Wall Skimmers & Parts

More About Pool Skimmers & Replacement Skimmer Parts

For replacement skimmer parts not found above, please visit our Skimmer Parts pages to search for skimmer parts by make and model. 

One of the most vital pool accessories, pool wall skimmers serve to remove floating debris from your pool so that the water is clean and enticing. Pool skimmers are important for both above ground and inground pools and are installed near the surface of your pool to catch floating debris before it sinks to the bottom of your pool. The most common pool skimmer parts include skimmer baskets, skimmer cover, and the skimmer weir flap over which water flows.

Whether you’re looking for above ground pool skimmers or an inground pool skimmer is very important as they are quite different. Above ground pool skimmers have a faceplate and gaskets to seal up to both sides of the pool wall. In-ground vinyl pool skimmers also have faceplates and gaskets, but like concrete pool skimmers, are designed to be encased in concrete to hold them firmly to the pool wall and pool deck.

Pool skimmers for above ground pools are installed into the wall of your pool with stainless steel screws that secure the skimmer body to the outside of the pool wall. On the inside of the pool wall, skimmer gaskets are placed under the liner, and also on top of the pool liner, then secured tightly with the skimmer faceplate. The pool skimmer and the faceplate sandwich the pool wall and liner between them, using three skimmer gaskets to prevent leaking. 

Skim Vac Plates: Vacuuming your pool into the skimmer basket is made possible with the use of skimmer vacuum plates. These skimmer accessory items seal up around the skimmer basket, to trap vacuumed debris in the larger and easier to empty skimmer basket, keeping your pump basket clean. 

Skimmer Weirs: One of the most important skimmer parts, aside from the skimmer basket, is the skimmer weir. Foam filled weir doors speed-up water velocity into the skimmer for more effective skimming, and when the pump shuts off, skimmer weirs stand-up straight to keep debris trapped inside the skimmer.

Skimmer Equalizers: For 'combo skimmers', those that have the main drain pipe plumbed into the bottom of the skimmer, usually into the hole on the pool side, with the rear hole carrying water to the pump. Skimmer equalizers (aka Skimmer Floats) and Trimmer Flaps, are used to balance water flow between the main drain and skimmer. 

Skimmer Accessories: We stock many aftermarket products to improve pool skimmer action, such as the Skim-It skimmer arm, or the Skim Bag skimmer filter bags. We also have devices to allow skimmer suction to continue even when the basket is jammed full of leaves, or to balance flow among multiple skimmers. 

Leaking Skimmer? Because pool skimmers are usually constructed of plastic, inground pool owners may notice leaking pool skimmers. Concrete pool skimmers may separate from the concrete pool wall slightly, and can be repaired with EZ-Patch 1 plaster mix or epoxy pool putty. Pool Putty also makes a great repair for cracks found on the skimmer body. For vinyl pools, leaking skimmers are usually fixed by replacing the faceplate and gaskets. Above ground pool skimmers have 3 wall gaskets, two on the pool side - above and below the liner, and one on the outside of the pool wall. 

In The Swim offers a complete selection of Hayward pool skimmers for both in-ground and above ground pools. We also carry popular above ground skimmers by Swimline, Hydrotools skimmers for fast skimmer replacements. For soft-sided pools, our Replacement Through-Wall Skimmer can be installed thru-wall on heavy gauge Frame-Set pools, and for Easy-Set pool types, see the Intex Skimmer Wall Mounted Surface Skimmer.