Backwash

When the pressure at the pump gets too high, it's time to backwash the filter.

It's sort of a headache that I kind of dread, though not sure why.

It basically consists of installing a long hose to the pump equipment and "back pumping" water through the filter and out the hose - essentially rinsing the filter into the yard.

There's no real labor involved just time and aggravation. Aggravation from the old hose clamp I use to connect the hose to the waste pipe, aggravation of the hose twisting, etc. Normal stuff I suppose I shouldn't get all worked up over.

Though oddly enough, I didn't find it too aggravating when I discovered a mouse (or something) had chewed a hole in my hose and it was gushing (waste) water at my feet.

Sure, I had to disconnect the hose, cut it and fight with the hose clamp again, but what can you do?

It takes about 10 minutes to backwash the gunk. The next step is replacing the D.E., which takes a lot longer. It's a fine white powder you have to dump into the skimmer. I have to dump 8 coffee can loads in, but not all at once. Each can is painstakingly emptied very slowly to be sure the D.E. dissolves and flows freely through the pipes to the filter. If you do it fast, it gums up and sticks in the pipes - a real pain in the ass.

Like I said, not a whole lot of work, but something tedious I dread.

Of course letting Gretchen swim in the pool doesn't help. Within a day of back washing and Gretchen swimming, the pressure is already up half to where it was when I back washed.

This means, I'll have to pull the filter apart and actually rinse the filter grids by hand -something you should only have to do once a summer, but with the (spoiled) dog it's quite frequent.

More on that, when it happens.

- b