Skimmer sock - all the time or just occassionally?

[mikelehen]

I use these:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Trimaco-1-Gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11572-36WF/202061359

I'm going on my third month with the same strainer. A lot more durable than the different socks I've tried.

After having to clean pine needles out of my completely clogged pump impeller, I picked up one of these and threw it in my skimmer. It's been about a month now, and I'm a fan! It catches tons of pine needles, which used to go right through the skimmer most of the time. Time will tell if it actually prevents my pump from clogging up again, but I'm sure it's at least helping. And they're cheap / sturdy too.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[boston62]

I use those to add AA or CH to my pool works great, well I also use them for straining paint for spraying....

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[BSmitty]

After having to clean pine needles out of my completely clogged pump impeller, I picked up one of these and threw it in my skimmer. It's been about a month now, and I'm a fan! It catches tons of pine needles, which used to go right through the skimmer most of the time. Time will tell if it actually prevents my pump from clogging up again, but I'm sure it's at least helping. And they're cheap / sturdy too.

Thanks for the tip!

My pleasure Mike. I finally removed the original strainer I had placed in the skimmer....it lasted 5 months. The only reason for replacing it was that the elastic was beginning to lose it's elasticity. I don't remove the strainer to clean it/hose it off. That way the elastic band stays good for a long time.

As for your pump, every time I go to clean out my pump basket, there's barely anything in it. Night and day difference from when I was running without the paint strainer in the skimmer. Another nice perk is that the pressure reading on the gauge of my cartridge filter is almost the same as when I first plumbed it in....same time I began using the strainers.

 

[spylab]

I leave mine in all the time. My swim buddy is a 130# Black Lab, he actually swims more than I do at times. I was buying the socks from the pool store and emptying them daily or more often. I looked on Amazon and found a review that suggested an alternative. So much cheaper and I simply throw them away full of hair, bugs, and leaves. I left one on for 4 days when I was ill and noticed a low flow sensor light on my SWG but the hair net turned skimmer sock was really full- it had no signs of breakdown at all. I leave it on when I vacuum and simply throw away afterwards. I recommend them for anyone that has lots of little things to catch out of the water.
http://http://www.amazon.com/United-Facility-Supply-Products-Polypropylene/dp/B004E2MCNI/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1409937973&sr=1-1&keywords=United+Facility+Supply+Products+-+United+Facility+Supply+-+Disposable+Hair+Net%2C+Spun-Bonded+Polypropylene%2C+White%2C+100%2FBag+-+Sold+As+1+Pack+-+Disposable.+-+Ideal+for+food+service+employees.+-+Large%2C+spun-bonded+hair+net+fits+comfortably+on+most+workers.

 

[smforte]

I use either a skimmer sock or knee high...my basket doesn't fit very flush so some pine needles and other crud still gets past the socks. Any reason I couldn't use one on the pump basket also? Also may try spy labs idea of the hairnets. A lot cheaper....

 

[BSmitty]

I wouldn't use a sock or equivalent on a pump basket. The possibility of it getting sucked into the pump is not something I'd entertain. That's just me though.

Have you tried a rock at the bottom of your skimmer basket to keep it flat? One just large enough so it won't get sucked down in an unforeseen circumstance should do the trick.

 

[mickey4paws]

My pleasure Mike. I finally removed the original strainer I had placed in the skimmer....it lasted 5 months. The only reason for replacing it was that the elastic was beginning to lose it's elasticity. I don't remove the strainer to clean it/hose it off. That way the elastic band stays good for a long time.

I use regular skimmer socks, especially in the spring. We have a lot, and I mean a lot, of cotton wood trees that produce tons of floatie things. When the sock becomes full, I take it off and place it over a bottle and then hose it off. The skimmer sock lasts maybe a week before I have to replace it. These things you get a Home Depot look good, but they also look pretty large. My skimmer basket is only about 5 inch diameter and 3 inches deep.

