How to Prevent Leaves from Clogging Your Pool Wall Skimmers
That can be dangerous and costly because in large volume such clogging can actually prevent any water from being returned to your filter and the result could be burning out the filter motor.
I have a heated in ground pool and in the past have keep it open well into October. I actually watched several games of the World Series from my pool a few years ago (I have a cable TV running from inside the house to the patio).
But there was a time years ago when I would not consider going away for an overnight trip to visit my money in the Atlantic City casinos in September or October for fear that the accumulation of leaves would cause the damage described above.
But I fear no more. I discovered an easy and free do-it-yourself is solution for that problem, and also the problem of removing collected water (replete with more leaves) from the pool cover once the pool is closed. Being ‘Mr. Nice Guy” (sometimes) I will now share these wondrous discoveries with you.
It would be helpful if you correlate what I am writing here with the trio of photos accompanying this article. They’ll make everything perfectly clear and easy to understand.
Go to one of those large home centers such as Home Depot or Loews, or whatever you have in your area, and purchase an open storage crate they sell. Or, if you want to play it on the cheap, as I did, and find an old, discarded, plastic milk crate. The reason for using a plastic crate rather than one that is metal has something to do with rust or introducing metal into your pool water. I don’t recall exactly what, but you figure it out.
Using a hand-held hacksaw, cut it in half (see photo 1).
Locate some bricks or heavy stones and cut two pieces of rope about 18″. Do not use copper or other metal wire for the same reason as above. Personally, I used some bungee cords that were kicking around in our basement.
As shown in photo 2, secure the ropes, or bungee cords, to the top closed end of the crate and lower it into the pool so it covers the wall skimmer. Anchor the other ends of the rope/bungee cords atop the pool wall surface with the bricks.
Once you’ve done this you should still be able to remove the skimmer cover without any problem. Any leaves that flutter into your pool will eventually be sucked over to the crate and accumulate there, while water passes through the crate openings and the open underbelly. Naturally, you should follow the above steps for any additional wall skimmers your pool has. The gathered leaves are then easily removed.
This will get you through the leaf-shedding months if you don’t close your pool early after Labor Day.
Now once the pool is closed and collected rain and, eventually melted snow, collects on the cover you will want to siphon off all that water. I’m fortunate in that the landscape of my pool area is higher than my driveway. I don’t have to use an electric pump to remove collected water. All I need is to link one end of a hose to the outside faucet, drop the other end into a deep spot on the cover (as close to the pool wall as possible) and introduce water.
Once the hose water stops bubbling I turn off the faucet, remove the end of the hose and cover it tightly with the palm of one hand and walk it down to the driveway. When I release my hand the water gushes out.
Okay, but now see photo 3. Before doing the above, locate an empty soda or mouthwash bottle into which one end of the hose fits snugly (the end you will be putting into the water on the pool cover. You’ll note in photo 3 that my bottle is dark and dirty from more than a decade of use. It ain’t pretty, but it works.
Nest, drill several holes into the plastic bottle. The more the merrier since these are the openings into which the pool cover water will enter the bottle. I ran my holes down both sides along the bottle seems, all over the bottom, and several more just past the neck of the bottle (which will be nearest the hose.
I weight my bottle down with a few lead tire balancing weights, but you can also use long, thin stones that fit through the bottle neck . The reason for the weight should be obvious: he bottle will sink and stay sunk.
And that’s it. You can drain water off your pool cover any number of times during the winter and not have to contend with leaves clogging up the hose. Once the bulk or all of the water is removed the leaves on the cover can be brushed together and taken off.
Was this helpful? A penny for your thoughts: TimBenford@aol.com
