New pool owner: How best to get skimmer basket out of skimmer? [In-ground pool, pics]

[EarpWJ]

I bought a house with a pool!

So I don't know if this is a standards style skimmer / basket, but its a pain in the rear to get out. The pool we had when I was growing up had a little handle on the skimmer basket, but this one does not. I need to reach all the way in and use two hands to shimmy the thing out of the hole. Also it is a 2 part kinda skimmer basket thing that has the basket at the bottom and this floating tube thing. Living in the south I find all sorts of nasty bugs in it and I am kinda arachnophobic. Today I found this jumbo spider in there which made me nearly need to change my shorts!

How can I make this easier to remove? I tried to fashion a coat hanger that can fit through one of the holes in the skimmer basket, but I am worried about it rusting and slipping down into the drain pipe.

Any suggestions?

 

[crusemm]

Maybe next time you pull it out, put a loop of string through it with some sort of float attached? If you have some PVC parts lying around, PVC with some caps on makes a great durable float, jam the string in the joint when you glue it up.