How to Get Rid of Sand in Pool
No one wants to step on coarse and irritating sand at the bottom of a swimming pool as it is super annoying and uncomfortable. Worst still, having sand in your pool leaves it looking dirty and uninviting.
When you find sand in your swimming pool, it is essential to try and figure out how it got there in the first place, how to remove it and how to prevent the problem in the future. Luckily, all this is easy to understand and dealing with sand is more straightforward than it may look.
How Sand Gets into Your Pool
One of the main reasons you can get sand in your pool is that it simply fell in. If you have some sand close to the pool, whether it is from the ocean, a sandpit, or even part of your landscaping, it is easy for the wind to blow some into the pool. Over time you can get significant sand sediment.
However, for most swimming pools, the sand comes from the sand filter. If your sand filter develops a crack or any other damage, some of the sand can leak out and end up at the bottom of the pool.
In some cases, what you see at the bottom of the pool is actually not sand. Instead, it can be a type of algae: mustard or yellow algae. When yellow algae settle at the bottom of the pool, its color makes it look like a sand deposit.
How to Remove Sand from Your Pool
Here are the steps to follow when you want to get rid of sand in your swimming pool.
Step 1. Change Filter Setting
Before anything else, you should change the settings in your filter to try and remove the sand without doing much work.
You can try changing the setting to “filter” so that the sand can go back into the filter. However, this may not work if the reason you have sand in the pool is due to a faulty sand filter. Also, attempting to take back the sand to the filter can cause further damages.
Therefore, you will be better off choosing the “waste” setting to send the sand out through the backwash hose.
Step 2. Brush the Sand to One Spot
If you do not have a lot of sand in the pool, step 1 above should be enough to solve the problem for you. For large sand deposits, you need to start by brushing the sand to one spot or form a few piles if there is too much of it all over the pool.
Brushing sand is relatively easy, provided you have a good brush with a long enough pole. However, you have to be keen to ensure you do not kick up the sand, as it will be even hard to remove once it is floating in the water.
Step 3. Vacuum Out the Sand
The next step is to vacuum the piles of sand from the bottom of your pool. This step will require extra attention to ensure you get things right.
Besides choosing a powerful enough vacuum that can suck out sand, you must take extra precautions to prevent kicking up the sand. Make sure you move fast and steadily because moving the vacuum too slowly increases the likelihood of further spreading the sand.
Step 4. Fix the Faulty Filter
Once you remove the sand from your pool, dealing with the underlying source is also crucial. Some sources, such as wind blowing the sand from a nearby source like a beach, will require you to invest in a good pool cover.
However, in most cases, a faulty sand filter is the source of the issue. Therefore, it is vital to fix the problem or even replace the sand filter if it is not repairable.
Step 5. Test and Balance Water Chemistry
The last step is to test your pool water chemistry and balance it if necessary. Remember that vacuuming and using the “waste” setting on the filter will take out some water from your pool. Therefore, you may need to add more water, which can throw the pool chemistry off balance.
How to Prevent Sand in Your Pool
1. Proper maintenance and cleaning of your sand filter is one of the best ways to keep sand out of your pool.
2. For those who live close to a beach and visit it often, it is vital to clean your swimsuit and other accessories that you also use on your pool to prevent sand transfer.
3. Always cover your pool when it is not in use to ensure the wind does not blow some sand in.
4. Regular pool brushing and vacuuming can also be highly useful at preventing sand accumulation as you can get rid of any tiny amounts before they pile up.
Bottom Line
Sand might be one of the key things you look forward to when going to the beach, but having some at the bottom of your pool will give you a bad experience.
Luckily, sand is relatively easy to get rid of and sometimes, just changing the setting on your sand filter is enough.
However, the best way to prevent it is to give your sand filter adequate and regular maintenance and keep the pool covered when it is not in use.
