Is your filter pressure running low or does your pump motor sound strained? Was your pool pressure fine a week or so ago? Do you have an automatic floor vacuum that is barely moving on the pool floor? If you answered “Yes” to any or all of these questions, your pump impeller could be clogged with debris. This especially holds true if you have palm trees around your pool as the fine hairs of the palms tend to clog things up. The location of the pool pump impeller is shown in this cut-away of a pool pump.
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Mike Posted: 3/12/2017
Wow! Thank you so much. I spent two days with this problem. I turned off the breaker to the filter.Probably not a great idea but I used my hand and pulled all kind of debris out. Our neighbor has an Oak tree. Leaves always in the pool.
Thanks again.
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L in ga Posted: 1/8/2017
This was a life saver. Something so simple helped and made such a huge difference. Freezing tonight here and pump was in freeze mode running but no pressure. I was worried it was so many different expensive parts and this was the only issue. Thank you so very much. This was simple! Great help!Reply
Anonymous Posted: 11/13/2016
Thanks for the tutorial, not sure why the pool guy didn't just do this last week when he saw the pressure low. Instead he was talking about a potential leak which made me all worried. It took me all of 5 minutes to clean the impeller and I didn't even know what I was doing. Would have taken him like 2 minutesReply
Thank you Posted: 11/5/2016
Super you save me!!Reply
Mike Posted: 10/7/2016
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You saved me time and money! I can't believe how simple this was. Pump pressure is back to normal!Reply
poolpete Posted: 9/27/2016
Thank you! It only took a few minutes to get the pressure back to normal.Reply
Serge Posted: 9/10/2016
Excellent recommendation!! I have this tree with really annoying little leaves that always seem to want to fall in the pool... I'm always trying to keep the baskets clear of debris but today it was a whole other thing, I was about to cancel the pool for the season because enough is enough, PSI isn't coming back up no matter what I did. Then I find this article, took me about 5 minutes of clearing up the junk, and now maybe we can swim one last time before the cold comes in. THANK YOU!!!!!!Reply
Anonymous Posted: 9/7/2016
Thank you, thank you! Only one week left in our pool season and suddenly almost no pressure. I was afraid something was blocking the lines, but the pump sounded a bit off. Did some research and came across your site. Followed the instructions, got a lot of pine needles out, and now everything is running great. You saved the day, and probably saved me a lot of money for a pool service.Reply
Anonymous Posted: 9/5/2016
Hi, I just wanted say thank you for posting these HOW TO GUIDES. Today, because of your helpful guidance and videos - I was able to (both) clean out my sand filter and unclog my impeller. As a result the PSI went right from 5psi to 15-20 psi and I'm now getting the proper circulation in my in-ground pool. Really appreciate the help.Best,
Bill
Ashland, MA
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dawagonbus Posted: 8/31/2016
Just like Everyone else....Thank You!!!!! I tried everything I could think of but solved my low PSI by cleaning the impeller. Now I'll make it part of my cleaning routine.Reply
Anonymous Posted: 8/28/2016
Thank you very much, save me a call to the pool repair guy tomorrow.Reply
Jiffer Posted: 8/24/2016
Thank you so much! We had no pressure and had no idea what was wrong. We just knew we were about to spend a lot of money, but cleaning the impeller worked! What a relief.Reply
pOOL OWNER Posted: 8/19/2016
Thank you!!! That was exactly what the problem was and your suggestion worked perfectly.Reply
metoo Posted: 8/3/2016
i love you guys. you solved my problem. thanks so very muchReply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 7/25/2016
QOD - Take a look at our guide on "How To Service the Inside of a Hayward Navigator Suction Cleaner". It explains to some degree what the internal parts of a Navigator control. Check in particular the gearbox.Reply
QOD Posted: 7/24/2016
After backtracking all possible quick fixes the coathanger to the impeller proved to be the culprit for dropped pressure. three minutes later I'm up and running with full pressure. I am running a Hayward navigatorpool cleaner which I just recently rebuilt can you tell me why the hoses keep wanting to twist....I never rolled up and these are new flat hoses I checked the navigator and be turning wheel is operational with the lift testReply
Gronks Posted: 7/20/2016
I tried everything....cleaning filter extensively, new DE, checking valves, vacuum to waste, cleaning skimmer and pump baskets repeatedly...nothing worked to bring the filter pressure past 4psi. I tried your recommendation...not much came out, but a little did. I returned basket and got a nice tight seal back on the pump cover, turned it on and....I knew within seconds that the problem was solved. Pressure rose to 16psi (normal for my pool), I let the air out of the filter and have a perfect 'vacuum' again.Can't thank you enough for this tip!!!
