How to Clean an Above Ground Pool Without a Vacuum
- 1). Use a leaf rake to scoop up large heavy clusters of debris that rest on the floor of the pool. A good quality leaf rake will help remove even the thickest layers of leaves.
- 2). Stir the debris up by agitating the water. This can be done by having several people swim in the pool. Try to stir up the bottom of the pool as much as possible.
- 3). Brush the walls of the pool using an algae brush. This will help agitate the water and can and should be done with this step.
- 4). Turn the pump on so that it will start filtering out the suspended dirt particles that were resting on the floor and walls of the pool. If dirt begins to settle before it is filtered out, use the algae brush to sweep the debris back up into the water.
- 5). Run a high-pressure stream of water along the bottom of the pool. A common garden hose with a pressure attachment can be used for this purpose. If the hose is flexible enough the higher pressure will cause the hose to snake around on the bottom of the pool and stir up dirt so your filtration system can remove the debris.
- 6). Strain out larger debris using a pool net. After the pool is stirred up, larger pieces of debris will be forced up from the bottom of the pool and will offer themselves easy targets to manual cleaning. A net with a telescopic pole will make this task much easier.
- 7). Backwash the pump or replace the cartridge if water flow seems slowed or ineffective. The extra debris that is being filtered out may put an extra strain on the pump causing it to clog.
- 8). Brush the pool's surfaces regularly and it will help keep debris, dirt, and algae from accumulating on surfaces. If a cleaning schedule is adhered to, water quality will increase and will reduce the amount of cleaning chemicals that are necessary in the water.
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