How Do I Get Rid of the Dirt & Debris on My Pool Surface? What Can I Do to Keep My Pool Clean?

 
You have two choices: Occasional, or one time pool cleanup, or solutions to a pool that is always dirty and/or full of debris.
 
How do I Clean My Pool? How Do I Do a "One Time(Or occasional)" Pool Cleanup
 
First:  If you get a lot of debris on a regular basis, that is the size that your vacuum will pick up, but is not dust or dirt, get yourself a "Leaf Canister". The larger the size, the less frequently you will have to empty it. his will prevent plugged lines, pump baskets betting plugged, then splitting, debris in the pump impeller, ... expensive repairs, ...  
 
If you have Lot's of Dirt, or Powdered material on the Pool Floor : 
 
                             If you have a Dial Backwash Valve:
 
                                    1.) Get the Water Level Up High (You are going to be removing a fair amount in this process.)
                                    2.) Shut off the Equipment
                                    3.) Turn the Dial Backwash Valve to "Vacuum or Filter to Waste"                                    
                                    4.) Turn on the Equipment                                                                     
                                    5.)  Vacuum the Pool
                                    6.) Shut off the Equipment, Put the Valve Back to the "Filter" position, Turn the Equipment back on.
                              
                               If you have a Push Pull Valve or a Cartridge Filter:
 
                                    1.) Vacuum the pool until
                                           a.) Dirt, Debris or algae starts to blow back into the pool. OR
                                           b.) The Vacuum Pressure Drops OR
                                           c.) The Filter Pressure rises above 30 lbs.
 
                                   2.) Backwash or Clean the filter.
 
                                   3.) Repeat the Process till everything is clean and clear.
 
  
For Solutions to Chronic Problems, there are a few possibilities at this point.
 
1.)  You Have a Floor Head Cleaning System: 

            
        If there is always dirt in one area of your pool, and you have "floor heads", this is normal. Floor heads "Normally" leave areas of the pool where the jets from the floor heads do not make contact with the pool surface. Any area where the water blows over, rather than "on" the pool surface, stays dirty. Most floor head systems have at least one such area. 
 
        The Exception to this rule: If the floor head is stuck, and not rotating (Then you can pull it out and clean or replace it. If you have floor heads, and you regularly have dirty areas in your pool, you can get a supplementary cleaning system that will help with those places, but my opinion is that if you pay thousands of dollars for a cleaning system, you shouldn't 'need' to buy “another” cleaning system to get the areas that one misses. This is one of the many reasons I do not like floor heads.
 
        Floor heads are far too expensive to put in and operate (The original pool owner usually gets a lifetime warrantee.), and usually do a much poorer job than some of the cleaning systems that run 1/2 the cost both to buy and operate. That said, is there an area where floor heads 'usually' excel? Yes. They are the best cleaning system for steps and love seats.
 
Why do I dislike floor head cleaning systems for any place other than steps and love seats:

 

1.)  Even with this “One” positive point, brushing the steps and the love seats once a week is usually a lot easier than dealing with a pile of dirt and debris left in one or more piles at the bottom of your pool each week.

 

2.)  Trying to vacuum that debris, if the floor heads cannot be shut off or bypassed, is like trying to vacuum up dirt off the tile floor of your house while someone is randomly blowing it around the room with a leaf blower.

 

3.)  Add the costs of the larger motor it takes to operate floor heads,

 

4.)  Or worse a second 'Larger' motor

 

5.)  And the extra timer or controls,

 

6.)  Add the costs of the extra plumbing, ...

 

7.)  Add the cost of the extra wiring and the extra electricity to run it, …

 

8.)  AND add the fact that there are a number of better solutions, that are less than half the initial installation costs, of a floor head system, the higher annual cost of upkeep, underground plumbing leaks because of the higher operating pressures, …
 
AND I DON'T LIKE FLOOR HEAD SYSTEMS ... except for steps and love seats.

 

For more details on all cleaning systems, including those that follow, click: HERE!

 
 
 
2.) You have a suction side cleaner.
 
            A.) Most suction side cleaners are designed to function decent during their warrantee period, and then cost you $100-$200 a year in maintenance every there after, with a complete replacement every 5 years.
            
            B.) Most suction side cleaners are not designed to pick up ANY substantial debris, and "some" will stop functioning even if the pick up the smallest rock. You may have just picked an inferior cleaning system. 
 
            C.) If you get a lot of "Debris" in your pool, get a Leaf Canister to collect all of the debris in. The larger the better. It is cheaper than one service call to unplug your lines, or one call to unplug the blockage in your pump. GET ONE!!!
 
 
 
3.) You just have a high dirt and debris load:
 
            A.) If you have palm trees that put out palm debris, Bougainvillea bushes, Mesquite trees, ferns, ... dogs that are always in or around the pool, kids swimming 4-5 hours a day, pool parties, ... you are going to have struggles unless you:
 
                    a.) Get a cleaning system that will pick up the dirt and debris without: 
                            I.) Plugging up and stopping altogether.
                            II.) Stopping all water flow to your pump because it filled your baskets
                            III.) Doesn't suck 3/4 of all the pool water going into your filter into a bag or basket filled with muck, thus pulling all the water through all of the collected dirt and debris. Have you ever made tea? This turns your water into dirt and debris tea. Then you put a filter on after it to try and remove the tea, often prematurely plugging the filter (D.E. or Cartridge), causing low water flow, low filtration, and a green pool, or, with a sand filter, most of the tea gets circulated around the pool making a fertile environment for algae.  
                            IV.) Doesn't plug up your suction lines
                            V.) Doesn't cost you hundreds of dollars every year to maintain
                            VI.) Doesn't make you waste dozens of hours every year unplugging it, or taking it into the shop to fix.
                    FOR CLEANING SYSTEM RECOMENDATIONS CLICK HERE!
 
HINT:  Remove Bad Landscaping Plants and save yourselves hundreds or thousands of dollars, countless head aches, tons of frustration, ... For plants every person in the Phoenix Area should remove from their yard, click HERE!
 
 
 
 
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