I leave mine in all the time. My swim buddy is a 130# Black Lab, he actually swims more than I do at times. I was buying the socks from the pool store and emptying them daily or more often. I looked on Amazon and found a review that suggested an alternative. So much cheaper and I simply throw them away full of hair, bugs, and leaves. I left one on for 4 days when I was ill and noticed a low flow sensor light on my SWG but the hair net turned skimmer sock was really full- it had no signs of breakdown at all. I leave it on when I vacuum and simply throw away afterwards. I recommend them for anyone that has lots of little things to catch out of the water.
http://http://www.amazon.com/United-Facility-Supply-Products-Polypropylene/dp/B004E2MCNI/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1409937973&sr=1-1&keywords=United+Facility+Supply+Products+-+United+Facility+Supply+-+Disposable+Hair+Net%2C+Spun-Bonded+Polypropylene%2C+White%2C+100%2FBag+-+Sold+As+1+Pack+-+Disposable.+-+Ideal+for+food+service+employees.+-+Large%2C+spun-bonded+hair+net+fits+comfortably+on+most+workers.

Thanks for the link. These look nice too, but wonder if they'd be too large for my skimmer basket.

 

[spylab]

I have a standard through the wall skimmer basket and I place these over the the entire basket with the elastic on the outside bottom. They are very thin so the water flows fine. I love being able to just toss them especially since I tend to get a lot of insects. Two sides of my house are surrounded by a cattle pasture even though I live in a subdivision- got to love Texas

 

[BSmitty]

I use regular skimmer socks, especially in the spring. We have a lot, and I mean a lot, of cotton wood trees that produce tons of floatie things. When the sock becomes full, I take it off and place it over a bottle and then hose it off. The skimmer sock lasts maybe a week before I have to replace it. These things you get a Home Depot look good, but they also look pretty large. My skimmer basket is only about 5 inch diameter and 3 inches deep.



Thanks for the link. These look nice too, but wonder if they'd be too large for my skimmer basket.

Mickey...that's a pretty small basket, but the strainer I use can be pulled pretty far down around the outside of the basket, shortening up the slack inside. It might work ok for you....just a couple of bucks to find out one way or another.

 

[pool cover pump]

After this past summer (in Northeast PA) where the Japanese Beetles and all of their thousands of beetle friends decided to visit out pool, these pool socks were invaluable. I don't think I will ever go without them again. Because we had so many beetles (and their parts including LOTS of beetle legs...YUCK!) we went through quite a few socks back in June/July time frame. I went so far as to write a post about them on my blog because I think everyone should have them. Small price to pay to keep your pool filter a bit cleaner.

 

[pwrstrk]

I use them all the time, only I use a nylon knee high for the sock. Catches a lot of junk before it hits the filter ! ?

 

[buzzard302]

I leave mine in all the time. My swim buddy is a 130# Black Lab, he actually swims more than I do at times.

Nice! I have a one year old black lab and she swims non stop.

I throw a skimmer sock in when I mow the grass. The deck is short, and grass clippings get thrown in the pool. I just put the skimmer on full flow, and an hour later it's all collected in the sock. Easy as can be.

 

[dirk.melvin]

I know this is an old thread....
How do these socks work with baskets that have built-in handles?

If you put the sock over the top, you lose the use of the handle, am I right?

 

[chiefwej]

Chlorine does damage nylon. Read washing instructions for anything with nylon and you will always see no bleach.

I have a large leaf collection basket that is built in before my pump (it's part of the in-floor cleaning system) that I use knee highs on. After a week or so they seem to lose some of their elasticity, and the color starts changing. But, at the price of knee highs, changing them regularly isn't a daunting expense.

In my skimmers I just use some mesh paint strainers that I picked up at Home Depot in the paint dept, they seem to last forever and since they aren't quite as fine as skinner socks of knee highs, don't need rinsing daily..

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I know this is an old thread....
How do these socks work with baskets that have built-in handles?

If you put the sock over the top, you lose the use of the handle, am I right?

My handle pops in and out easily which allows me to slip the sock into the basket.

 

[Cln]

Don't knock it till you try it.

Cartridge filters tend to filter smaller particles better than sand filters, it's often recommended for the sand filters to use the skimmer socks to reduce the frequency of backwashing, which requires water replacement which can affect water chemistry. Its easier to clean out a skimmer sock than take apart a cart filter for frequent cleaning, so it's sort of a shortcut or temporary bandaid. Perhaps if you have a rather lardge cartridge frequent cleaning is not an issue for your pool.

Question,how do I ace a skimmer sock or nylon hose on my filter? I am new to this pool stuff,so kearning as I go. My pool has a Summer Waves skimmers filter pump. Do I place the sick,nylon over the filter?

 

[Oly]

Skimmer socks aka hair nets are used to line your skimmer basket (at pool surface) and filter the fines that would otherwise make it into your filter grid or sand.