DE Filter Blow Back Into The Pool
In a recent post that we wrote about DE blowing back into your swimming pool, we felt it was important for us to write a follow-up post in regards to it. In case you missed the first post, you can read about it HERE. If you still have a DE filter there are many reasons as to why DE could be blowing back into your swimming pool and we want to discuss those in this post and respond to a variety of questions that were asked about it. If you aren’t familiar with DE this is one of the three most common types of filters for your swimming pool. They are extremely common for residential swimming pools but they do take a fair amount of maintenance. One of those times is when it is time to backwash them along with cleaning them which should occur once or twice a year.
Backwashing Your DE Filter
If you gauge is telling you it’s time to backwash your filter or your swimming pool isn’t filtering as well (typically every 4 – 6 weeks) we now must learn how to backwash. The following are steps on how to backwash:
- Roll out backwash hose
- Turn pump off
- Place valve in backwash position
- Turn pump on and backwash
- Backwash until the water turns clear as it will be dirty and cloudy
- Turn pump off
- Place valve in filter position
- Repeat steps 2 – 6 to purge the system and make sure residue is gone
- Add DE Powder
You will want to make sure the filter is running when you add DE Powder. You will need to add DE powder through the skimmer. We recommend wearing a mask and only adding what is necessary.
At this point, you will probably see some DE blow back into the pool. A little DE is okay but a lot is not. The following reasons might be why DE is continuously blowing back into the swimming pool:
- Torn filter grid – remember to check the entire grid
- Broken manifold
- Bad backwash valve
- Broken or missing air relief strainer
You will need to check all the grids and if one of them is torn we recommend replacing them all. Remember to check it all before you assume there is a problem but if your filter is operating correctly you shouldn’t have DE in your pool. If you should have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us. In conclusion, once or twice a year you will need to open up your filter and clean out the excess DE that will coat on your filter grids and manifold. This will need to occur if you want your filter to run optimally.
hi my name is jose i am trying see why is the de powder is geting in my pool my filter is a hayward perflex extended cycle EC-65 and is very old but took it all apart clean it all put it back togather and is still geting de in the pool do i need to get all new parts please let me know thak you so much,
Either your grids or manifold needs to be replaced. You might need to look into a new filter as well.
I just replaced all 8 grids. Added new DE and still got blow back. Suggestions? Standpipe O ring looks a little stretched. Could that possibly cause DE blowback? Totally frustrated at this point. Water is crystal clear, just the DE blowback. TIA
Yes, that is a possibility. Anything that is stretched or allowing water back in could be a cause. Good Luck!
Is DE on the pool floor an unhealthy issue?
Hate my de filter. More trouble than it’s worth!! Anyway…getting de back into the pool after replacing the manifold and o-ring. Inspected all the grids and no rips. One very small hole at top of small grid. This is a Hayward 3620. Last resort, might go back to a cartridge filter but don’t want to spend the money. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Any hole in a grid is a fatal problem and that grid needs to be replaced. Even a small hole will allow dirty water to bypass the filter and enter the pool, and will also allow DE that is floating in the filter body to enter the pool. Worse, the flow resistance at the point of that whole will be less than elsewhere, causing the water speed there to be faster. That will result in high speed water tending to wash DE off the grid fabric, into that hole, and into the pool. That’s bad enough right there, but even worse is that over time that water is washing all the DE charge off of the all the fabric, resulting in a loss of filtering power everywhere, and dirt embedding itself in the grid fabric and the only way to get that dirt out is by disassembling the filter and scrubbing the grids, at the cost of an hour per grid…hahaha…that’s eight hours work. There are many other reasons why DE could be leaking from the filter and into the pool. It’s never going to work well as long as it’s leaking DE, so you need to bite the bullet and pursue ideas until you find and stop the leak. But a grid hole is the easy and obvious culprit.