Vacuuming your swimming pool removes dust and debris from the pool floor and is an important part of the regular swimming pool maintenance.
Most pools have built in provision for vacuuming and, providing you have good quality well maintained equipment and filtration, the vacuuming process is a simple task. It should be carried out weekly or fortnightly.
Vacuuming the pool is usually carried out using either a dedicated vac point, or by using one of the pool skimmers to create the suction required for vacuuming.
The process is simple and the following guide shows the step by step procedure.
- Check that the skimmer valve or vac line valve is fully opened and all other suction valves are shut prior to setting up the vac equipment.
- Take the vac pole and attach the correct vac head to the pole (Note -only a liner swimming pool vac head should be used on PVC lined swimming pools and not a vac head designed for concrete tiled swimming pools). Lay the pole on the swimming pool surround near to the vac point.
- Lay out the vac hose on the swimming pool surround in a straight line and attach one end to the vac head already attached to the pole.
- Lift the pole and place the vac head and attached hose into the water, keep hold of the vac pole in one hand and then and then feed the remaining hose into the swimming pool slowly using your other hand, there is a knack to this which takes practise to master but the idea is to feed the hose in slowly to force the air out and water into the hose, continue to feed hose into the swimming pool until water comes out of the open end of the hose.
- Once the vac hose is completely filled with water it can be attached to the vac point or skimmer, if the valve is open and the pool pump is running the suction will draw the vac hose into place and vacuuming can commence immediately.
- Once attached to the vac point or skimmer the vac head must remain under water at all times to prevent air being drawn into the system which would cause the swimming pool pump to lose prime.
- Slowly vacuum the pool. If you vacuum too quickly debris will be pushed into suspension and not sucked up.
- If the suction becomes laboured during vacuuming then stop and return to the pool plant room, check the swimming pool filtration pump basket and empty any debris if it is full up, also a backwash of the filter will reduce any back pressure and improve the suction on the vacuum.
- Always backwash the filter after vacuuming the pool and check the pump and skimmer baskets for debris.
- After vacuuming the swimming pool return the valves to their normal operating positions and remove the vac equipment from the pool and store safely away from the pool and out of sunlight.
