The pool area is the place where you relax, spend time with your family and friends, or simply take a few hours for yourself and indulge in some “me time”. However you may choose to use this space, debris and bugs simply don’t match that ideal scenery. Unfortunately, I have noticed that these little buggers enjoy the water as well, and that is when I realized there must be something that can fix this problem. Of course, the pool filter and pump do work their magic by filtrating the water, but you need an additional helper for collecting the larger pieces often found in the pool. Fortunately, the solution is quite simple – I am talking about skimmer baskets. Stay with me for a more detailed explanation on what skimmer baskets are and how they work.
Skimmer baskets, or also known as swimming pool strainer baskets, should be placed inside in the swimming pool skimmer and their main purpose is to collect pieces of leaves, insects, pool toys and anything else that can be found in the water and can damage the pool pump or filter if it gets to them. To put it simply, the water in the pool circulates, and if the swimming pool strainer baskets don’t successfully collect the “usurpers” they may get to the filter and pumps and cause damages and unwanted repairment costs. Shape vary depending on the type and brand of skimmer you have installed in your pool, so if you have round skimmer, you are going to need a round skimmer basket. The same goes for square skimmers and baskets.
Next, you need to check regularly if the basket is full. If overlooked for a long period of time, the basket can become clogged. In cases like these, the result can be noticeably serious. Namely, if the basket is full, it can slow the water flow down to the suction side of the pool pump, thus causing problems for the filter system that, in time, will stop operating properly. That is why emptying the basket as often as possible is needed in order to ensure the maximum water flow to the swimming pool pump.
You can remove the skimmer basket by pulling the handle that these come with. Most often, they are either metal or plastic, and you can simply grab it and pull. This makes the whole emptying and cleaning process simple and quick. However, there are instances when the basket is stuck. The reasons for this can be various, the basket can be overloaded or broken, or some branches could be wrapped around it keeping it tight. In such cases, you’ll need to pull the basket out slowly and carefully so that you don’t break it.
