EQUIPMENT
The pump is unusually loud
A gravelly rattle is air in the system and you can fix it yourself; a rising whine or a grinding from the motor end is a bearing, and that needs a technician.
A pump's noise is fairly honest about what is wrong. Work out whether it is coming from the wet end at the front or the motor at the back, then match it to one of these three.
A gravelly rattle, as if the pump were full of stones, with bubbles visible in the basket: air on the suction side, and fixable yourself with the steps below.
A high whine or a grinding from the motor end that gets worse week by week, with the motor running hotter than usual: worn motor bearings, which have to be replaced and will not improve on their own.
A rhythmic knocking or clattering is usually something hard lodged in the impeller — grit or a shell. Kill the power and call for a technician rather than running it on.
If it is the air noise, do this
Top the pool up to the middle of the skimmer mouth. A low level is the most common source of the air noise, and the quickest thing to rule out.
Switch the pump off and clear both the skimmer and the pump baskets.
Take the strainer lid off and wipe the O-ring and its seat clean. A dry or gritty O-ring is the most common way air gets in.
Give the O-ring a thin film of silicone grease, then hand-tighten the lid back on without tools.
Run the pump and look for weeping at every union on the suction side. Anywhere water can seep out when it is off is where air gets in when it is running.
Open the air relief valve on top of the filter slowly until water comes out steadily, then close it, to purge the air trapped in the tank.
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