Keeping a swimming pool healthy depends on many things: water chemistry, cleaning, and filtration are possibly the ones most people obsess over, and skimming is often an afterthought. So that’s what this post is about – the skimmer basket and pump basket. Not the most exciting part maybe, but looking after them can save a pool owner from a lot of maintenance headaches.
I like to think of the pool water loop as a series of defenses, getting smaller and smaller particles out of the water. Starting with the obvious bits floating on the water we remove the biggest, like leaves, with a net on the end of a long pole, anything we miss finds its way into the skimmer basket, and anything that’s fairly big that gets by that is trapped in the pump basket, which leaves the filtration system to get the smallest particles. It’s worth noting that each stage gets progressively harder to clean out. Running a net around the pool can be done without affecting anything, but the last two require stopping the pump and cleaning filter cartridges is a royal pain. So keeping stuff out of the next stage is always easier than cleaning it out.
Pole skimmers
Having two poles means you can leave a brush on one and put a net on the other. Not a big deal, but someone was throwing out a slightly bent pole one time, so I brought it home, straightened it out and have enjoyed a little efficiency ever since, so I thought I’d mention it. Besides, having two poles hung up makes a more stable platform for leaving a skimmer basket on. Oh yes, throw away the flat skimmer net the pool company “gave” you. Get one that looks like a fisherman’s landing net. This will hold more and can pick up larger debris from the bottom of the pool, which will mean less to remove from your pool robot. Builds up arm muscles too.
Advantages of having two skimmer baskets
For the first ten or so years of having a pool, I used to walk out to the pool skimmer, pick out the basket and carry it back to the pump area where I also kept the yard waste bins. I’d dump the contents, try to get the wet remnants out of the tiny holes in the plastic basket and finally trek it back to re-insert it. Meanwhile, without a basket in the way, the pump was sucking better and pulling extra pool debris into the pipes which clogged the pump basket.
It was almost accidental that we acquired a second basket. I think the cross piece that acts as a handle had broken, and so we got a complete basket, and then later on found that we could get just the handle. Of course, I hadn’t thrown the old basket out, so we had a complete spare. Now I could take the empty one with me, switch them around and bring the dirty one back. Fifty percent less walking, and the time the skimmer had no basket in place was practically zero.
Skimmer socks
Four or five seasons ago, we started using nylon skimmer filters (or socks) which keep a lot of dirt, insects and leaves out of the pump basket and the main filters. Another lucky find was that it’s far easier to clean the sock when it’s dry than when it’s wet. Unless it rains, yesterday’s sock is bone dry the next day.
I intercepted a kitchen dishwashing brush on its way to the garbage and repurposed it as a general purpose outdoor brush, and I give the sock a quick cleaning before I take it out to the pool. There are several periods in early summer when the pool gets covered in fluffy fibres – like dandelion seeds – and these thoroughly coat the sock and are just about impossible to get off. That is, until they dry out, when they magically separate from the sock in sheets when you use the brush. It’s almost fun to do. Almost.
Incidentally, the socks easily last for a whole season. They may be sold as disposable, but it’s a lot friendlier to the environment to put the vegetable matter in the compost bin and replace the sock only when necessary. More to the point, it’s simpler to brush them out than to struggle to stretch a new one over the basket and find the holes for the handle underneath the sock.
Wildlife
Every pool owner knows that frogs, insects, small animals and even snakes end up in a pool. And whatever starts in the pool ends in the skimmer basket if it doesn’t sink first. I imagine larger animals fall in as well, but they are big enough to find a way out. At least, our dog does.
Anyway, while you can’t save them all, if you cut about an inch off the end of a pool noodle and leave that floating in the skimmer, some of the wildlife will hang on or climb on and live to swim another day.
I find that gently dropping the float will dislodge most of the passengers who have been hanging on for dear life for half of the night. Then they scuttle, hop or amble away to tell their friends about the alien being who abducted them and then let them go.
Mechanical diagnostics
Besides the filter pressure gauge, the pump and the skimmer baskets are the simplest things to watch to ensure that the mechanics are working well, and can save the pool owner some headaches. Here are some tips on things to watch for, and what to do if they occur:
- The pump is running, but the water in the pump basket is hardly moving. The skimmer basket is so full the water isn’t getting through. This condition can also stop the heater from coming on, and the chlorinator (salt water pool) to stop producing chlorine, because both have low flow sensors. (Empty the basket!)
- The water in the pump basket can be seen gushing in for a few seconds, and then it almost empties. (Especially when the pump goes to high – while priming or when the heater turns on.) This is caused by a low water level. The pump sucks so much it almost empties the sump, and air gets in the pipes. (Put water in the pool, and release trapped air in the cartridge filter.)
- Floating debris collects in the area of the skimmer opening, but doesn’t get into the basket. Too much water in the pool so the water surface is above the top of the skimmer opening. This is unusual except maybe in early season, before it gets hot. (Drain some water out!)
- Sudden influx of debris in the pump basket. The skimmer basket has floated up while the pump was off, especially if water flows back from the pump to the pool, and didn’t re-seat itself, so debris is bypassing the skimmer basket. This may happen during pump or filter maintenance, and especially if there are twigs in the basket which may help it float up. Always check the skimmer basket after restarting the pump. (Nah, I don’t do that either, but now you know.)
- Skimmer basket is full and won’t pull out of the sump. An extreme case of this is the basket is pulled right through the ring in the sump and is now stuck at the bottom under the ring it usually sits on. This happens when the basket is so full the pressure exerted by the pump pulls the basket down. The best defense is to not allow the basket to overfill, but often this happens at night when a storm blows down leaves and twigs. It’s worse when the pump is on high, so clean the basket before the heater is scheduled to come on in the morning. If it has already happened, follow your process for turning off the pump to release the suction, clear the basket and restart. Getting a sunken basket up through the ring is impossible, so bring the ring up first. It probably won’t fit through the sump cover opening, but on mine, I can slide it into the channel where the water flows in, so it’s out of the way while retrieving the basket. Then reassemble.
Those are some of the tricks that I’ve learned over the years. It’s funny how many systems in a modern home need some really basic maintenance to keep them running, and yet there doesn’t seem to be any decent instruction. Maybe these tips will help someone.
Here’s a video which takes 3+ minutes to say even less, but it does have some cute wildlife surprises as well.
