Swimming pools blog

Thinking of investing in an auto pool cleaner like a baracuda or
kreepy krauly. Any bad experiences with either one? We have LOTS of
trees near so we will get the leaf canister also. (16 X 32 in ground)
Will I need a regular pool vacuum if I use one of these? We just
purchased this property in Oct and have never owned a pool so this is
our “learning year”. The vacuum that is here appears to hook into
the skimmer but the seals look like they need replacing and the ends
of the hoses have been duct taped and when we removed the tape the
ends were shot. I’m just wondering if I should bother with all this
if we buy the baracuda or kreepy krauly.
I have read many things about backwashing. We have a d.e. filter. I
read somewhere to backwash every few weeks, somewhere else it said
weekly and then I read the post in here that said backwash daily
until the pool is clear. Does it depend on the condition of the
pool? Ours had a winter cover and is pretty clear. There is some

stuff especially in the bottom of the deep end. I’ve brushed them up
to the shallow a couple of times and used my skimmer net to scoop out
(mostly worms and small pieces of tree residue). If I have the pump
run longer will it eventually clear all this stuff from the deep end
or is that kind of a “dead spot”?
Final question for today: How the heck do you backwash? There is
another tube in the ground that wasn’t used when we had someone come
hook up the filter & pump. He said it might be a place to backwash.
I can see the drain at the bottom of the filter with a valve. I also
have a flexible hose with clamps that hooks the two together. Then
what. How does the backwash system work.
Thank you in advance for any advice,
Sue