The Swimming Pool Filter

Cleaning Your Swimming Pool Filter.

One of the most important parts of maintaining a pool is cleaning the swimming pool filter. How often should you clean the swimming pool filter?

This will depend on the make and model of your filter as each manufacturer vary on their recommendations of how often you should clean the swimming pool filter but usually you are told to take a reading when its clean. Make a note of the reading and then check regularly. Once the reading has gone up about 10 psi you are ready for a new swimming pool filter.

Problems with Debris.

Once your filter becomes clogged you have two problems. The first is the back pressure rises on the filtration system and the second is that the water flow rate through the system slows down. As a pool owner you don't want too much water flow going through the filter.

If too much water is flowing through the filter its life expectancy will be shortened and the amount of debris managing to get past the filter will increase which kind of defeats the purpose of having a swimming pool filter all together!

The types of filters available for swimming Pools.

One type of swimming pool filter is the crushed sand filter. This version has been banned in some areas because it needs to be back-flushed. This means contaminated water is allowed mix in with ground water.

Another type of filter is the diatomaceous earth (DE) filter. This uses minute fossilized remains as the filtering agent. It is placed into a grid that the water passes through.

The third and probably best type of filter is the cartridge variety. The cartridge type performs well without causing any damage to your local environment.

If you take a look at your swimming pool filter, you will find a label telling you the maximum pressure reading for your particular model. It is very important that the pressure reading is not allowed to go above the maximum recommended pressure for your particular swimming pool filter.

Of these three types of swimming pool filters, the cartridge-type filters usually run at a lower level of pressure.

When you are cleaning a cartridge swimming pool filter don't use a power washer. It is too powerful a tool for the job and you could end up doing damage to the swimming pool filter as you are attempting to clean it.

The filter does not have to be spotless when you are finished cleaning it. Simply remove the large pieces of debris and make a point of giving the swimming pool filter cartridge a good soaking in a product designed specifically for cleaning the cartridge. Your local retailer of swimming pool products will have these available.