is manual skimming necessary?

[sdtfp]

I got a pool robot and now I am spoiled by not having to vacuum. My next issue is skimming. It seems like my pool always has small fine debris and bugs on the surface. Manually skimming them with a net is a chore I would rather avoid. Are you all skimming manually every day or am I doing something wrong? The skimmer net and pole I have is kind of heavy so it is annoying to do.
Also, I'm not sure my skimmer is working correctly. It doesn't seem like the surface water is circulating, the bugs/debris just stay in the same general area. I do have a flap for the skimmer basket and it defintiely looks like there is suction. Water is clear so I assume the water is being circulated. It just seems like the surface is not. I was thinking, maybe I am keeping the water level too high, but I've kept it low for a few days and still no results. I use a skimmer sock and I do see some fine debris daily. so something is working. Perhaps just the amount of bugs/fine debris coming in is far greater than the amount being picked up by skimmer. Is manual skimming the answer or am I missing something?

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

Are you all skimming manually every day?

Yes. Even with my pool covered most of the time, there are still floaters that need to be hand-skimmed.

 

[HermanTX]

Just a couple of ideas as not sure of your set up. Do you have a second skimmer? Can their return be independently controlled at the equipment pad with a valve? Do you have a bottom drain? If you have a bottom drain, close that and see if that improves your skimming. If you only have 1 skimmer, wind direction has more to do with debris being captured by the skimmer than pool circulation. Is debris congregating in one area of your pool?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I think I've actually used the manual skimmer net ...uh...once?...this entire summer so far? Between the robot running most days and a skimmer that picks up most, we just haven't seen a need for it.
Perhaps you are more picky with the occasional leaf than we are? Perhaps our eye sight isn't as good as yours? <shrug>

Do you have a mess of trees over the pool?

Maddie

 

[JJ_Tex]

^^^ What she said. Even in the fall/spring when leaves are dropping I usually let me skimmer do its thing.

 

[sdtfp]

I do have a bottom drain. No second skimmer. I do remember watching a video that said most of the water filtration happens through the bottom drain. Is my memory correct? Is there a way to get the skimmer to do most of the work for a couple of hours? My skimmer has two holes on the bottom and one is plugged I think. I have to look this up now, maybe there is a way to get more pull from the skimmer then the bottom drain!

I don't have a lot of tress. It's a small amount of debris. I just think the pool should be spotless because of the small amount of debris.

One thing I did want to mention is that I am using liquid solar cover about once a week. I wonder if that creates any impediments to the skimming process.

 

[HermanTX]

I do have a bottom drain. No second skimmer. I do remember watching a video that said most of the water filtration happens through the bottom drain. Is my memory correct? Is there a way to get the skimmer to do most of the work for a couple of hours? My skimmer has two holes on the bottom and one is plugged I think. I have to look this up now, maybe there is a way to get more pull from the skimmer then the bottom drain!

I don't have a lot of tress. It's a small amount of debris. I just think the pool should be spotless because of the small amount of debris.

One thing I did want to mention is that I am using liquid solar cover about once a week. I wonder if that creates any impediments to the skimming process.

Where your suction lines comes up to your equipment pad, I assume you have 1 pipe for bottom drain and other for you skimmer. There should be a valve between them where they join to go into your intake of your pump. Turn the valve that closes off the bottom drain and only allows suction from the skimmer. Does that improve the skimming? Is your weir door on your skimmer?