Remove the pump basket and try to reach the impeller with a small piece of wire or just your finger. Use a swirling motion to remove dirt and then scoop it out by hand. I prefer to turn off the breaker as you definitely don’t want the pump to turn on in the process. Switch off the pump on the circuit breaker.
Your water flow in your pool is noticeably reduced and when you look through the lid of the pump basket, you’ll notice that it’s not filling up with water as it should. A pump impeller is located behind the pump basket in the part of the pool pump called a volute (also known as an impeller housing). These both become brittle and crack over time due to the chemicals in the pool water. In this picture, the pool owner let the pump run without the pump basket (a no-no). Very quickly, these popcorn-sized seeds clogged the wings of the impeller.
You may have cleaned it, but if symptoms persist, you will need to dig deeper and disassemble the pump to gain access to the impeller. If you’re having problems with your pool pump, chances are that your pump impeller is clogged. If your pool pump is working at full head, the water that you can see through the pump cover will swirl at a certain rate and may be air free. If the impeller of your pool pump is clogged, you are likely to make unpleasant noises (a faint, grinding sound).
If you have a green pool and an automatic pool cleaner, you should also consider an in-line leaf container for the pool sweep. Open impellers also called swirl impellers very rarely clog—but these types of impellers are only seen on old brass pool pumps or large trash pumps. Things like pine needles, stamens from flowering trees, small pebbles or pieces of sand, chipped pool cleaning pieces, and grass clippings are common culprits. If you have a broken pump basket and a green pool, there is a chance that the impeller may become clogged.
This is especially true if you have palm trees around your pool, as the fine hairs of the palms tend to clog things up. Before you actually remove the blockage from the impeller of your pool pump, you must turn off the power.
