How To Power Vacuum Your Swimming Pool

When the swimming pool needs a serious heavy duty cleaning then it will be time for something called a “power vacuum” which is not your average method used to clean your pool. There is no such thing as an actual power vacuum but instead there is a method called “power vacuuming” which provides a super great suction and gets everything out of the pool fast.

How to power vacuum your pool on with your filter on waste:

If your swimming pool system is currently up and running you can use it to power vacuum your pool. What you will need to do first is to prime the pool hose as if you were doing a normal vacuum. If you have a multiport valve set up on your filter you will need to adjust the setting to “waste”. Setting your multi-directional valve on the waste position will allow the water flow of the pump to increase and that will give you the power vacuum you are looking for. You will off course want to make sure that you always keep the skimmer basket inside of the skimmer. Just because the debris and algae is going out on waste doesn’t mean you want to suck all that debris through the swimming pool pipes while vacuuming.

How to power vacuum your pool with portable pool pump set up:

If you have ever hired a swimming pool service company to take care of your swimming pool you might have noticed them using something called a “portable swimming pool vacuum”. These pool vacuums are made using some popular swimming pool equipment. Most pool companies will mount a Hayward or Pentair swimming pool pump, a cartridge filter and a three way valve on a hand truck and then pipe it all together. This is like having a in ground pool filter system on wheels.

The advantage to having a portable swimming pool vacuum unit like this is that you get way better suction and that in turn will help you clean the pool faster, resulting in an outstanding job. The reason you will get better suction is because when you hook the pool hose up to this portable unit you will be getting the suction right from the pump. Compare that to most backyards where the swimming pool filter is many feet away, which will give you less suction if you have to pull the water all that way just to vacuum the pool. With the portable unit you can use whatever hose length you like and have great suction.

How to power vacuum your pool with battery powered vacuums:

There are many battery power pool vacuums on the market today for both the homeowner and the swimming pool professional. One of the more popular units called the “pool buster” is available at many places like Leslie’s Pool Supplies as well as your local pool store. If you wanted to move more into the professional side of things you could buy a larger batter powered unit that is used by many swimming pool professionals. If you were to buy something like the pool buster that would run you around $200 – $250. If you wanted to buy a commercial battery powered pool vacuum you could wind up spending up to $3200 with all the bells and the whistles.

The battery on the pool buster vacuum will last many hours if continuously used. The large commercial models could last up to a few days if only used to vacuum a few pools a day.

How to power vacuum your pool with a hydro powered vacuum:

The hydro powered vacuum also know as the water powered leaf rake can also help clean the larger items out of your swimming pool. Although this type of vacuum uses a net as a vacuum bag and will not get everything out of the pool, its still a great way to get bunches and piles of leafs out of the pool fast. This type of vacuum attaches to your vacuum pole and then your garden hose. The garden hose feeds water to the bottom of the power vacuum and forces the debris into the net.

How to determine what type of power vacuuming your pool needs:

If you have lots of sand in your pool you will want to power vacuum your pool with an external pump for the best results. If you have sticks, leaves and normal dirt in the pool you can use any of the normal methods to clean your pool. The one thing you will want to do first is to leaf net any big items out of the pool first.

How to get your filter system ready for a power vacuum:

Make sure that all your vacuum hoses are leak free so that you get the best suction when vacuuming your pool. Make sure to open the waste valve all of the way when pwoer vacuuming. Its also a good idea to backwash your pool filter before you power vacuum.