If you live in one of the southwestern states, you may be looking at getting a suction pool cleaner for your swimming pool. You already know that airborne dust and dirt not only ends up on your patio, your window sills and sliding doors. However, it also ends up landing on the surface of your pool. Then, inevitably, it sinks and coats the bottom of your pool in a layer of saturated dust. Enter the suction pool cleaner to help you fix this problem.
Suction Pool Cleaner Alternatives
One way to get rid of this dirt on your pool interior is to use a manual vacuum. To use a manual vacuum you will plug the hose into the skimmer throat or into your dedicated vac-port. Then put the other end into a vac head on the cleaning pole. Next, you’ll manually vacuum the interior of your pool. Unfortunately, this is a bit of a chore and you might find it’s just not convenient to do every couple days or even once a week. This is why the suction pool cleaner was invented and has become so handy.
How To Use A Suction Pool Cleaner
Suction pool cleaners are connected to the pool cleaning hose. The hose will either be plugged into your skimmer throat or into a dedicated vac-port in the side of your pool. The suction pool cleaner usually has wheels, like the Zodiac MX8, or flappers, like the Hayward Navigator, powered by the movement of the water. The wheels or flappers will help direct the cleaner to random places in the pool, eventually providing near full coverage of the floor and coves. Note, you will still need to brush the walls when you have a suction cleaner. These suction cleaners will not climb the walls reliably.
Suction Pool Cleaner Maintenance Reminders
While suction pool cleaners require a lot less time and effort, they’re not without their own maintenance schedule. Here are some reminders to keep your suction pool cleaner healthy.
Monitor The Filter Pressure Gauge And Pump Basket
When you have a suction pool cleaner, it’s important to keep an eye on your filter pressure gauge, as well as your pump basket. Since you have a suction cleaner, all the debris and dust and dirt sucked in ends up going to the pump then the filter. You may want to consider adding a cyclonic pre-filter like the Waterco Multicyclone 16. These pre-filters help reduce filter cleaning by trapping dirt and debris before the filter using centrifugal force. To clean the pre-filter, you need to turn a valve on the side of it while the pump is running. It couldn’t be simpler to operate.
Filter Scenarios And How To Treat Them
With or without a pre-filter you will need to clean your filter. The optimal time to do so is when your pressure gauge gets past the ‘dirty’ setting. If you have a sand filter or a DE filter, you will backwash the filter. If you have a cartridge filter, you will need to take the filter apart and clean the cartridges. When you have a suction pool cleaner, it is very important to keep track of your filter pressure. Finally, remember to keep your filters clean. After all, it only takes a dust storm or two and your filter will be dirty again.
Suction Pool Cleaner Summary
Suction cleaners can be an integral part of your pool’s cleaning system. Though they’re sometimes seen as an annoyance with the hose and suction head nearly always left in the pool, they do the hard work of vacuuming the pool for you. If you live in a place with high leaf load, you probably don’t want a suction cleaner. Instead, you should consider a pressure side pool cleaner.
