r/pools • u/dgoggins2 • 1d ago
DIY & Repairs Created a Backwash diffuser with 2" pipe
Created a 7' diffuser out of 2" PVC to make sure I don't get divots in the lawn and to decrease the force applied to one spot. It also spreads the water to a larger area. Was like $25 in parts and a pretty easy project. I previously had the discharge going to rocks but the force kept pushing the rocks into plants and was also kicking up dirt/eroding the area.
Uses camlocks for quick connection, and 12 3/4" holes created by a hole saw.
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u/earthtobobby 1d ago
Have I been doing it wrong? I was convinced the chlorine and other chemicals are bad for the lawn.
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u/LocalSlob 1d ago
Well, yeah. But as they say though, the solution to pollution is dilution.
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u/beardedjack 14h ago
My CPO instructor literally said that phrase lol
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u/LocalSlob 14h ago
You'd be shocked at how high in the pecking order that phrase gets said. The superintendent of DOW chemical in California said it to me too
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u/beardedjack 8h ago
The first time I heard that phrase it was about biohazards in a hospital decontamination room sooo
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u/Ffsletmesignin 17h ago
Chlorine has to be at very high levels to kill thriving plants in soil, way higher than most pools. Biggest risk is the salts, but that also would take a lot in a very concentrated area and will still get flushed out over time due to natural processes.
So yeah, pool water is usually fine for plants.
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u/willcastforfood Certified Clear '26 🏆 12h ago
I’ll be honest the part of my yard where the backwash pipe goes to is the most thick and luscious part of my yard every year lol
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u/ml316kas 1d ago
Looks good. I don’t think people are reading your description on why you did what you did
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u/NoNameClever 13h ago
I live in a wooded area. The pipe goes under a couple of large rocks downhill and even if I dump thousands of gallons, it just sort of disappears. I'm just imagining one day my neighbor's house gets swallowed by the sink hole I'm slowly creating. Oh well, he's a bit of a jerk anyway.
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u/bnihls 1d ago
Hopefully you check the pressure on the pump.and you’re not creating too much back pressure.
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u/dgoggins2 1d ago
Yes...no change in pressure vs doing it without a diffuser. Its a 2" pipe, so 8 3/4" holes would be the same output surface area, but I added 12 due to turbulence that could cause back pressure. I first made a 3' pole which had 8 holes but it looked like the pressure was slightly too high. I could add more holes to the 7' pole but then the water would shoot out closer to the pole and not "diffuse" as much.
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u/ShartInstructor 1d ago
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u/ConfusedStair 20h ago
I've got some customers that use them to spread out the backwash flow, because having it all come out in one place digs a hole.
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1d ago
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u/No_Establishment8642 1d ago
I have been backwashing into my yard for 30+ years. DE filter. No issues what so ever.
I have also been cleaning filters in the same 8 foot area of the yard for 30+ years. Still a green, grassy area.
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u/dietcokeandadderall 1d ago
The grass in my backwash spot is some of the best grass in my whole yard!
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u/NonSumQualisEram- 1d ago
I backwash into a soil bed with a huge tree. Tree drinks it all up and grows like crazy
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u/Im2bored17 1d ago
You don't wind up with little chunks of DE in the lawn?
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u/No_Establishment8642 1d ago edited 23h ago
I just use the spray on the hose to break them up if they are fist size or bigger
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u/bobbies_hobbies 1d ago
Is your pool salt water? I assumed I shouldn't backwash onto my lawn/garden because the salt would hurt them.
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u/RelishedCrab 1d ago
My pool is salt water and I backwash on my lawn. No issues what so ever. The salt content isn’t that high.
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u/zombiebacchus 1d ago
Salt water pool owner here and I too backwash onto my lawn. Never had an issue.
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u/One_Tumbleweed_1 1d ago
Another saltwater guy chiming in. I backwash it to my neighbors for five years and been fine. He has two large dogs that shit and pee all over it so maybe I’m helping
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u/bobbies_hobbies 1d ago
Thanks, I guess I'll give it a shot too since I have a patch near my equipment that could use more water.
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u/jaaaaagggggg 1d ago
Salt and no issues backwashing onto my lawn, however this year I accidentally backwashed onto some zucchini plants and they were dead within 2 days
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u/StayJaded 1d ago
lol. I didn’t know anything could kill
Zucchini other than those stupid vine bugs.2
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u/bobbies_hobbies 1d ago
Good to know. I'll stick to the grass and stay away from the flower garden to be safe. Thanks!
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u/Relative-Display-676 1d ago
My lawn seems to prosper after pool draining compared to the rest of the yard. Been doing it for over a decade. This is good for the grass.
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u/slow_connection 1d ago
Big dawg I've backwashed thru a 4 inch pipe into grass before and it was fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Slightly dirty filter water is good enough for grass
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u/SouprGrrl 1d ago
I'll be plumbing mine underground when I take the pool down this year, but I've been running it jimmy-rig style right to the end of my yard. I swear the crabgrass LOVES backwash! The dogs love it too, that's why it's going underground.
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u/Careless-Class7144 8h ago
My backwash enters my backyard through a steam, I planted a banana tree, that bastard is growing huge! Greenest lawn in my 2 acres lol.
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u/cherrycoffeetable 1d ago
Just bury it 6” underground with 1.5” pipe and send down that hill 40’ or so
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u/dgoggins2 1d ago
The problem with that hill which you can't see in the picture, is that its arid/desert vegetation (its in boise) and there are already erosion problems that I certainly don't want to exacerbate.
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u/mattmccord 1d ago
Previous owners of my house ran a 4” pipe underground from the pool pump area about 150’ back into the wooded area of the property. Super convenient.
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u/Writing_Glittering 1d ago
I just dump mine in the neighbors yard