How to Make a Pool Skimmer

If you own a pool, you must own a pool skimmer. It’s an item you need to use whenever you have the cover off of the pool. A pool skimmer removes leaves and debris that can gather overnight on a pool. While you can easily buy a pool skimmer, it’s cheaper to make one yourself. This simple job requires no special skills and can be completed in an hour.

Step 1 - Frame

The wire coat hanger will be the frame for your pool skimmer. The first thing you need to do is bend the hanger part from a triangle into a circle. This shape will give you the best area for skimming the pool.

Be careful when bending the hanger as the corners are the weakest points. Once you have your circular shape, look at the handle of the hanger. You need to straighten out the hook but without unraveling the two wires that are braided together. Use electrical tape to cover that wire as the tips are sharp.

Step 2 - Use Pantyhose

Take an old pair of pantyhose without any holes. Cutting from the top, remove one of the legs from the pantyhose. Slide the leg over the circular part of the pool skimmer frame. Slide it all the way down the leg. You’ll have a large amount of excess pantyhose. Tie this so the rest is taut against the frame. You should use the scissors to cut out excess material beyond the knot you’ve made.

Step 3 - Make a Handle

Now that you’ve made the main part of your pool skimmer, you need a handle to make it truly useful. Take an old broom handle and lay it over the hanger handle. You need to attach the broom handle to this. The trick is that it needs to be firm enough for you to skim the pool properly.

You need to wrap the electrical tape firmly around the hanger handle and the broom handle so they’re tightly lashed together. This will require several layers of tape to give the strength you need in a pool skimmer. Test after each layer to see how much give there is in the pool skimmer. Continue until there’s no give. This way you’ll be able to move the skimmer through the water without it breaking off from the handle and gather up pool debris.

Step 4 - Attach Tape

At the other end of the handle you will need to attach a layer of electrical tape. This is to make gripping the handle easier when you’re skimming. It will also keep your hands from slipping on the handle if they’re wet or slippery. The beauty of this type of skimmer is that it’s simple to replace the pantyhose once it becomes worn or if it tears. All you need to do is cut off the old pantyhose and then slide on a new pantyhose leg and knot it for a new pool skimmer.