Inspired by a similar idea I ran across somewhere, I devised a simple but seemingly effective way to prevent the skimmer basket from clogging up while going out of town for a few days. All you need is some line, a pool noodle and some zip ties (and maybe a drill to drill a couple of holes to attach the string to). I had to tinker a bit with the line positioning, but you can get creative. Not the most elegant solution, but so far it seems to deflect basket-clogging debris pretty well. I wouldn't necessarily trust it for more than a few days at a time (may be less effective if the water level dropped too much), but I think it would allow one to keep the pump / filter (on a timer) operational for short stints out of town.
