How Many Skimmers Does a Pool Need – See What Expert Says

If you have a swimming pool and want to keep it clean, you must have heard of skimmers. Skimmers are tools that help to collect floating debris from your swimming pool before the debris sinks and becomes problematic to remove. If you have recently installed a pool, the question on your mind must be, how many skimmers does a pool need?

The number of skimmers you have depends on the size of the pool. According to the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals, you need a skimmer for every 400 square feet of your swimming pool. So, if your pool is 800 square feet, you will need two skimmers. That’s the average size of large pools.

Let’s have a more in-depth look at what skimmers do and why they are a fundamental part of any swimming pool.

How Do Skimmers Work?

Skimmers get their name from skim, which means scanning or quickly going over something. In swimming pools, skimmers skim pool water for all debris that’s suspended in the water and remove it.

If the debris sinks to the bottom of the pool, it will be a challenging affair to remove it. That’s what makes skimmers particularly useful for any swimming pool. For the sanitary standards to be high, you need skimmers, depending on the pool’s size.

Skimmers work uniquely. The skimmer has two essential features: the basket and the weir. The weir is a flap that pivots whenever the skimmer is in water to collect floating debris and transfer it to the basket.

The basket holds the debris until the pool cleaner comes to empty it. The skimmer works by pulling water towards it with the help of a current it generates. That is why it is common to have the skimmer on when the pool pump is turned on.

So, the skimmer acts as a filter or sieve for the dirt in water and keeps the pool cleaner. With that, you can see how vital the skimmer is to the daily maintenance of a swimming pool which is why each pool needs to have one or two depending on its (the pool) size.

Last update on 2024-03-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Does the Number of Skimmers Matter for a Swimming Pool?

The number of skimmers in a swimming pool matters a lot. The more skimmers in a pool, the cleaner the pool will be. They collect debris such as leaves or small twigs and sieve chemicals present in the water.

Therefore, a skimmer is fundamental to the maintenance of any swimming pool. That’s why large or medium size pools need at least two skimmers. The benefit of having two skimmers is that they will create a double current that will be more effective at collecting debris. 

Typically, the two skimmers will be at opposite ends of the pool to work best. Having these skimmers whenever you are running the pool’s pump will ensure cleaner water and a safer swimming pool for all the users.

Read Also: Top 5 Best Vacuum for Intex Above Ground Pool

Are Too Many Skimmers a Problem?

You might think that you are keeping your pool extra clean when using many skimmers. In reality, that doesn’t help things at all. The skimmers will only get in the way of each other and hinder their effectiveness.

Here’s why.

Each of the skimmers produces a current to filter debris from the water. The current from too many skimmers in a small pool will interfere with each other and prevent them from keeping the pool clean.

Therefore, too many skimmers will effectively cancel each other out and not help you at all.

Do Skimmers Also Need Cleaning?

In doing the dirty work of collecting debris, skimmers also get dirty. It is therefore not wise to repeatedly use a skimmer without cleaning it. The basket and the weir will get dirty after several uses, so you need to clean the skimmer.

If you don’t clean the skimmer, it will only return the dirt it retains back into the pool. Therefore, turning it on won’t help keep the pool clean. 

But how do you clean a skimmer? That isn’t a difficult thing to do.

First, you need to turn off the pump before removing the skimmer basket. If you don’t turn off the pump, the skimmer will skim the debris directly into its system, which won’t have desirable results.

Second, empty the basket of all the debris, then clean it out with a hose. You don’t have to be too thorough since a skimmer that gets regular cleaning won’t have carried too much dirt. After cleaning the skimmer basket, reattach it to the main unit and put it into the water.

Which are Floating Skimmers?

The conventional skimmer is stationary in one place. But there is an alternative to this skimmer. These floating skimmers move across the pool as they collect debris.

These robotic skimmers work with solar power and often need emptying occasionally. You can use them together with the other skimmers if your pool is next to vegetation that keeps on littering it with leaves and other debris.

The two options you can consider for this purpose are:

Last update on 2024-03-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

The above pool skimmers will make the work of keeping the pool clean easier for you.

FAQ About How Many Skimmers Does a Pool Need

Will a skimmer still work fine when a pool is full of water?

When using a skimmer to clean a pool, it is essential to understand its proper placement. The skimmer needs to be at the same level as the water. If the pool is full of water to the brim and the skimmer is submerged, then it won’t effectively sieve the debris from the water.

Conversely, a pool with less water could lead to the skimmer sucking in the air. That is a dangerous problem since you could spoil your pump’s motor. 

Are pool skimmers standard size?

Pool skimmers are not standardized. They come in a variety of sizes, depending on the pool size, shape, and features. The skimmer should be at least 12 inches deep and large enough for the filter to fit inside.

Are pool skimmers necessary?

The skimmer is a device that is used in the pool to remove the leaves, bugs, pollen, and other debris from the water. There are two types of skimmers – one that hangs on the side of the pool and another that sits on top of the water. Skimmers are necessary because they help remove debris that can be harmful to people with allergies or asthma.

Does a pool skimmer need to be working all the time?

No, it doesn’t. The wise thing to do is have the skimmer on whenever you pump water into the pool. So, if you have your pump on for 12 hours a day, you will have to let the skimmer keep working alongside the pump.

An exception is when you are cleaning the pool with a vacuum. In that instance, you will need your skimmer to be off.

Wrapping it Up

How many skimmers does a pool need? The answer to that depends on the size of the pool. The larger the pool, the more skimmers it will need. However, to avoid complicating issues further, always remember that you need a skimmer for every 400 square feet.

We hope what we have shared here helps you maintain your pool by keeping it clean. The two options we have given for robotic skimmers are excellent alternatives to conventional skimmers, so try them if you can.

Relevant Resources:

1. How to Remove Dead Algae From Pool Bottom
2. How to Clean Pool Tile with Pressure Washer
3. Fix an Unlevel Pool Without Draining
4. How To Vacuum Intex Pool Without Skimmer
5. How to Keep a Pool Clean Without a Pump