Intex Easyset - dirt/mud at the bottom and white particles

I have an 15'x42" Intex Easyset pool (17000L?) and I am experiencing difficulties keeping it clean. The pool came with a skimmer, vaccum(with a garden hose connection and a small white bag made out of cloth) and filter(cartridge).

What seems like dirt/mud/brown substance (it could be the result of all the stuff being destroyed by the chlorine) seem to settle at the bottom of the pool.

When I try to vaccum the dirt, all it seems to do is make it disperse in the water and makes the water cloudy. Even filtering it for hours won't help. The next day it is fine but I think it is because everything settled back to the bottom. The vaccum does not connect to the skimmer basket and it only seems to only pick up the bigger stuff laying at the bottom

Also, when I am in the pool I notice there are tiny white particles in the water.

I clean the pool by putting chlorine in the form of granules every evening and I try to shock it once a week. From what I read, the white particles could be the result of me not diluting the chlorine with water :o . If I leave for the weekend I put in a 3" tablet.

I'm not sure if it's a chemical or equipment(cheap vaccum) problem. Help would be greatly appreciated.

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Originally Posted by cherphas

I clean the pool by putting chlorine in the form of granules every evening and I try to shock it once a week.

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Stop using powdered products. Use liquid chlorine (bleach) for normal chlorination and shocking.

I bought the delux vac kit this year as an addition to our frame pool. The skimmer/filter basket is adapted and there is a small mesh bag that collects the small pieces of yuck off the bottem of the pool. Its a bit of a PIA because the filter bag is small and needs to be dumped often. I may have to dump 4 or 5 times to vac well in my 18' frame pool. But it picks everything up and makes the pool look great. It runs off the bigger pool filter/pump system. I got it off the intexcorp dot com website. It came with the pole and a big leaf net and all the hose and adaptors. I think it was worth the extra $$ I paid.

Are you sure what you are seeing is not mustard algae? I've been wrestling with this a few times this summer. Bleach and brushing and vacing have been the cure for it. The paper filters suck, I rinse and clean them often to help get rid of the problem quicker. Next year its going to be a sand filter and a "real" above the ground pool! Kimrst

I'd rig a vacuum to waste system and vacuum that stuff out of the pool and onto the ground. If you try to vacuum with that cheap vacuum system, it won't get it all. If you try to vacuum through the pump without disconnecting the return line and vacuuming to waste, it will just shoot right back into the pool.

Sue
Intex 18x48 - third year

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Originally Posted by ssweaser

I'd rig a vacuum to waste system and vacuum that stuff out of the pool and onto the ground. If you try to vacuum with that cheap vacuum system, it won't get it all. If you try to vacuum through the pump without disconnecting the return line and vacuuming to waste, it will just shoot right back into the pool.

Sue
Intex 18x48 - third year

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Hi Sue! Can you explain what you mean by "rig a vacuum to waste system"? I have the same pool as you and haven't vacuumed yet, mainly because I've read so many times that the vac included with the pool (sounds like the deluxe vac Kimrst mentioned) just doesn't work. I'd be really interested to hear what you've come up with!!:)

Thanks, Amy

OK, I've figured out what "vacuum to waste" means - siphoning water onto the ground, right? DOH.....

Used the vacuum that came with my pool and I thought it worked great, to be honest. A bit of a PITA to empty the bag a few times but it was cool to see how much gunk was in the pool. The bristled vacuum head worked great for wiping down the walls too. Next time I'm using goggles and a snorkel......

Amy

The vac me and Amy are talking about is not the thing that hooks up onto a pole and uses water from a hose, but runs off the skimmmer with an adaptor. The original bag/garden hose vac thing was useless, IMHO. I got my vac this year when I orderd replacement parts for the pool off line. Would have been nice to get with the pool....Kimrst

Mine vacs through the pump via the skimmer. I just disconnect the return line and let it drain onto the ground as I vacuum w/ the pump on.

If you don't have that set up, you can adapt a regular vacuum hose attached to a vacuum head by using a rubber coupling from your local hardware store. Just attach one side to the vacuum hose and the other to the nipple port where your skimmer attaches at the pool wall.

Make sure to get all the air out of the hose before you start to vacuum or you'll vapor lock the pump. I used to hold the hose near the port with the pump running and move it away as soon as I heard it start sucking bubbles. Those bubbles will come out into the water and dissipate. Repeat the procedure until the hose is clear of air. It's a pain, but it gets the crud off the bottom of the pool.

Since I've kept the algae out of the pool, I've not had any problems with the normal vacuum system for the larger items and my water is crystal clear.