We have lots of things that we need to do to keep our swimming pools maintained. We have to test and balance the water chemistry. We have to skim out leaves and other debris. We have to brush our pool. We also need to vacuum our swimming pools. There are many ways we can accomplish vacuuming our pool. Some are quicker than others. Let’s chat about the different methods.
Manually Vacuuming
This is the quickest way to vacuum your swimming pool. Manually vacuuming does take some elbow grease. You accomplish this by attaching your telescopic pole to a vacuum hose and a vacuum head. Then you put one end of the vacuum hose into the skimmer or designated suction line. Turn on the pump because we are actually using our pump as the source of suction. Then get to work! Run your vacuum head in rows on the bottom of your swimming pool, not unlike you would vacuum a carpet. You want to vacuum before you brush because when we brush, we kick up dirt and debris which won’t have enough time to settle before we start vacuuming. Or, brush your pool the day before to really allow you to get all the junk. The size of your swimming pool is of course a factor. No matter what vacuuming method you use, the larger the pool, the longer it takes. All the debris goes into your pool filter.
Pressure Side Automatic Pool Cleaners
A lot of pool owners opt for an automatic pool vacuum to do the dirty work. Remember, all pool vacuums are designed to keep a clean pool clean. So remove any large debris by skimming before using your automatic pool cleaner. Pressure side cleaners are becoming less and less popular. This is because you need a separate booster pump to operate them. You also need a dedicated pressure line. They use the pressure from the pump to propel themselves around your swimming pool. They have a self contained bag which catches the debris so you will need to empty it when it gets full. These cleaners are not designed to go up the walls, but you may experience some climbing.
Suction Side Automatic Pool Cleaners
Probably the most common form of vacuuming a pool is by using a suction automatic pool cleaner. These connect either into your skimmer or your designated suction line. When the pump comes on, they begin their magic. An automatic suction pool cleaner will have the vacuum head as well as individual hose lengths. The key is to measure from your skimmer to the farthest side of your pool and add one additional hose link. That way your hose doesn’t get twisted in circles. If your cleaner’s pool hose is twisting like a telephone cord, that is indicative of a problem within the cleaner. Like with a pressure side cleaner, this method takes hours. The cleaner works the entire time your pool pump is on. The debris goes into your filter.
Robotic Cleaners
These are considered to be “the best” type of automatic pool cleaner and one of the quicker ways to vacuum. With a robotic cleaner, you just plug it into a standard 110v outlet and drop it into the pool. Robotic cleaners are completely self contained, meaning no extra strain on your pump or filter. Inside you will find a canister that catches all of the dirt and debris. Depending on the brand, the cleaning cycle could be as little as 2 hours! Once the pool is clean, you remove the cleaner and empty the canister and then it goes out of sight and out of mind. No need to deal with feet of hose always hanging out in your swimming pool. Robotic cleaners come with a cleaner head, a cord and an ebox to control it. Some modern cleaners even use bluetooth to allow you to control the cleaner. You can even do it remotely! These cleaners are the only cleaners designed to climb the walls. You can set them to do floors, walls or tile line. Because of how convenient they are, they do tend to cost a bit more than the other methods we discussed.
No matter what method you choose, it is important to vacuum to help our swimming pools look great year round! See you poolside!
