Have you ever been swimming and seen a little machine rolling around the bottom of the pool? That’s an automatic pool cleaner. While you may think your filtration system, skimmer, and pool chemicals will keep your pool completely clean, chances are you’ll want to invest in an automatic pool cleaner as well. These fantastic machines can help take pressure off your filter (making it last longer and need less maintenance) and aid in keeping your pool crystal clear by keeping debris and algae from building up in the pool. Whether you have an above ground swimming pool or an in-ground swimming pool, there are three primary types of automatic pool cleaners to choose from: suction side, pressure side, and robotic.
SUCTION SIDE CLEANERS
Suction side cleaners are often the least expensive of the three types. They attach to the suction line of your pool’s plumbing system, or they can connect to your pool’s skimmer. Unlike the pool vacuums of days past, once the suction side cleaner is connected it will slowly make its way around the entire floor of your pool automatically for the entire time the filter is running. The unit picks up any debris and passes it through to your existing skimmer and pool filtration system.
Suction side cleaners run when your pump runs, so you don’t really use any more or less electricity than normal if you use it inside your normal filter cycle. Since the cleaner is dependent on the filter system’s efficiency however, the cleaner may become less efficient if the filter is nearing its capacity. Suction side cleaners are great for removing fine dirt and debris but can burden your pump and filter if there are a lot of larger debris like rocks or leaves in the pool to clog it up. Typically, you will only want to use your suction side cleaner a few times a week and not leave it in your pool for long periods of time.
Pros:
- Lower cost
- Easy maintenance
- Great for smaller to medium sized pools
- Less moving parts
Cons:
- Causes additional wear and tear on your pool pump
- Continuous use of your pool pump to clean your pool
- More taxing on your pool filter system – may require more backwashing or filter cartridge cleaning
PRESSURE SIDE CLEANERS
Pressure side cleaners use water pressure from a dedicated booster pump and/or pool pump to propel the cleaner throughout your pool and pushes debris into an attached filter bag. (Basically, the water returned into your pool is what fuels the cleaner.) These cleaners typically operate every day, maintaining a constantly clean pool.
Unlike suction cleaners, pressure cleaners don’t use your pool’s filtration system to filter out dirt and debris. Instead, debris is collected in the filtration bag which offers a couple of benefits. First, having its own filtration bag allows for pressure side cleaners to filter out leaves, rocks, and other large debris. Secondly, much less wear is put on your pool’s filtration system and in the long run helps prolong the life of your pool equipment.