DIY guidePool
Clear the pump and skimmer baskets
Leaves caught in the skimmer and pump baskets starve the pump of water. Empty both with the pump off, and check the lid's rubber ring while it's open.
- 10 to 20 min
- 9 steps
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9 steps
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Switch the pump off at its timer or switch, so it can't start while a lid is off.
Never open the pump's lid while it's running.Lift the skimmer's lid on the deck, pull the basket up by its handle, and knock the leaves out into a bag.
A cracked basket lets leaves through to the pump. Set it back in its seat, sitting flat.
If the pump sits lower than the pool's water, close the valves on both sides of it so the pool can't drain out through it.
Turn the clear lid on the pump's front until it lifts off. Lift the basket out, empty it and rinse it with a hose.
Wipe the rubber ring clean and look for cracks or flat spots. Coat it thinly with pool lube, never petroleum jelly, or fit a new one.
Set the basket back, fill the pot with water from a hose, turn the lid on hand-tight and open the valves.
Switch the pump on. The pot should fill with water and push the air out within a couple of minutes.
A pump that hums but won't spin, won't fill with water, or leaks at the lid or the pipes: switch it off and ask Handyman for a pool pro.
What you need
- A garden hose
- A bag for the leaves
- Pool lube, or a new lid ring made for your pump
Call a pro if
- The pump hums but won't spin
- It won't fill with water
- It leaks at the lid or the pipes
- A basket or the pot is cracked
Handyman says: Pump won't run? I'll find a pool pro.
Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.
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