Having a swimming pool is tons of fun until it’s time to clean it, that is. And boy, isn’t cleaning a swimming pool something that nobody ever looks forward to. However, keeping your pool nice and ready to plunge in can be made much easier with the help of a few swimming pool spare parts and accessories, like skimmer baskets. These baskets simply rest inside your pool skimmer and gather all the unwanted stuff like bugs, leaves, debris, and other materials in order to prevent them from damaging your pool’s pump or filter.

With that said, it’s important to buy the right skimmer basket for your pool. But in order to do that, you first need to do the same thing that you do when buying any other type of swimming pool spare parts – consider the important factors. Things such as price, durability, ease-of-installation, the convenience of attaching to the skimmer and other features are all factors that will ultimately impact your decision when looking for the right basket.

Due to the fact that you’ll be taking the basket out on a daily basis to toss the debris and leaves away, you don’t want that to be a taxing task. Moreover, you should make sure the basket fits your pool skimmer. Most baskets are weighted and use gravity to hold themselves in place within the skimmer. However, there are some models that feature a twist lock system. If the basket is a little light and floats instead of standing in place, you can place a small rock to weigh it down.

As far as durability goes, you should look for a basket made of quality, UV-resistant plastic. Always pay attention to product specifications to make sure you’re buying a product that will stand the test of time. There’s nothing more annoying than having to order and wait for a replacement basket to arrive a few weeks just after you got your first one. This goes for most pool equipment, not just skimmer baskets. While most plastic skimmer baskets don’t come with a warranty, finding some that do can be of great help to you.

And last but not least, consider whether you want the basket to have a handle or not. A handle can make removing and emptying the basket much easier at the end of each day. Again, this is a convenience feature that many models don’t have, but if it’s something that you absolutely want, consider buying a basket with a sturdy handle made out of metal rods instead of a plastic one that can easily break and spill its contents.