Anyone else get a little burst of dirt from the return jets right after restarting the pump?

[John Knight]

I noticed something odd the last couple of times I restarted my pump after cleaning the filter. For the first few seconds after it kicks on, a small puff of fine dirt shoots out of one of the return jets. It clears up almost immediately and the water looks normal afterward, but it caught my attention because I don’t remember seeing that before.
Is that just leftover debris getting pushed through the lines when the pump starts, or could it mean something inside the filter isn’t seated properly?

 

[Joe Smith]

I noticed something odd the last couple of times I restarted my pump after cleaning the filter. For the first few seconds after it kicks on, a small puff of fine dirt shoots out of one of the return jets. It clears up almost immediately and the water looks normal afterward, but it caught my attention because I don’t remember seeing that before.
Is that just leftover debris getting pushed through the lines when the pump starts, or could it mean something inside the filter isn’t seated properly?

I’ve seen that happen before after cleaning the filter. Sometimes a little bit of debris sits in the plumbing while the system is off and when the pump starts it pushes it out all at once. If it only happens for a second or two I usually don’t worry about it.

 

[Warren Dale]

I noticed something odd the last couple of times I restarted my pump after cleaning the filter. For the first few seconds after it kicks on, a small puff of fine dirt shoots out of one of the return jets. It clears up almost immediately and the water looks normal afterward, but it caught my attention because I don’t remember seeing that before.
Is that just leftover debris getting pushed through the lines when the pump starts, or could it mean something inside the filter isn’t seated properly?

You might also want to double check that the filter cartridge is sitting evenly in the housing. One time I had mine slightly tilted and a bit of dirt slipped around the edge before everything settled back into place.

 

[Danny Meerman]

I noticed something odd the last couple of times I restarted my pump after cleaning the filter. For the first few seconds after it kicks on, a small puff of fine dirt shoots out of one of the return jets. It clears up almost immediately and the water looks normal afterward, but it caught my attention because I don’t remember seeing that before.
Is that just leftover debris getting pushed through the lines when the pump starts, or could it mean something inside the filter isn’t seated properly?

Another possibility is debris in the return line itself. If the pool sat for a while before you restarted everything, tiny bits can collect in the pipes. The first startup of the day sometimes pushes that out through the returns.

 

[John Knight]

Good to know it might not be anything serious. I’ll open the filter again just to make sure everything is seated properly and keep an eye on it the next few days. Appreciate the input.