How to Backwash a Pool
Many people are discouraged from buying a house with a swimming pool in the backyard because they feel intimidated by the amount and difficulty of the work to maintain it. But once you get the hang of pool maintenance, it's really not that hard, and that includes the backwash process. Follow these steps, and before long, backwashing your pool will become routine. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Shut off the power. Before starting the backwash process, you need to power down the pool filter.
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Set up your hose. Ensure that the backwash hose is attached to your pool filter and roll out the backwash hose to an area that won't flood.
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Position the valves. With DE filters, you need to turn the backwash port/valve to "Open," or with sand filters, turn it to "Backwash."
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Power up the pool filter. Keep watching the water until the dirty water or particles are clear (approximately two to three minutes).
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Shut off the pool filter and move on to the rinse cycle. For DE filters, depress the bump handle rapidly according to the manufacturer's instructions. For sand filters, turn the valve to "Rinse" for approximately 30 to 45 seconds.
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Finish the job. Turn the pool filter back on and for a DE filter, turn the backwash port/valve to "Close." For sand filters, turn the valve to "Filter." Add additional water to maintain the skimmer level.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have any questions or concerns about backwashing your pool, either visit or call your local pool store. The staff is usually glad to offer their help and advice.
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Comments
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the dials on the pool system is not there I don't know which one is backwash can u help me.
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markj99
Mar 03, 2009
(part two)Yet with the Hayward VariFlo valve, "Closed" doesn't put the pool filter back in service: It shuts off all circulation completely, which can cause the pump to overheat, or worse! So there needs to be a DESCRIPTION of each required valve setting, so at each step pool owners can figure out where to set their filter valves, regardless of how their particular equipment is labeled. And just one more suggestion regards the title, which really ought to include the word 'filter', so that it reads "How to Backwash a Pool FILTER". That might help more people find this article.Cheers! -
markj99
Mar 03, 2009
This is nice, but highly abridged description of "How to Backwash a Pool Filter", which is likely a "work in progress". So I'll address just two of the more serious issues that should be addressed in future revisions.A big problem is the omission of an important step -- the final step -- which is reloading the filter medium! After a backwash, a pool filter must be recharged with DE (or sand, as appropriate) before putting the filter back into service, or the filter lattice may be become irreversibly clogged by debris that would normally have been captured by the filter media.Another problem is that the labeling on pool filter valves is far from standardized, so it's dangerous to depend on a specific label for each valve setting. For example, these instructions say to set the filter valve to the 'Closed' position to put a DE filter back into service. Yet with the Hayward VariFlo va
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markj99
Mar 03, 2009
This is nice, but highly abridged description of "How to Backwash a Pool Filter", which is likely a "work in progress". So I'll address just two of the more serious issues that should be addressed in future revisions.A big problem is the omission of an important step -- the final step -- which is reloading the filter medium! After a backwash, a pool filter must be recharged with DE (or sand, as appropriate) before putting the filter back into service, or the filter lattice may be become irreversibly clogged by debris that would normally have been captured by the filter media.Another problem is that the labeling on pool filter valves is far from standardized, so it's dangerous to depend on a specific label for each valve setting. For example, these instructions say to set the filter valve to the 'Closed' position to put a DE filter back into service. Yet with the Hayward VariFlo va
