Inground pool, no suction how to get dirt and debris out of pool?

Question

Last year we developed a problem in our line. jets in pool work fine although we do have some air coming through one of jets in shallow end which I know to be bad if you see bubbles. Anyways , no suction. Cant vacuum the pool with the hose and our Hayward sand filter. I backwash and do everything I am supposed to. I think I need to replace the sand as I have never done this since moving in 3 years ago. We do have a leak but right now what I need are answers on how to remove the debris (dirt silt some grass and a lot of algae dust ) I shocked pool and its is clear and clean but leftover algae on bottom, and a lot of it. I bought one of those portable vacuums but it wont clean this ampount of dirt and debris. Do pool companies have a good size portable vacuum that does not need to be connected to my filter and hose? Is there a chemical burn off that is safe for vinyl pools and will burn this off. I need this fixed but need to know more because pool guys not real helpful when I call.

Answer 1

The air leak is the reason you can't get enough suction to vacuum the pool. You may be able to vacuum if you can isolate your skimmer and drain lines. (that will depend on how the pluming was configured when the pool was built) If the air leak is in the skimmer line adjust your valves to only pull from the main drain. If you can't adjust the valves from skimmer and drain, Tell the pool service company the will need to porta vac the pool. They don't all have the equipment and if they do they don't always have it with them. As far as the sand in the filter is concerned it won't prevent you from vacuuming. It should be changed about every 5 years. One of the symptoms of old sand are, pool won't clear (cloudy). That doesn't sound like your problem.

Answer 2

You hit the nail on the head. Replace the sand. Its cumbersome, but very cheap.