It is not recommended to drain a swimming pool through the backwash valve. While sucking from the main drain and putting the water down the backwash line will work in some scenarios it puts your pool pump at risk of losing prime and running dry.
The backwashing process reverses the flow of water to flush out contaminants from a swimming pool filter. It should be carried out until water runs clear through the waste line.
Any backwash water is to bypass the septic tank and be discharged to the drain between the septic tank and the common effluent drain. Under no circumstances should backwash water be discharged into the septic tank.
After the hose fills with water, backwash your sand filter for 2 - 3 minutes, or until water runs clear.
Never use your pool pump to try to drain the pool. Inevitably, you will pull air into your suction line, the pump will lose its prime, and you will damage or burn up your pump. Always rent or purchase a submersible pump to drain the pool.
First, if the draining is done at the wrong time or under the wrong conditions, you can actually risk damaging your pool structure and liner. All the water from your pool needs to go somewhere when it's drained, and that usually means the ground.
Can You Backwash Too Much? If you backwash your pool too much i.e. time duration and/or close frequency then yes you can cause a lot of problems. Some problems that can arise from backwashing your sand pool filter too much are: Loss of water – 500+ litres of water can be lost in each backwashing cycle.
The process of backwashing dislodges trapped debris and contaminants, flushing them out through your value's waste line or a hose that is connected to the pool pump. When the filter media is clean, the pressure gauge is lower and water can easily flow in and out of the system.
Whenever the filter fills up with the dirt/debris it reduces the flow of water to your pool. Low flow = poor circulation which will lead to algae in the pool. Bottom line, the filter must be backwashed on a regular basis to ensure that your pool water is clear.
For inground pools with a sand or DE filter, the easiest way to quickly lower the water level is to place the multiport valve into the waste position and roll out the backwash hose. If instead, you have a slide (push-valve), backwash the filter to lower the water level.
Rinse runs water in the same direction that normal filtering does. Backwash runs it through the sand in the opposite direction. Rinse is to clear any dirt out of the clean side of the sand before you start sending it back to the pool.
Backwashing can take only a few minutes to complete, but for a typical pool, it consumes approximately 200 to 300 gallons of pool water! So, while your filter is losing unwanted dirt and debris—your pool is losing a ton of water.
As a general rule, you should be backwashing your pool about once a week or in conjugation with your scheduled maintenance. Another industry standard is to backwash when your filter's pressure gauge reads 8-10 PSI (pounds per square inch) over the starting level or “clean” pressure.
Use a vacuum or backwash the pool to remove the dead algae. Apply a mustard algaecide following the label directions. Allow the water to circulate for 24 hours. Use a pool vacuum or backwash the pool again to remove the remaining dead algae.
Backwashing is a filter cleaning process through your filter system that reverses the flow of water. Pool filters allow the removal of organic material by directing the water into a porous medium such as sand.
Backwash only as needed. Brush the pool vigorously, several times after shocking the pool. Do not use a solar blanket until chlorine and pH level are normal. If chlorine level drops to zero within 24 hours, Repeat the shock treatment.
If anything could be considered “normal”, it would be about 10 psi. Most filter systems are designed to operate in the 5-15 or 10-20 psi range. The way to find out your particular correct pool filter pressure is to clean or backwash the filter thoroughly and empty the pump and skimmer baskets.
If ground water is not a problem a pool can be left empty for weeks or even months as long the hydrostatic relief in the bottom of the pool is open and functioning. If the time frame of the pool being empty gets into freezing weather there is real risk of freeze-thaw damage to surface of the pool.
Pool industry experts recommend you drain your pool and refill it every five to seven years. No two pools are alike, so there is no set number at which you must drain your pool.
It typically costs $500 to $700 to drain and clean a pool and usually takes several days. Since it's more expensive, a pool company will try other common treatments to clean the pool first.
The average outdoor spigot on a home can produce up to 12 gallons per minute. A small pool can be filled in a few hours, while a large one can take 14 hours.
Roll backwash hose out into the yard or approved draining area. Rotate the multiport valve on the top or side in a clockwise direction to the “Waste” position. Turn the pump back on. After you get the correct amount of water out of your swimming pool, turn the pump back off.