long life filters

The first summer we had this pool

we spent a ton of money on filters.

We weren't quite prepared for that;

in Fort Smith, we had a nicer pool, with a real sand filter.

It's not the greatest to look at, no,

but it sure has provided us with plenty of cool fun, exercise 

and even relaxation.

I have no complaints whatsoever about the 'ghetto' pool.

Except.

Except the stupid (mostly paper) filters cost $5 each

and you use like one a week.

Swimming season is May - early Sept.

Do the math.

Over the next two summers, 

we perfected our method of extending the life of our filters.

We started by rinsing the filters daily

and re-using them.

which doubled their life.
Then we began rotating filters.

Last summer, we used only 5 filters.

(which we bought on clearance at the end of the previous summer :-)

Two of those, we carried over to this summer.

How'd we do it?

Easy!

Every day,

we pull out the filter that's in the pump and replace it 

with the filter that was in it 2 days ago.

We wash the filter,

by spraying each 'fold' with the hose

and then set it to dry, moving yesterday's filter forward

to be used next.

Some days, if the pool has gotten gunky,

we may swap filters out 2 or even 3 times.

The key is to not stick the same filter 
immediately back in.

Allowing the filters to dry between uses seems to really be beneficial.

3 filters used in rotation, changed and cleaned daily

works for me!