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Anonymous Posted: 7/16/2016
OMG - kudos to you guys! My pool pressure dropped and was running very low....got it back once when I pulled out the basket and cleaned it and then it dropped again. This time I pulled the basket and worked with a hanger....and found a small piece of plastic in the impeller. You saved me hundreds of dollars. I get billed $100 just for driving out to my property and then awful fees from that point forward! Lifesavers!! Love you all! Thanks, thanks, thanks!!Reply
justmekhl Posted: 7/2/2016
Thank you...Thank you....Thank you!!!! OMG so glad I found this. Opened pool about a month ago and there was so little suction I could not vacuum the pool because it would not suck up the dirt. I had searched before and came up with little info. Single mom with little money so didn't want to call a pool man to come and find the problem and fix until absolutely had to. This worked..there was so much old leaves and crude. Pulled it all out and like new!Reply
Vivian Posted: 6/23/2016
Ha! I was about to cry thinking I was going to need a new pump or pipes dug up. Found my way to your site and VOILA! my pump is humming a happy tune - all fountains go. Some screen from my pool cage had made it in... somehow. Was all clogged up. Pulled it out and hit the switch and could tell a big difference straight away.Single lady - first time pool owner, so I would never have known. My ex-husband was SO impressed. Ha! ;)
Thank you!
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InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 6/17/2016
LyndaO - A clogged impeller would cause a drop in water flow but would not cause a suction leak. Try smearing shaving cream on any connection on the suction side of the pump and around the strainer cover. If you see an indentation in the cream , you have an air leak.Reply
Lynda O Posted: 6/14/2016
one of our return lines is blowing a lot of air into the pool and there is a lot of water agitation in the pump basket. We have checked all the fittings and lubed the O-rings and gaskets, but still sucking air from somewhere -- hoping not from the underground lines. Could a clogged pump impeller be the culprit?Reply
dtxtrimax Posted: 5/29/2016
Try this first before going to step 6: Use a wet vacuum - insert the hose into the impeller opening and vacuum the crud out - rinse with a hose and repeat. It worked great for me - went from 5 to 18 psi, which is normal running pressure.Reply
doublej Posted: 5/28/2016
OMG! You are a genius. I was almost to the point of tears when I found your video. The impeller was jammed full of junk. Cleaned it out and the pump is running like new. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 5/16/2016
cleaning impeller - Thank you for your input !Reply
Anonymous Posted: 5/13/2016
The hanger idea did not work, however it lead me to taking off the motor which was pretty easy by just unbolting a large clamp. The impeller had leaves and debris lodged pretty tight. I was able to clean by hand and clamp the motor back on. Works better than ever. Took about 10 minutes.Reply
george Posted: 4/22/2016
Amazing! Thanks.Reply
Joel Posted: 3/23/2016
This worked perfectly. I actually had to pull my motor out, but there was so much cried in there I couldn't believe it. Put everything back together and it works like brand-new .. Thanks so muchReply
Dan Posted: 2/16/2016
This fixed my issues.11 year old in ground, new pump less then a year old, cleaner quit moving low power sure enough checked the impeller and had a lot of crud,do all my own pool work and never knew to do this, will now. Thanks INYO.Reply
Karin Posted: 2/15/2016
Thank you so much for the advice, I did exactly what you told me to do, and my swimmingpool pump is working 100%Reply
Anonymous Posted: 1/31/2016
THANK YOU!!!I have made slow progress in trying to fix my pump priming issue, and it turns out there was debris in the pump. This was really great to have, it helped me solve the issue myself.
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mb Posted: 1/3/2016
This is very helpful and saved me time & money ... and so simple too! THANKSReply
Anonymous Posted: 9/12/2015
My pool is rockin now because of your technique. I am going to check it each time I clean the filter and basket just to make sure it doesn't get clogged again! Thank yo so much!Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 9/10/2015
sunlife - Thank you very much for your feedback. Surprisingly, cleaning a clogged impeller is becoming one of our most common solutions to low pressure.Reply
sunlife Posted: 9/7/2015
G8 help! Spent whole labor day weekend trying to figure out why the floor sweeper is not running, why the water pressure is low ---all efforts were pointing out to me that I am doomed. All the earlier efforts I thought were futile until I came across your video about Pump Impeller....and 'wallah'. Though I could not get any debris out still your suggested trick did the job. It's a happy ending for me on labor day holiday! Big Thank U!Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 7/24/2015
Monica – Glad we could help and thanks for your feedback.Reply
monica Posted: 7/23/2015
You are awesome I'm a single parent your step by step instructions were right on I don't have to call a pool guy there was debris in impeller I fished it out runs as good as new, thank youReply
Anonymous Posted: 7/20/2015
WowYou are awesome, I've had issues with pool clarity for a year and never thought about a filter issue. I cleared out so much stuff from the impeller and now pump is so strong and clearing up the pool, thanks
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Anonymous Posted: 7/14/2015
I pulled out a few leaf stems and my pressure doubled.. Amazing!! This page was so helpful, thanks!Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 7/9/2015
Lance - Not sure what you mean by "the vacuum still isn't putting out any pressure". Do you mean that the vacuum line for your cleaner is not pulling in any water? Or that the system pressure is low? Here is a link to our guide on "How To Correct Low Water Pressure in Your Pool System".Reply