Daily Pool Maintenance: Backwashing Your Pool and Other Fun Tasks!
The first thing you should do each morning is turn off your filtration system to check your skimmer basket. If it has collected leaves, twigs and other mysterious floating items in your pool, you need to take a moment to empty it out. Keeping this basket free and clear of debris allows water to easily flow into your filter for cleaning. If you have two baskets, be sure to check both of them!
Then, turn your filtration system back on and check your water return valve. Is it shooting water back into the pool at a steady, even pace? If it seems to be choking, or is not as forceful as you're used to, you need to do a backwash on your filter. This will clean the tiny particles of debris out of your filter so that you water can easily flow through the filter and back into the pool.
Turn your filtration system off, and turn your dial on the top of your filter to "backwash". When you turn your system back on, water will be directly drained from your filter, out through your drainage hose. Be sure your hose is draining to an appropriate spot, such as your own yard, or a sewer drain, if your city allows.
Run the backwash for at least 3-4 minutes. On the side of your filter, you will see a small glass jar filling with water. At first it will look cloudy, then it will gradually get clear. Once it's clear, you can turn the filtration system off.
Now, turn the dial on your filter to the "rinse" setting. Turn you filtration system back on, and let the rinse cycle go for another few minutes. After that is complete, turn your system off, and change the dial to "filter". Turn your system back on, and check the flow of water at the return valve. It should be more forceful and steady.
Now, since you have drained a lot of water out of the pool through the backwash and rinse cycles, check your water level. Be sure air is not getting into your system through the skimmer basket. Add water as needed to get your pool up to it's appropriate water level.
Next, we need to test the chemical make-up of the water. This can be done easily and quickly with a simple dip stick test available at your local pool store. These test sticks will give you information about the level of chlorine or bromine in your pool, the alkalinity and the pH. After taking the reading, adjust your chemicals as needed to balance the pool. If this procedure is new for you, be sure to read "How to Test Chemical Levels in Your Pool: Summer Pool Safety."
If your free chlorine is getting low, it is best to add chlorine, or "shock" your pool in the evening, since sunlight breaks down the chemical structure of chlorine, making it less effective during daylight hours.
By following this 10 minute daily pool check, you will ensure that your pool is operating smoothly, effectively and is safe for swimming!
Published by Angela Tague
Angela Tague has worked in news writing and photography since 1998. After attaining a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Iowa, Tague's journalism career has led to positions at two... View profile
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- The first thing you should do each morning is to check your skimmer basket for debris.
- Check your water level daily and add as needed to avoid getting air in your system.
- Test the chemical make-up of your water daily.
8 Comments
Post a CommentWhen backwashing turn lever on top of fiter to backwash for approx 5 mins, turn off filter and rotate lever on top of filter to rinse and run approx 5 mins to rinse snd, s/b view bottle and pressure guage so you can see when water from filter is clean. Remove excess water from pool turn filter off and turn filter lever to waste and turn filter on and this will drain your pool down to skimmer level after rain shower.
go to salt system, low maint. and salt is lot cheaper and cleaner than chlorine. Salt is transformed into chlorine but does not have the smell and don't feel sticky when you get out the pool. I have had a 16x32 inground pool for 2 yrs and I love the low maint and cost of salt(6.00 40 pound bag at walmart)
We have had trouble with our inground pool all summer long! We just drained almost all the water out because it will not come clean for all the chemicals and money in the world. We backwash, vac., run pump 24/7, clean baskets, skim, shock, 4 in 1 tablets in feeder... Help! Someone told me it might be the filter. Could that be so? When I vac. the pool and backwashed it, I noticed a pile of sand in the location the water is expelled. What is the problem with this green monster?
Can we add sand to our filter to make it work better?
(love this site,i have lear a lot, about how to
clean my pool,.thinks i dint no.
we are new owners to a pool this year.
and for weeks now we have got problems,
the water turn green and we hire some one,
there never came this weekend.but i took care
of the problem. thanks. great site..........
Wow! You're the best! I was looking on a bunch of complicated sites and didn't find what I needed, then stumbled upon your down-to-earth advice that didn't make pool maintenance sound like emergency brain surgery. Keep up the good work!
When backwashing do I need to turn the pool return valves off. I ask this because so far I haven't done this and it seems to me the pool gets cloudier after a backwash!! My hunch is that when backwashing the pool it is pumping the reverse flow back out into the pool instead of all of it to waste.
Very great tips here. I've been having issues with my pool and am definitely going to incorporate this into my daily routine. Thanks!