How to Clean Up a Swimming Pool After a Storm

Hose away any loose debris from your pool deck or the edges of your pool. This will prevent further contamination of your water with more dirt and dust as you work.

Empty and rinse out the baskets of your pumps, as well as your skimmer and other cleaning equipment. If your pump is running, it has likely already collected a lot of debris, and can become clogged or damaged easily during cleaning.

Backwash the filter to remove debris that already has been collected. Follow your manufacturer's exact instructions for this procedure, since every model is different. This is routine maintenance, so it is likely that you have performed this task before.

Run a skimmer over the surface of your water, as well as along your pool floor, to remove large pieces of debris, such as leaves, stones and twigs. You must remove these large pieces before running any type of vacuum in the pool, as large debris can clog or jam a vacuum.

Run your pool's automatic vacuum cleaner, or vacuum the bottom and walls of the pool manually to remove dirt, dust and small debris particles. As you kick up dust, it will either be absorbed by the vacuum or the filter.

Brush down the walls and steps of your pool to move the dirt and dust around so it can be picked up by the filter or vacuum.

Run the vacuum again after 20 to 30 minutes to collect any new dust that has settled.

Backwash the filter once more to remove all new dust and debris that has been collected. Wait for another 30 minutes and inspect the pool. If necessary, vacuum again. Continue until you have cleaned the pool completely.

Backwash the filter and clean the pump baskets once more to remove any remaining debris from the storm.