Cleaning A Pool Filter Every Day
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Time and time again I see swimming pool owners in online forums talk about how they have to clean their pool filter every day, or that they are going to upgrade to a sand filter because they are tired of constantly having to clean their cartridge filter. If this describes your situation then you definitely need to keep reading. In short, you do not upgrade to a sand filter for your pool as a sand filter is the most entry level type of pool filter. If this sounds confusing to you don't worry because it will be crystal clear by the end of this article. In short, cartridge filters are better than sand filters, but sand filters are better than disposable filters. Most importantly if you need to clean your filter every day there is a problem that needs attention.
The first major point of confusion that needs to be dealt with is that there are three types of swimming pool filters which are sand filters, DE filters and cartridge filters. Any of these are legitimate options for your swimming pool. The confusion comes from entry level above ground swimming pool kits which include a "cartridge filter" which sounds pretty good. I just told you that cartridge filters are the bees knees however the cartridge filter that comes with an entry level above ground pool is literally a toy. So in addition to sand filters, DE filters and cartridge filters you also have the fourth category of cartridge filters which I will refer to as disposable filters.
How do you know when to clean your filter? - The first thing you need to know about cleaning your pool filter is when are you supposed to do it? You will find a lot of answers online about this but the reality is that there is only one correct answer. The filter should be cleaned when the pressure indicator says that the system pressure has climbed 7 to 10 PSI above the clean operation pressure for the system. The exact numerical value for your specific filter should be provided in the owners manual for your filter which most manufacturers make available online. Filter cleaning should be based on system pressure for all types of pool filters.
If you have a cartridge pool filter that fits in the palm of your hand then this is actually more aptly called a disposable pool filter. The significant feature is the amount of surface area of filter media. The higher the amount the better. A typical inground 16x32' pool with an approximate volume of 20,000 gallons might use a cartridge pool filter that has 200 to 300 square feet of media. If you bought an above ground pool that is 27' to 30' round then it might have a similar volume, but it could have a disposable "cartridge" filter that is as little as 25 square feet of material...that is only 10% as much as it should be for a properly sized cartridge filter. This is how you can end up with people who insist they are upgrading from a cartridge filter to a sand filter. In reality they are upgrading from a disposable filter to a sand filter.
A sand filter is the most cost effective pool filter solution that will work on any pool from a tiny above ground pool all the way up to Olympic sized commercial pools so long as the filter media is sized properly to the pool volume. While sand filters are economical, they require regular backwashing which takes time and uses water, which are two important considerations when choosing which filter you want.
One of the largest disadvantages of the sand filter is that they have a dial valve, or multiport valve, which is a major flow restriction. As a result sand filters have very low maximum designed flow rate when compared to DE or cartridge filters. This means a greater resistance to flow and a lower total flow potential for your system. If you have a sand filter that is likely the single component restricting the flow in your system from being 20% higher or more. Upgrading to a DE filter, or a cartridge filter eliminates the multiport valve from the filter which increases the maximum flow rate that your system can operate due to a reduction in the overall resistance to flow within your system.
It might sound confusing, reducing resistance to flow, but this is a key indicator of how efficient your pool system is overall. The lower your system pressure the greater your system efficiency. Reducing on the resistance to flow in your system is something that will put money back in your pocket every day that you operate the pool. Definitely a good investment.
Filter Pressure Rises Every Day
If you have a sudden increase in the pressure in your pool system shortly after cleaning your filter (backwashing sand filters, cleaning cartridges, bumping DE filters) then this indicates a larger problem with your system. Disposable pool filters are simply too small and these can plug up every day simply due to the debris load in your pool. Sand filters and properly sized cartridge filters should not increase in pressure in the matter of a day or two. A sand filter could be every week or two, and cartridge filters should not be more than every month or two.*
* Some geographic areas use small cartridge filters which do have the ability and the flow design to keep larger pools clean, but would require cleaning more often than every month or two.
Sand filter sudden increase in pressure - A sand filter should be able to go anywhere from weeks to months before requiring a backwash procedure, depending on the pool in question and the amount of debris load it is exposed to. There is no normal condition where a sand filter should need to be backwashed every day (outside of high volume commercial pools) and if you have a daily increase in pressure enough to warrant backwashing then I would suspected that you have a problem with the sand in your filter. Sand can become hard from age or chemical imbalance and the water (while under pressure from the pump) creates channels through the sand media. Now instead of filtering through the sand, the water (and the debris) channel through and essentially bypass the filter media. Biofilm accumulation can also account for daily increases in pressure and a filter purge process might be a good idea. For more information about this you can read this article about sand filter cleaning. Many pool owners immediately jump to changing the sand in their filter but as you will read in that article this is not always a good idea for more reasons than one!
Cartridge filter sudden increase in pressure - You have a cartridge filter but strangely it raises in pressure very quickly after you clean it which brings you back to needing to clean it within a very short period of time. There are actually a few things which can cause this condition. The first is that you are not cleaning your filters properly. Some people simply hose off the filter and put it back in. This is not how you clean a cartridge filter. The oils that saturate the paper media is the reason why your pressure climbs quickly after "cleaning" and you need to degrease the filters before rinsing them to remove the built up oils from the paper. For more information you can read this article about how to clean a cartridge filter. Another mistake that pool owners make is to pressure wash your cartridge filters which is something you should never do. This pressure forces the debris deep into the paper media where is becomes trapped. Pressure washing your filters can also result in pressure rising quickly after cleaning since the filters are plugged with embedded debris. Once plugged from pressure washing you will need to replace the filters. If you have a cartridge filter you also need to be aware that some pool chemicals designed to coagulate debris and algae should not be used as they can permanently damage the filter. Flocculants should be avoided unless they specifically state that they are made for use with a cartridge filter.
For safety it is important to understand some things about your pool filter and filtration system. First pool systems should never run higher than 30 PSI. If your system is over 30 PSI you need to turn off your pump and inspect your pressure gauge to make sure it is working properly. If your clean operational pressure is 25, which is quite high, you can not wait until your pressure rises 7 to 10 PSI before you clean the filter. You would need to clean your filter at 30 because that is the maximum your pool system should ever run at.
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Swimming Pool Steve is an award winning, second generation swimming pool and spa specialist from Ontario Canada. With over 10,000,000 views on the Swimming Pool Steve YouTube Channel, winner of the 2018 Pool & Spa Industry Leadership award and author of hundreds of pool and spa articles both online and in print Steve is committed to helping pool and spa owners as well as pool and spa industry workers learn more about the technical side of building, renovating, repairing and maintaining all types of swimming pools and spas. Follow Swimming Pool Steve on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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