filter and after a few days I noticed granular materal on the bottom of the pool. I thought it was the salt they had put in the pool it turned out to be sand. I vacuumed several times and it would always come back gradually after a few hours. I spoke to the pool people and they said I should replace my filter and they did this morning. Low and behold the sand came back like a recurring nightmare. I have vacuumed 3 times to day always backwashing and rinsing and it comes back. It makes me beleive that I should have kept the old filter!? From what I have been reading here it apears that when new sand is installed it is common for sand to go back into the pool if you don't always backwash and then rinse. If I keep vacuuming and following your advise (above) How long should I do this procedure,to get results, before going back to the pool company for answers? Thanks for the question Al You're correct that new sand will take time to settle down a bit. Here's a post I just answered about this: Zeosand Putting Sand Back Into The Pool It's a different kind of sand but still the same results. In the last 3 years I've degreased or replace the YMCA sand three times. This is due to having 5000 swimmers per month. Each time I degrease the filters I have to add about 5 - 6 inches of sand. And I know that I'm in to vacuum at least twice per week for the next couple of weeks until the sand settles down. This happens every time, even on my pool route in Arizona. New sand has dirt and debris that will go back into the pool through the returns. It should decrease once the sand starts to get used up and dirty. You need a little bit of pressure for sand filters to work. Barring any broken laterals or standpipes, and everything is working correctly, you should see a decrease in the amount of sand going back into the pool with 5 - 7 days. To post a reply, or if you have a similar question, you can see your post (Sand In The Pool) on the Q&A page in the "Sand Filters" category. Swimming Pool Questions and Answers Check back to this post for answers. Hope this helps and have a great Summer. Robert Comment By: Al Poore Date: July 12, 2011 Robert Thank you for your quick reply. It helped ease the frustration I have been having since starting this pool season. I will continue to vac.-backwash and rinse (which I have done this morning already) and hope to have the sand problem cleared up in a week or 2. I guess I was surprized to have this problem, as my brother replaced his pool last year and did not have the sand in the pool problem. Thank you again and I have put your site on my favorite site list. |
