When is it Time to Change my Pool Skimmer Basket?
There are many ways to tell when your skimmer basket may due to be replacement. Over time the skimmer basket plastic material will wears down from being submerged underwater for so long. After being exposed and saturated in pool water and chemicals you will start to see signs of deterioration. So how do you know when to replace your skimmer basket?
One of the first signs of deterioration of your skimmer is the texture and coloration of the plastic. If you feel your skimmer basket, it may feel rough, hard or textured. Maybe even gritty. You may even notice a white powder or slime come off on your fingers when you swipe your finger across the skimmer basket's surface. Your skimmer basket may even have a rusty orange tone to it as shown in our picture above. This is because the water and pool chemicals have worn the layers and material of the plastic the down. This is the first sign of deterioration.
Another common sign your skimmer basket is ready to be replaced if how brittle it is. A so-called healthy skimmer basket is sturdy and reactive holding up to taps when you or your pool technician is emptying all the debris out of the basket. You will know if it brittle by first off the texture of the basket itself like mentioned earlier, but secondly if you can tap the skimmer basket on the ground to empty debris and any pieces small or large crack and/or break off. You may even notice pieces already broken off as it's sitting in the skimmer of your pool.
When replacing your skimmer basket be sure to you order the correct model or else you may discover it won't fit in your skimmer hole or it doesn't sit right in place. The correct skimmer basket should lay perfectly in the skimmer correctly covering the hole to the skimmer itself so nothing will bypass the basket. Most standard pools fit a universal style skimmer basket, most Hayward skimmer baskets take a universal basket found HERE on our website. Some pool skimmer do require larger, smaller or even taller sized baskets. Again, make sure to check the measurements and or model/part number of your skimmer. This can often be found on the skimmer lid when you flip it over, usually in small stamped letters like SPX1070.
Check to see if your skimmer has a weir door. A weir door is the large door flap in the front side of your skimmer. When your pool turns on the skimmer suction causes the weir door flap to pull down allowing dirt to travel into the skimmer. When your pool pump shuts off, the skimmer suction stops, and the door floats up trapping in the dirt and debris from escaping. Without a weir door your dirt will float back out into you pool defeating the purpose of the skimmer. For people who discover they don't have a weir door, we recommend a two apart skimmer basket (only if it fits your size skimmer model.) It comes with the skimmer basket itself then a taller round piece that stands inside the center of the skimmer basket acting like a weir door. It gets pulled down when the pool suction is on and floats back up in place when the suction is turned off trapping in all the loose debris in the basket, keeping your pool clean.
Or if you want to put a new pool skimmer weir door back on, it usually is pretty easy and most models will fit a universal style pool skimmer weir door. Like this one for example,
Or this one for a couple Pentair skimmer weir door models, Compatible with Pentair Admiral pool and spa skimmer S15 & S20.