What’s the Source of Sand in My Pool? | Swimming Pool NJ

What’s the Source of Sand in My Pool?

Swimming Pool NJ - You’re trying to enjoy your pool but you keep seeing – and feeling – sand on the bottom. What gives? You may blame the kids for hopping in the pool without washing their feet off first, but truth is, it’s likely coming from your sand filter. Don’t have a sand filter? Well, then, it may not be sand at all. It could be yellow pool algae, also known as mustard algae. Brush the offending substance and see if it clouds up the water. If so, this is indeed your culprit. In this case, you’ll have to shock the pool and sanitize everything in it.

If you do have a sand filter, the sand at the bottom of the pool came from there – most likely due to a broken sand filter standpipe or laterals. This can occur in a variety of ways, usually due to old age of the filter or because the filter moved and shifted the standpipe, which caused a crack in the laterals due to the weight of the sand. Swimming Pool NJ - You need to remedy the issue before moving on, or else you’ll just keep getting sand at the bottom of your pool.

If you’re handy around the home and don’t mind devoting a Saturday to this job, great! First, you have to dismantle the sand filter, remove the sand, repair the unit or replace the problem part, then add new sand. This will probably take an amateur about two hours to do. If you don’t want to be bothered because of other more fun things to do on your weekend, call the professionals here at Central Jersey Pools who can get your pump and filter up and running again.

After fixing the problem, it’s important to get the sand out of your pool that got in there initially. Using your manual vacuum on the “waste” setting on your multiport valve instead of “filter,” you’ll be able to suck out all the water out of the backwash port without having to go through the filter. Because you’re bypassing the filter, sand won’t jam your filter’s laterals.

In order to gather up the sand into a central spot for easier vacuuming, brush it all to the middle of the pool. Once you start this process, do quickly so as not to lose too much water. In fact, you should have a garden hose going into the pool at the same time to keep the water level constant.

Swimming Pool NJ - Need assistance with this process? Call Central Jersey Pools at 732-462-5005 or visit our superstore in Freeport. Our experts can visit your home and remove the sand from your pool quickly and efficiently.