Why do you really need to backwash and rinse your pool?

Yes, all pool experts will recommend that you backwash and rinse your pool – but why?

Maybe it’s not you who takes on the responsibility of backwashing and rinsing your swimming pool; it could be your husband, wife, gardener or pool maintenance person, but it’s important to know why it’s necessary.

WHAT IS IT?

Your pool filter is constantly collecting debris that makes its way into your swimming pool. What is not caught by the skimmer basket (small debris, insects, sand particles, etc.) makes its way to the filter and is caught by the compact sand in the filtration system. The longer this process runs, the more dirt accumulates in the sand, which in turn requires that your pool utilize more sanitizer or at a certain stage gets pumped back into the pool. When it becomes full, it can no longer effectively filter the water and catch the small particles because the circulation of the water in your pool will not flow smoothly.

What the backwash does is unsettle the sand and push out the fine debris. The rinse then expels the debris and compacts the sand again to prepare the filter to catch more dirt.

WHEN SHOULD YOU DO IT?

Pool experts suggest that backwashing and rinsing should take place on a weekly basis, but it really depends on a number of factors. If your pool is situated under trees, it will naturally see more leaves and debris finding its way into the water. This means that the sand filter will get clogged quicker and should then be backwashed and rinsed more frequently to ensure that your pool is cleaned properly.

If you live in a windy area, your pool will also find more debris flying into the water and should be backwashed more regularly.

If your pool cleaner is running slower than usual, this could mean filter pressure is too high or too low and is usually the result of a clogged filter. A backwash and rinse can potentially rectify this, but if not, come into one of our stores to troubleshoot.