How to Make a Pool Sand Filter Run Better

Your swimming pool needs to have a clean appearance and feature clear sparkling water. To accomplish this task, your sand filter needs to function at peak efficiency. Pool owners count on that small amount of silica sand to catch impurities and remove dirt, so they can enjoy the relaxation their backyard getaways provide them. When the sand filter is not doing the job properly, it is time to regroup and find out just what is wrong.

Things You'll Need

• New # 20 silica sand
• Filter cleaner

Instructions

1. Change your current sand it if it has been more than three or four years since initially added. Keep a record to see how long it has been in the filter. Use only #20 silica sand as the replacement and no more than the manufacturer requires.

2. Use the correct size and brand pump that the manufacturer recommends. Changing pump brands or sizes by either upgrading or downgrading horsepower can affect the sand inside the filter. Using a pump with insufficient horsepower will not push dirt from the filter during backwashing, so the result is cloudy or dingy-looking water. Operating a pump with too much horsepower will force its way through the sand bed and create unnatural channels, allowing water to return to the pool unfiltered through these channels.

3. Recognize that if you treat algae in the pool and it returns, there may be a layer of it inside the sand bed. Open your canister and, if found, remove the algae layer. Replace the exact amount of sand back into the canister before closing.

4. Open the canister and gently stir the sand to break-up any clumps or channels that have formed. Channeling can be a result of mineral deposits in the water that accumulate and harden inside of the canister.

5. Wait until your pressure rises between 6 and 8 ppi on the pressure gauge before backwashing. Backwashing too soon can result in cloudy water. Small dirt particles aid in the filtering process by plugging off the spaces between granules of sand. Use this natural filter helper up to the point that the pressure rises to the 6 to 8 ppi mark. Trapping finer and finer material due to smaller spaces between the grains will result in less cloudy water.

6. Degrease or chemically clean your sand in mid-season and at the end of the season. Removing oils and debris that accumulate in it will extend the life of your sand to the full three to four years expected.