I'm I putting filter on correct option

[marie]

1. I have a sand filter. After vacumuming on backwash to remove leaves, how do I back wash the filter? My water is cloudy and I'm running my filter on recycle for 24/7, is that correct? should it be run on filter for 24/7
2. Why do you put the selector on recirculate, what does that do?
3. when running filter, what should it be set to - recycle or filter? I've been running it on recycle for 24/7 since my pool is cloudy. Is that correct?
4. I was not vacuuming correctly. I now know I need to send filter to waste. But how do I get out all the junk that might of gotten into my sand filter?
5. Is there a product out there I can add to my sand to clean it. sand is 2 years old.

[Backglass]

Hi Marie...you seem to have some things backwards. Here are what all the settings do:

• "Backwash" - is how you clean your filter. It runs the water backwards through the sand and sends all the trapped junk out the waste port. You should NOT be vacuuming while your system is set to backwash as you will be putting dirt through your filter backwards, potentially clogging things up.
• "Filter" is for normal operation, including vacuuming as the water is returned to the pool (clean).
• "Recirculate" just bypasses the filter altogether. It would be as if you had no filter at all as the water is sent from the in port directly to the out port. It is rarely used.
• "Rinse" should be used for a few minutes after backwashing as it settles the sand and minimizes the amount of sand in the pool. It is the same as Filter except it send the water to the waste port instead of back to the pool.
• "Waste" just takes whatever is coming from the pump and dumps it out the waste port, bypassing the filter. This is good for spring cleanup when you are sucking up a LOT of crap from the bottom of the pool and don't want to needlessly backwash. It's also the way to lower the level of your pool after a big rain or for other maintenence purposes as there is no need to filter water thats going down the drain anyway.

You are correct...you should be running your filter 24/7 until you have your water balanced and clear.

I wouldn't worry about cleaning your sand...it most likely isn't dirty. There are products that supposedly clean the sand and break down hair/grease/etc, but personally I think it's not worth much. 2-year old sand is still pretty new.

[marie]

Thank you for the information.