Maintenance

How do I vacuum in-ground or above-ground swimming pool?

2. Attach the vacuum hose to the vacuum head (the piece with the brushes or wheels on it). The better quality vacuum hoses come with a swivel end to prevent tangling of the hose.  Be sure that this is the end that is attached to the vacuum head; if not the system will draw air & not work properly.

3. Make sure the hose is secure and the vacuum head is firmly attached to the pole.

4. Place the vacuum head, hose & pole into the deep end of the pool (make sure one end of the pole is sticking out of the water!)

5. Take the UN-attached end of the vacuum hose & hold it in front of one of the water return fittings.  This will fill the hose with water & prevent binding of the pump with air.  You know you've got enough water in the hose when the vacuum head bubbles up to the top.

6. Put your hand over the end of the hose to keep the water IN.

7. Place the skimmer basket adapter on top of the skimmer basket.  Always use a basket to prevent the possible suction of a large object from getting stuck in the skimmer or in the underground line.

8. If vacuuming through a lower suction without a basket, use a leaf trap.

9. After you have placed the hose on the adapter fitting you will probably notice a sudden drop in filter activity.  This is normal.  The filter system is just readjusting itself to the change in suction.  Let it operate for about 30 to 90 seconds.  It should automatically bleed any air out of its system and return to normal operation.  You'll hear the sound becoming "normal" again.

10. Vacuum away!


Troubleshooting

No suction.  Either the hose has come off of the basket, the filter has lost its prime (not sucking water) or the hose a leak (make sure you've got the proper end of the hose on the vac head).  If you have more than one suction line, be sure you're drawing from the proper one.

Dirty water returning to the pool.  If you have a sand filter, DO NOT BACKWASH THE FILTER BEFORE VACUUMING.  Backwashing stirs up the sand & prevents good trapping of dirt for several HOURS.  In cartridge or DE filters, this rarely happens.

I vacuum for a few minutes & then it doesn't work anymore.  How dirty is the pool?  If it's REALLY dirty, you may be better off vacuuming to direct waste (sand filter) or otherwise vacuuming directly out of the pool by-passing the filter.