The skimmer is the first thing that catches leaves, dust, and insects before they reach your filter. In Sanur's salty air and long rainy season, that basket fills up fast and small rubber seals dry out in the heat. Here is what to check every week, what a hairline crack really means, and when it is time to swap a part instead of patching it.
How Your Skimmer Actually Works
Water flows across the pool surface and gets pulled into the skimmer opening by the suction created by your pump. Inside the housing you will find three key pieces: the removable basket (the wire or plastic tray), the weir door or flap that keeps water levelled with the pool surface, and the suction port that feeds the return line down to the pump.
In older Sanur villas the plumbing under the pool deck has been sitting in humid, salt-laden air for decades. Corrosion around the skimmer-to-pipe connection is one of the most common reasons a leak appears right at the waterline.
- Basket – catches floating debris; slides straight out.
- Weir door / flap – a hinged panel with a rubber gasket that self-levels with the water.
- Suction port – the threaded or glued fitting where the skimmer meets the underground pipe.
Cleaning the Basket and Weir Door
During the dry season (May–September) a quick empty-and-rinse every two days is usually enough. Once the rainy season rolls in, tropical leaves, pollen, and dust can fill the basket overnight, so check it daily.
Lift the basket out, dump the debris into your garden compost bin, and rinse it with a hose. Wipe the inside walls of the skimmer housing while you are there – a thin film of algae builds up quickly in Bali's humidity. Then lift the weir door by hand: it should swing freely both ways. If it sticks, clean the hinge pin and the rubber seal with fresh water.
- Never pour undiluted chlorine directly onto plastic baskets or rubber seals; it accelerates cracking.
- Rinse the weir-door gasket weekly to remove limescale from PDAM or well water.
- If the basket has stretched or warped, water will splash over the top instead of being captured – time for a new one.
If your skimmer looks cracked, the flap sticks, or you are not sure whether a part will hold up another season, snap a clear photo and send it on WhatsApp – we will tell you what needs replacing and quote the job from there.
Cracks: What They Mean and When to Act
Bali's UV exposure plus salt air from the Indian Ocean is hard on ABS and acrylic skimmer bodies. Hairline cracks usually start at the corners where the basket seats or around the suction-port threads. You may notice a slow drip when the pump runs, or a wet patch under the pool deck after a few days.
A tiny surface crack can sometimes be sealed with marine-grade epoxy, but if the crack runs through the wall thickness or sits near the electrical junction box that feeds the pump, stop using the pool immediately. Water seeping toward wiring is a shock hazard. Call a licensed electrician before anyone touches the panel.
If you see white mineral deposits (limescale) building up inside the housing, that is your PDAM or well-water chemistry at work. It does not cause structural damage on its own, but it makes moving parts stickier and hides small cracks behind a crusty layer.
The Diverter Flap and Its Rubber Seal
The weir door is the part most owners forget until something goes wrong. In Sanur's 30 °C-plus summers the rubber gasket dries, shrinks, and eventually splits. A split seal means water bypasses the filter and shoots straight back into the pool – your circulation drops and the water turns cloudy within a day or two.
If the flap sticks fully open, the skimmer stops pulling surface debris and you will notice floating leaves piling up in one corner. If it sticks shut, the pump loses suction and may run dry, which can overheat the motor.
Fix: remove the old gasket, clean the channel with a soft brush, and fit a new rubber strip of the same profile. Use only silicone-based lubricant on the hinge pin; petroleum jelly will degrade the rubber faster.
- Replace the rubber seal every 18–24 months as a routine task.
- Check that the hinge pin is not corroded to the point where the flap no longer closes flat.
- A misaligned flap (tilted even a few millimetres) will leak at the top edge – re-seat it firmly.
Replacing Parts or the Whole Skimmer
The basket and weir-door gasket are straightforward swaps you can do yourself with a screwdriver and a bucket. The suction-port fitting and the main body are more involved because they connect to underground PVC piping; a bad glue joint here means draining part of the pool before you can cut and re-glue.
If your skimmer body has multiple cracks, the threads are stripped, or the housing is badly discoloured from years of UV, replacing the whole unit is usually cleaner than patching. A technician can bring a matching replacement, drain just enough water to disconnect the pipe, and have the system running again the same day.
Before any plumbing work near the pump, make sure the power to the pump is switched off at the isolator. If you smell gas or see frayed cables near the wet area, stop and call a professional – do not troubleshoot electrics in a damp environment on your own.
- Keep one spare basket and one spare weir-door gasket under the pool deck for quick swaps.
- Photograph the existing setup (pipe size, thread type, mounting bolts) so a replacement matches without guesswork.
- After any repair, run the pump for 10 minutes and check every joint for drips before filling back up.
Questions
How often should I empty the skimmer basket?
In the dry season, every two days is fine. During Sanur's rainy months (October–April), check it daily because tropical leaves and dust fill the basket overnight. A full basket reduces suction and makes the pump work harder than it needs to.
Can I just epoxy over a crack in the skimmer body?
A single hairline crack away from the suction port can be sealed with marine-grade epoxy as a short-term fix. But if the crack runs through the wall thickness, sits near an electrical junction, or you see more than one crack, replace the housing. Patching a stressed ABS part in Bali heat rarely lasts past the next hot spell.
My pool loses water even when the pump is off – is it the skimmer?
It could be. Check the weir-door seal first: a split gasket lets water seep around the flap into the pipe below. Also look at the suction-port joint for limescale that has cracked the glue bond. If both look fine, the leak may be further down the return line or in the underground tank, which needs a proper pressure test to locate.
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