Making decisions on your swimming pool construction project may seem a never ending array of questions to be answered and decisions pondered. Yet another decision you will need to make will be on what kind of filter you will want for your swimming pool. The swimming pool service contractors from Express Pool Care offer this information to help you make an informed decision.
There are three basic pool filter types that you can choose for your Phoenix, Arizona swimming pool and they are:
- Cartridge filters which consider of a tank that will house three or four cartridge that are made up of fabric that is used to
catch the particles of dirt and hold them until you or your pool service contractor clean them. The cartridge filters can capture dirt particles as tiny as 5 microns (consider that debris smaller than 35 microns can’t be seen by the naked eye) A cartridge filter is virtually maintenance free and cost less than a DE (diatomaceous earth) filter, but do cost more than a sand filter style. With a cartridge filter, you or your pool contractor will need to hose off the cartridge occasionally throughout the season. - DE filters are made up of fossilized plankton skeletons and sit earth, when placed inside a filter can catch and hold dirt particles that are filtered to it. These are the most costly of the pool filter types, but they will keep your pool cleaner than any other style. A DE filter will capture debris as small as 3 microns! The maintenance and upkeep on a DE filter is time consuming and will require your pool contactor to backwash the filter and then discard and replace the diatomaceous earth. You will need to check with your specific municipality when you’re having your pool constructed as many areas consider DE to be hazardous waste and will not allow it to be simply thrown away.
- A sand filter is the least efficient, but the least costly of the three filter types. These filters require a large holding tank for the sand (hundreds of pounds of sand) and the dirty water from your pool will be filtered through the sand and will remove particles as small as 20 microns. They are efficient, though and many pool owners opt for this style because of the initial upfront cost. Be aware though that the cleaning of it will require the pool to be backwashed and a sand filter will need to be cleaned every couple of weeks.
Talking with your swimming pool service contractor will allow you to make an informed decision on the best type of filter for your family’s unique needs.