D.E. Filter Help, please!

[sandhilljane]

My elderly parents have a Hayward D.E. filter for their 10,000 gallon IG pool. My dad says he is changing the D.E. twice a day during start up. He adds 7 cups of D.E. to the skimmer and changes the grids each time. He says he needs to do it 5 times before the pool will be clear. This seems excessive to me - could anyone help? I have a sand filter system in our IG pool, so I am not familiar with the D.E. system. Dad has used a whole box of D.E. in 2 days.
Thanks!

[imfignewton]

If the pool is very cloudy or green it is possible to have to backwash alot. Might also want to check and see if the filter grids were removed and cleaned before the season started.

[waste]

Jane, your use of the word 'grids' implys that your folks have a multiport, therefore they should be able to vac to 'waste' and avoid 'crudding' up the filter. If there is a problem with fill water, this might not be a good option, but with all the backwashing he must be doing, he's gotta be topping off the pool every other day.
Also, what model filter is it? How many lbs of de are in the box he goes through every other day? The reason I ask is because it sounds like he may be either undercharging the grids (not enough de) or overcharging them (too much de) either of which will reduce the performance of the unit.