What about pollen??

[tcannon]

Hey guys, i've had my 24 ft round above ground for 2 seasons now and the worst problem I have keeping it clean is when the pollen comes out. My sand filter doesn't seem to filter down that small. It usaually settles on the bottom but, even vacuuming takes several tries, over several days and I have to vaccum to disharge which has to be made up. Anyone else have this problem. I need to look for a new filter and pump this season and I'm wondering what the best solution would be. Thanks.

[chem geek]

Have you considered using skimmer socks? They usually catch pollen that stays on the surface long enough to get to the skimmer. You can even use panty hose if you don't want to spend money on skimmer socks from a pool store. They go over the skimmer (on the inside, not the outside), pushed down so you can still trap larger objects in the basket itself.

[Poconos]

tcannon,
Welcome to the forum.
You may also try adding a little DE powder to the filter. Kind of turns a sand filter into a DE filter that traps much smaller stuff.
Here is the link:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...to-sand-filter
It's a cheap solution.
After you add the stuff just keep an eye on the pressure because if it's catching a bunch of pollen the pressure will rise rapidly and need a backwash. You also don't have to do a long backwash, maybe a minute should do to get rid of the bulk of the trapped stuff. Then a 10 second rinse after the BW.
Al

[tcannon]

Thanks for the good ideas. Sounds like the sand filter might still work in this case. Currently, I don't have a sock in the skimmer so I'll have to consider that. Like my op said, I am looking for a new filter so I was wondering if a DE filter might be better at trapping the pollen.

[aylad]

I have a sand filter in the pollen capital of the world, and between it and the skimmer socks, it does a really good job of keeping my pool clean.

Janet

[CarlD]

Pollen capital of the world? When did you move to New Jersey, Jan???

We are coming into pollen season, where everything outside turns bright yellow and my skimmer sock every day looks like it's full of yellow spackle. And EVERYONE here has allergies, where ever they are from in the world!

But the skimmer sock is the best defense for the pool water. Unfortunately, the pollen turns my solar cover yellow as well!

Carl

[aylad]

Hee Hee, Carl, you've apparently never spent much time down South!! We have pollen coating the cars from early February through late November....gotta love the pine trees!

Janet

[CarlD]

Ok, Jan. Color me impressed! We have it from April through June, then again in Sept through Nov. But mid June to Labor Day, it's gone.

So, between the horse flies the size of, well, horses, 6 months of pollen that's as deep as our snow, floods, and crazy pols, why DO you live in Louisiana????

Carl

[aylad]

Because I'm swimming already!

Janet

[Watermom]

Good one, Jan!