How to Vacuum a Pool – Different Ways to Get It Clean for the Coming Summer

The First Method: How to Vacuum a Pool Manually

In the first method, you’re essentially going to start out with building your own cleaning tool. If you’re not a fan of spending hundreds of bucks on pool cleaners, this is probably the method for you.

Step 1: Assemble your main cleaning tool

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Like I said above, you’re building your own makeshift cleaning tool here. To do so, you will need the hose, the telescopic pole, the vacuum head, and a good amount of duct tape.

You will need to first connect the hose to the vacuum head. Make sure that the hose goes into the right spot and then, seal up the connection with some duct tape.

Now, a hose with a vacuum head secured to the end of it should already be able to pick up dirt in your pool. However, it won’t be easy for you to control it because of how flimsy it is.

This is where the telescopic pole comes in. You will use that pole to span the length of the hose and give it somebody. Connect the pole to the hose using the duct tape.

At the end of all that, you should have a makeshift cleaner that you can wield pretty easily.

Step 2: Carefully place your cleaning tool into the water

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This next step is where different things can go wrong if you’re not careful. To get started, you will have to lower your cleaning tool into the swimming pool.

Remember that you should avoid lowering the tool too quickly. Your goal here is twofold. First, you want to submerge the cleaning tool, but you also want to do so while clearing the air out of the hose.

Do not allow the tool to make contact with the pool floor until all the air has been expelled from inside of it.

Once you are certain that all the air has been removed from the hose, you can then pass it through the skimmer and hook it up to the swimming pool pump via the included vacuum port.

Step 3: Double check the connections and turn on the vacuum

With the tool now submerged in the water, you will want to do one last rundown of your connections before you start the cleaning process.

Is everything connected properly? Are there any leaks in the seals? Look for those first, and if you don’t see anything of note, go ahead and turn on the vacuum.

Step 4: Begin cleaning the swimming pool

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The cleaning tool is now in proper position and the connections are all clear. So, what’s next? Well, now we get to the actual cleaning.

The cleaning process is simple, though not necessarily easy.

What you want to do is to start out at the shallower pool and gradually go to the deeper parts. Try to work the cleaning tool almost like a mop and be thorough.

Don’t shy away from giving a particular spot multiple passes because it’s better to put the work in now rather than to repeat the steps later.

After you’re done cleaning, disassemble the cleaning tool and take apart the connections as well.

Give everything a good rinse with some water and store the tools properly to prepare them for your next cleaning session.

The Second Method: How to Clean a Pool without a Vacuum

I know that this article is supposed to be about cleaning your pool with a vacuum, but let’s face it, things don’t always go according to plan.

You may be all set to start cleaning your pool with the vacuum only to find out that something’s wrong with it.

This method will show you what to do in the event that your vacuum isn’t working.

Step 1: Drain the swimming pool

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For this next method, we will actually be jumping into the pool to do the cleaning, but of course, we need to do a few things before that.

First off, you should drain your swimming pool. Ideally, you should do this as soon as you wake up so that you won’t end up having to wait for the pool.

Once the pool has been drained, you can bring all the cleaning items you will need down there with you.

Step 2: Get rid of the larger pieces of debris in the pool

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It’s easier to work on the entirety of the swimming pool if we get rid of all the larger pieces of debris first. You can try to remove them with a pool skimmer, but you’ll have to move around a lot to do that.

Instead of using a skimmer, you can just grab hold of a plastic rake. The rake should not deal with any kind of lasting damage to the surface of your swimming pool and it will also help you gather all the leaves and other larger pieces of debris faster.

Grab a dustpan and use that to pick up the debris. Use a container to hold all of the debris you’ve gathered using the plastic rake and then leave them to one side because you still have more cleaning to do.

Step 3: Remove algae, dust, dirt, and other smaller particles that have taken root in the pool

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With the larger debris out of the way, we can now turn our attention to those smaller bits of dirt that have taken up residence all throughout your swimming pool.

An efficient way to get rid of smaller debris is to make use of a tile brush. If you can, try to get either nylon or rubber brush because those are kinder to swimming pool surfaces.

You can also try to enhance the effectiveness of the cleaning brush you’re using by sprinkling some baking soda on it.

Baking soda is often mentioned as an effective home cleaner and it can still work in that capacity for your pool or even if you’re trying to clean a hot tub.

To make riding the pool of these small particles even easier, you can enlist the help of a garden hose. Turn on your garden hose and target the lines in between the tiles.

That should shake the dirt loose and from there, your brush should have an easier time dislodging and removing them.

Don’t forget to clean the pool steps as well.

Step 4: Finish up cleaning the pool

It’s now time to finish up with the pool cleaning. Turn the water on again and give the pool another once over using the hose.

Direct any loose debris you see into the drains.

If you’re unable to get rid of all the debris using just the hose and the drains, grab a plastic broom and start sweeping what’s left into a dustpan.

After all that hard work, you should end up with a clean swimming pool that’s ready to be used again.

The Third Method: How to Clean a Pool Using the Filters

This third method is pretty similar to the second one. The biggest difference is that we won’t have to drain the pool prior to cleaning and you also won’t need dustpans. We’re relying on the pool filters instead.

Step 1: Fish out the larger pieces of debris

Grab your skimming net and/or your plastic rake and start to remove the leaves and other sizable foreign objects in the pool. You need to do this because those larger items can get caught up in the filters.

Take your time removing the debris and fish out everything you can.

Step 2: Shake the smaller particles loose

You can’t rely on the pool filters to do everything. To help them out, you can shake the dirt, dust, algae, and other smaller bits of debris loose.

Brushing the sides of the wall or using the garden hose will effectively loosen up the dirt.

Step 3: Turn on the filters and let them get to work

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After removing the larger and smaller debris, all you have to do now is to let the filters go to work. The filters can do an exceptional job of cleaning the pool, but be sure that they themselves are clean before you activate them.

The Fourth Method: How to Clean a Pool Using a Robotic Vacuum

If you don’t want to spend the bulk of your day cleaning the swimming pool, you may want to look into getting a robotic pool cleaner.

A robotic pool cleaner can come in many forms. Some models may only work as an above ground pool cleaner while others may also be effective on the in-ground variety.

Others are lightweight vacuums and then there are those that are quite hefty.

Step 1: Pick out the right type of robotic pool cleaner

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While shopping for a robotic cleaner, you have to make sure that it’s compatible with your pool.

If you really want the robotic cleaner to handle all the work for you, look for those models that can handle debris of any size.

It’s also a good idea to look for the cleaners that can be scheduled so that they can get to work without you.

Step 2: Let the robotic pool cleaner work its magic

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Check out the manual for your robotic cleaner first. After doing so, you should have a pretty good idea of how to set it up so that it can properly clean your pool.

From there, you just have to turn on the machine and let it work. Tangled cables can be an issue sometimes for robotic cleaners. Just check up on them every once in a while to make sure they are still working as intended.