Quote Originally Posted by Hszwill View Post
I am using skimmer socks for the first time and I LOVE them! I wish that I would have found them 4 years ago. Daily I wash the nastiness out of each sock and put it back into the skimmer basket with a rock to weigh it down. When I look at my beautiful water, I wonder where all this sandy film comes from off the surface of the water, but I am just thrilled because of how it has drastically reduced the amount we backwash now. After 3 weeks they are looking pretty ragged, so I too will change them monthly. What a cheap way to save the filter and DE!
Thanks for bringing a great thread back to life. I'm still using the skimmer socks--each lasts about of month with be rinsed each day--even during the pollen season where they look like they are covered in yellow spackle. The rest of the time the past is gray and not as thick.

Two of the CHEAPEST improvements to your filter are skimmer socks in the skimmer and a third to 1/2 cup of DE in your sand filter just after you backwash--no need to spend big bucks and big headache on Zeo-sand type substitutes. If you spend $15 a year these it's a lot--I use 3 to 5 skimmer socks--that about $6-$8, and I'm STILL on the 10lb of DE I started using at the end of the 2005(?) season so this is the 4th full season--and the box cost me $8! That's averaging out at $10 a year for a drastic improvement!