Skimmer Socks - Thoughts???

[waterbear]

I would be leary of putting a sock on the pump strainer basket. If it got pulled off and into the impeller it could damage your pump. A safer solution would be to get an inline leaf trap. Some of the better ones have filter bags that can be used instead of the basket to collect finer particles. I believe the Hayward leaf canister offers this option and the Pentair (Rainbow) one has a cartridge filter option for collecting fine debris. IMHO, a leaf trap is a MUST for any vacuuming done directly into a vacuum port because it keeps the big stuff out of the pump and filter and keeps your filter cleaner for a longer period of time.