Sand in My Pool

Sand in My Pool

Got sand in your pool? This is an annoying situation that prevents you from enjoying your pool to the fullest. After all, you want to be able to jump in anytime and cool off, right? If you feel sand at the bottom, that gritty feeling isn't pleasant on the feet. Plus, it's not good for your liner.

You may wonder how the sand got there in the first place. Well, if you have a sand filter, that's most likely the culprit. It could be broken and failing to work as it should.

• Broken Filter Parts: When parts crack or break inside your sand filter, the result is usually sand in your pool.
• Standpipe: Made of stiff yet strong plastic, this item can crack if it gets old or is under stress. The pipe is connected at the top to the multiport valve, while it's connected to laterals at the bottom.

Explaining Laterals

Water pours into the sand from the top within a sand filter tank. During this process, small pieces of debris and contaminants are filtered from the water. At the filter's bottom, the clean water goes back into the pool via return jets.

Ideally, only water will make its way back into the pool and not sand. But this isn't always what happens. A series of eight to 10 laterals will work as a sieve, with lots of perforations that can pass water through but not sand. If you have a cracked lateral, sand will get through. It's as simple as that.

Now, you're left with having to fix the filter and get the sand out of your pool!

Fixing a Broken Standpipe or Laterals

The situation must be fixed so sand doesn't continue to build up on the floor of your pool. Usually, it's the laterals that will be to blame rather than the standpipe, but it's wise to know how to repair either issue. You can follow the same process when changing the filter sand, but you'll have to replace the broken pieces in the filter prior to adding more sand.

If you need to, order a new standpipe and laterals before you begin so they'll be on hand.

Once the broken parts have been replaced, you can start the process of sand removal from your pool.

Removing Sand From Your Pool

Here are some helpful steps.

1. Push all sand to one spot with a pool brush.
2. Switch the multiport valve to "Filter" and vacuum the sand back into the filter.
3. Manually vacuum the pool.
4. Test and balance the water.

No Sand Filter?

If you don't have a sand filter or live near a beach yet you still see a sand-like substance in your water, it could be yellow pool algae, AKA mustard algae. Push it around with the brush. If it disperses and gets cloudy, it's algae and you'll have to properly remove it.

Got sand in your pool and just want it gone quickly so you can enjoy the water this summer? Just call Central Jersey Pools and we'll come out to handle it for you. You'll be back in the pool in no time!