Screwdriver down skimmer

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Michael59

New member
Sep 11, 2023
3
Newark, OH
Hi, my name is Michael, and since joining this site, I have always managed to search thru the various forums until finding the answer I needed. Until today...
I'm currently helping the widow of a dear friend who had a cardiovascular incident about a year ago while opening his pool, in which he subsequently drowned. Consequently, I am not very familiar with exactly how this pool is plumbed.
Their pool is a 20x40 freshwater, vinyl liner, in-ground pool without a heater.
Today, for whatever reason, the skimmer basket was stuck tight, taking me half an hour to free and remove it. Immediately after removing the basket, without realizing it, I knocked into the skimmer a Craftsman screwdriver, the type with a short blade and as well as a short handle. However, the handle is full size in diameter.
It wasn't until I went to put away my tools that I noticed it was missing and where it had to have gone.
None of the equipment skipped a beat in the time between the screwdriver disappearing and when I realized what had happened.
Where would be the most likely spot in the system to look for this screwdriver? And, if water is flowing thru the pump and filter as it should with the darn thing still inside somewhere, what are the risks to the system?
Thank you in advance!
 
Welcome to TFP.

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Thank you for the quick responses! Since I posted earlier, I drove back out to my friend's house to check a couple of things.
First, the screwdriver isn't visible in the skimmer pipe, and there is LOTS of suction.
Next, I checked the pump basket, but unlike the basket on my pool pump, the basket doesn't have any opening on the inlet side that would let an object enter the pump basket and be trapped there.
The filter normally reads 10 pounds of pressure, but now reads about 7 pounds.
I read thru most of the previous posts regarding this situation before I posted, and have gathered my shop vac, blower, and drain snake for tomorrow.
One more question... I have a spare pump basket. If I were to cut a hole in the inlet/skimmer side of the basket, what are the odds that the screwdriver will pop out and be caught there?
 
wireform said:
It won't pass the first 90 bend. With water in the pipe it will look like it is not there. Vac out the water from the skimmer end and then proceed.
Click to expand...
Turn off the pump and then....

Vac out the water from the skimmer end and then proceed with your fishing down the pipe.
 
Michael59 said:
Where would be the most likely spot in the system to look for this screwdriver?
Click to expand...
In the pool or wherever her dog took it. I found my own opening screwdriver out in the yard a month later with a chewed up handle. I keep common screwdrivers all over so I didn't even realize it was missing.
 
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