Your pool is an excellent complement to your household, but it can become dirty, making you question your choice of having it in your backyard. While this calls for a specialized pool vacuum cleaner, you may be forced to clean your pool with DIY stuff. So how do you make a pool vacuum with a garden hose?
Grab a good vacuum bag, telescopic handle, and a flexible garden hose that’s not too long. Firmly attach the vacuum bag to one end of the garden hose. Disconnect the telescopic pole from the leaf skimmer and fix the garden hose to the pole. Next, prime the hose and get ready to vacuum.
A garden hose pool vacuum works best on above-ground pools because the siphon principle requires the exhaust end to be lower than the intake end. However, this is not a long-term solution, and certain imitations make this method less effective than a commercial pool vacuum. So let’s get to the bottom of everything.
What Do You Need to Make a Pool Vacuum Using a Garden Hose?
Here’s a highlight of the things you need to create a DIY pool vacuum using your garden hose:
A Long, Flexible Garden Hose
Ideally, you need a 20 to 25-foot-long garden hose with reasonable flexibility so it doesn’t form kinks. For this purpose, you may use an old hose or opt for a new one, such as the 3/4 inch ✕ 25 feet Gilmour Pro Commercial Hose (on Amazon).
If you have a shorter, no-kink hose, it’s best suited for the kids’ inflatable pool.
Plastic Funnel
Your garden hose has a relatively small diameter, meaning it could take some time to clean the pool debris effectively. That’s not a dead-end, though, because you can improvise things here with a plastic funnel.
And you don’t need to buy one either—cut a 500 ml plastic bottle at a 45-degree angle to make the funnel. This is optional, but you can attach the funnel to the end of your hose through the bottle cap end.
Vacuum Bag
A vacuum bag comes in handy as a suction pressure creator, so grab a good one like the Aquatix Pro Premium Fine Mesh Bag Replacement (on Amazon). Remember, the vacuum bag is a crucial part of your pool vacuum, and it will keep debris from returning to the pool from the vacuum assembly.
Telescopic Pole
You need the telescoping pool pole to lower your hose into the water and prevent the vacuum bag from floating back to the surface.
It also gives you a rigid grip so you can efficiently vacuum the pool floor in a back-and-forth fashion. So be sure to grab a reliable one like the Poolwhale 10.5-foot premium aluminum telescopic pool pole (on Amazon).
How to Make a Pool Vacuum Using a Garden Hose
Making a pool vacuum using a garden hose is pretty simple, and here’s how to do it in two easy steps:
Step 1: Attach the Vacuum Bag to the Garden Hose
Once you’ve picked a suitable hose for the job, carefully attach your vacuum bag to one end of the garden hose. You must secure the bag on the valve side to reach the correct suction pressure. Check to ensure the vacuum bag maintains a firm grip on the hose.
Step 2: Connect the Telescopic Pole to the Vacuum Assembly
Detach the telescopic handle from the leaf skimmer before you connect your garden hose to the pole. Some handles are usually secured with two pins, so you must compress both stems to disconnect them from the skimmer.
In most cases, you can separate the leaf skimmer from the pole by bending the part with the skimmer. Next, carefully insert the telescopic pole into the handle opening on the pool vacuum. If you’re finding it hard to connect the pole to the tube, feel free to use a rope for the task.
How to Clean a Pool Using a Garden Hose Pool Vacuum
Your DIY pool vacuum may not rival a specialized one in terms of performance, but it can sure do an appreciable job. Here’s how to clean your pool using a garden hose pool vacuum:
Step 1: Remove Leaves and Debris from the Pool Surface
Use a leaf rake or skimmer to remove leaves, dead algae, and other floating debris from the surface of your pool.
Step 2: Prime the Hose to Create a Vacuum Suction
You need to create a vacuum suction by expelling air from the hose. But first, lower the vacuum bag into your pool until you see no more air bubbles coming out. You can also fill the free end of the hose with water as you lower the vacuum side into the pool.
Once you’re sure there’s no air left in the tube, lift the free end of the hose out of the pool and lower it to a drain area. This creates a pressure difference between the free and immersed end to initiate the vacuum process.
Step 3: Gently Lower the Telescoping Pole into the Water
Hold the telescopic pole firmly and use it to lower the garden hose into the pool slowly. Make sure the skimmer reaches the very bottom of the pool to collect debris on the floor.
Step 4: Slowly and Carefully Vacuum the Pool Floor
Stand where you can see the pool bottom clearly, then carefully move the vacuum bag back over the bottom of the pool to avoid kicking up debris.
As you pass it on the pool floor, slightly overlap the previous path to clean more effectively. Continue vacuuming until you’re satisfied the vacuum bag has gotten hold of all dirt and debris.
Things to Remember When Using a Garden Hose Pool Vacuum
Your garden hose can double as a pool vacuum if you improvise a couple of things, but it’s still got its limitations. Plus, you must be careful not to do things in a way that could damage your pool or compromise its safety.
Here’s what to remember when using a garden hose pool vacuum:
- A pool vacuum you’ve constructed with your garden hose works best in an above-ground pool. The intake end of the hose must be at a lower level than the exhaust end since this method relies on the principle of a siphon, so it won’t work in an in-ground pool.
- You don’t need a hose that’s too long, so as long as it can reach the bottom of the pool and hang below the top edge, you’re good to go.
- Remove all hose attachments on either end of the garden hose that could restrict water flow or debris in the garden hose.
- Adjust your pool’s water return jets for the water mass to circulate and concentrate debris in the middle of the pool floor, where it’s easier to vacuum.
- The smaller diameter of your hose means you can only clean certain sections of the pool floor at a time, so the job may take a bit longer than it would with a specialized pool vacuum.
- To clean the entire pool surface, you need to be in it, walking around and directing the end of the hose across the floor.
- This method wastes water. Remember, the garden hose uses siphon principles to create the vacuum suction, which expels water from the hose. You’ll eventually lose the water at the outlet end, meaning frequent vacuuming reduces the water level to a point you must top it up.
