Don't backwash your sand filter on a schedule.

Backwash when the pressure gauge reads 8–10 psi above the clean starting pressure — not on a fixed day of the week.

During peak summer, your filter works harder. More swimmers, more sunscreen, more debris. But that doesn’t mean you should backwash every Friday like clockwork. The only reliable signal is the pressure gauge. If you backwash too often, you waste water and disturb the sand bed’s filtration efficiency. If you wait too long, flow drops and the pool gets cloudy.

A clean baseline is key: mark the pressure right after a backwash at the start of the season. Then let the gauge tell you when it’s time. In a heavy-use week, that might be every 3–4 days. In a lighter week, maybe 7–10. Let the filter tell you.

Trust the gauge, not a calendar.