DE in a sand filter???

[brent.roberts]

Comments have been made in this thread that you can reduce the number of times backwashing is required.

Think about this. Your systems starts up and your skimmer collects a handfull of dead and drowning insects. Earthworms fall into the pool and settle out on the bottom and get sucked into the bottom drain. A lb. of pollen drifts onto the surface and is sucked into the skimmer. A bunch of swimmers jump in an dead skin sloughs off. Some feces are washed out the swim trunks. Hair, grass etc.
You all know the routine. ( or should )

So it goes into you filter and is filtered out. Out of what ? Out of sight and nothing more.
And that's where it ends until you flush it out with a backwash. All that junk from March, ... it's now July, is still in your pool water. In fact much of it is force fed pool water while ever the pump is running.

4 month old dead rotting earthworms ... still in the pool water. Just out of sight.

Now if you're real good about your chlorine and CC levels, it is eventually going to be oxodized. But any bit of a slip up in your routine and you have be saving up all this stuff to make a biological time bomb.

I think it is foolhardy to leave that junk in you system and think you are smart by saving 5 minutes to backwash and a hundred gallons of water.

Just my opinion. Comments and critique invited.