They trap so much more junk than the filter baskets. Don't have to backwash filter as much. They're also called debris shields & you can buy them from Leslie's.

Yes, quite a few people on this forum like the skimmer socks, myself included. They are especially nice when the weather starts to cool off and you are getting lots of leaves in the pool.

and you can buy them from any pool store, and from places like Wallyworld, too. Some of our members have bought some bigger sized ones online from ebay, as well.

Are there a similar contraption for the pump basket? Or would that be a bad idea? I'm just thinking it would keep hair from getting into the impeller via the main drain or suction cleaner...

I've never heard of one for the leaf basket in the pump. It'd be kind of hard to use there, as the water comes in from the side of the basket, so there would have to be a hole in the sock for the input flow.

Yeah, good point.

Leslie's Pool was selling 3 for $5. I went to Walmart to buy a square yard of the material from the fabric department and cut a small piece of it to fit the skimmer. I put a rubber band around the opening to keep it in place. So far, it works great and it's a LOT cheaper. My two cents.

I use nylon 1 gallon Paint strainers. I buy them at Orchard supply, home depot or Lowes. They are cheaper than buying skimmer socks at a pool supply store. They are nylon mesh with elastic top. I use them in my pool skimmer and they are great at catching small pine needles. I replace it about once a month.

I use knee highs...

Mmmhmmm.... 10 pair NoNonsense for $2 at Wallyworld....

We think alike!! Save that $$$$

New on the forum, new pool about 6 weeks old.
I have lots of pine needles and the skimmer sock seems like a good idea, the first I have herad about them is above...questions:

1. will a skimmer sock hurt the return flow to the filter?
2. will a skimmer sock get clogged up easily? the basket has large holes that ver lap"
3. do the paint straiiners work as well as skimmer socks?
4. do the knee highs work as well? does it matter if they have a lot of extra material sitting on teh bottom of the basket?

Welcome to TFP, Cncpool
In answer to your first question, I think as long as you clean out the sock, you don't have to worry about impaired return flow to the filter. We get lots of debris so I rinse mine out daily with a garden hose with a sprayer on the end.

i have used all three types, skimmer socks, paint strainers and knee highs.

The knee highs don't fit on my skimmer basket because it is too big around. The skimmer socks work but are expensive and tend to decompose on me. I like the paint strainers because they are cheaper. Since my neighbor has a pine tree, I try to empty out the paint strainer almost every day. I throw them out when the elastic at top gets worn out. I buy them at Orchard supply or home depot in the 1 gallon size.

Hope that helps.

I use the skimmer socks too. Can't say enough good about them. I have so much silt that I replace them 2-3 times a day, let used one dry to ease cleaning out stuff, and then rinse with spray from water hose.

I, also, need silt liners for my Polaris and Pool Blaster. I get queen size women's support hose at WallyWorld, use the legs for the cleaners and the pantie part for the skimmer basket. The pantie part of old control top pantie hose works well also. geekgranny

cncpool: #2 question...yes, they can get clogged. Watch your pool's environment. Where I lived before, there were about 7 days or so in late fall when this one tree would drop 90% of its leaves. They were sumac-like, with many long leaflets and then a long bare stem, as well. That particular tree could clog up a skimmer basket on a semi-windy day in no time flat! It was not unusual for me to have to clean out the skimmer sox 2x, sometimes even 3x per day during that week-long period.

Are there any potential problems with using a skimmer sock. I purchased some of the 1-gallon paint strainers at Home Depot. It picked up lots of tiny "stuff". Will that "stuff" clog the flow through the filter basket?

Thanks!!
Dory

Hi Dory,

You will need to keep the skimmer sock cleaned out as needed. Sometimes during spring, I need to clean mine every hour!

I must say, however, that the skimmer sock keeps my pool very, very clean!

On an unrelated note, please reduce your signature to a max of five lines of text

The only problem I have had is when I let the sock get too full and constant force of the suction caused my skimmer basket to crack. If you get a lot of debris you will need to check the skimmer frequently. It does cause you to check and empty the skimmer more frequently, but less of the small debris will get sucked through the skimmer basket into the filter. It will extend the time between cleaning or backwashing the filter.

Sometimes the large and/or small debris will make the basket with sock really hard to get out with the pump running. You can reach down into the basket area a bit and pull just the sock out. With enough practice you can master getting the sock out without losing much debris into the basket.

This past winter and fall I found several places on Internet that had the packages of skimmer socks 1/2 price or less. Like about $4 for 5 with no tax or shipping when ordered with other things. I bought a bunch of packages at those prices.

I am going to check out the paint strainers though.

gg=alice