Pool skimmers are an important part of pool equipment. They resemble small buckets and are usually built into the side of the pool to keep twigs, leaves, and other debris from making their way into the filter. For above ground pools, there are skimmers that float around in the water for the same purpose. However, when installing a pool skimmer, every detail matters including the box lid.
There are plenty of pool skimmer box lids on the market, but not all of them are made equal. Many of them are of poor quality which means they will need to be replaced more often than you’d want to. Moreover, many of them are not even made according to Australian Pool Safety Standards. If you’ve realized that you have a poor quality skimmer lid, here are few tips on how to replace it with the right one.
Pool skimmer lids are used as a maintenance and safety feature but sometimes your lid can break or crack and you will need to replace it. The wide range of pool skimmer box lids can make things a bit confusing, however, you can always turn to the professionals and seek advice regarding the correct size and type of lid for your skimmer box. Once you buy it, you need to properly replace it. First, for safety reasons, you need to turn off the power to your pool pump. Usually, skimmer lids are held by two screws that you need to remove. Once you remove the screws you can remove the lid and place the new one. Make sure you have purchased the right size by verifying the model and make. If the lid fits perfectly, secure the screws and you are done.
If you want to be sure your skimmer works perfectly, you need to keep it clean. Generally, you should clean the skimmer once a week to ensure that all the debris doesn’t stay too long in the basket and spread bacteria. However, if you have a lot of trees around your pool, the weather is windy or there are storms frequently, you may need to check your skimmer more often as there are great chances the skimmer will fill up faster.
Cleaning the pool skimmer is an easy task compared to the rest of the pool maintenance. Start by removing the skimmer lid. Then, pick and pull the basket out and remove everything that is inside it. Put the clean basket back in, replace and secure the lid and you are done. In case the basket looks dingy or has a lot of yucky things, you can spray it with the hose. Or, if you want to clean it more deeply, using a mild multi-purpose spray will do the trick. However, make sure to rinse the bucket very good so that you don’t end up creating bubbles in your pool.