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Above ground skimmer leaking

Updated: 16.10.2026

Water is running down the outside of your above-ground pool, under the faceplate, at the wide throat, or at the hose you tightened yesterday. An above ground skimmer leaking at one of those joints is usually a gasket, a screw, or a thread, and the fix depends on which one is wet. The first fit belongs on the [how to install a wide mouth skimmer](/hub/pool-care/wide-mouth-skimmer/sub/wide-mouth-skimmer-how-to-install) page. The [wide mouth skimmers comparison](/hub/pool-care/wide-mouth-skimmer) is for a housing that is cracked or the wrong mouth. The Products Compared editorial team set this out on 16 October 2026. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Water is running down the outside of your above-ground pool, under the faceplate, at the wide throat, or at the hose you tightened yesterday.

Our top picks

Hayward Hayward SP1091WM Dyna-Skim

Best overall

Hayward Hayward SP1091WM Dyna-Skim
9.4/10about £116.11
View offer
FixIdea FixIdea wide-mouth thru-wall kit

Alternative

FixIdea FixIdea wide-mouth thru-wall kit
9.0/10about £89.33
View offer
Hydrotools Hydrotools 8939 wide-mouth skimmer

Best value

Hydrotools Hydrotools 8939 wide-mouth skimmer
8.8/10about £67.52
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Where the water is actually leaving
  2. 2.Faceplate and butterfly gasket
  3. 3.The wide-mouth extension and the hose thread
  4. 4.When you stop

Where the water is actually leaving

Stand outside with the pump off and watch. A drip from under the faceplate is the liner joint: gasket folded, screws uneven, or the wrong plate for the hole. A drip that starts only when the pool reaches the seam between the white body and the wide extension is the body-to-extension gasket. A drip at the bottom fitting, with a dry faceplate, is the hose thread. Sealing all three because one is wet hides the next leak. If the falling water stops once the level is at the bottom of the mouth, the loss you were chasing is at the skimmer rather than a hole in the floor. Leave underground pipes out of an above-ground wall. A basket that floats and jams the weir is a bypass, not a wall leak. Hayward’s FAQ says you should not need silicone if the gaskets are the right ones and they are seated.

Faceplate and butterfly gasket

A butterfly gasket hugs the wall, wings against the panel, with no liner flap and no foam in the joint. Pool Factory’s note says a kinked gasket may only need the screws loosened and retightened, in a cross pattern, by hand. If a drill has already cracked the ABS, another quarter-turn will not close the split. Stop before the plastic deforms. A corrugated wall sometimes wants a small extra nip on sound plastic, not a plate that dishes. A folded, rotten, or missing gasket needs the water below the mouth before you can reseat it. Two-piece sets use one gasket outside the wall and one under the faceplate on the liner. A FixIdea reviewer expected two gaskets and was unsure what the box contained. An outside-only smear is temporary, and a rotten gasket should be replaced. Hayward’s FAQ still says sealant is unnecessary when the gaskets are correct.
Hayward Hayward SP1091WM Dyna-Skim

Testsieger

Hayward Hayward SP1091WM Dyna-Skim
9.4/10about £116.11
View offer

The wide-mouth extension and the hose thread

Hayward and Hydrotools wide mouths bolt the extension to the body with its own gasket and screws. Pool Factory treats a missing piece there as a separate leak. That drip often stays hidden until the pool is full, after which those screws sit behind the wall. If your drip started at that seam, drop the level and fit the gasket between those two parts. The hose thread is not cured by a new faceplate. Reviews on the Hydrotools 8939 describe a straight thread that will not tighten. TonGass reviews describe a new down-pipe and return that leaked until the old connectors went back. If the old barb sealed, refit it. FixIdea’s parts list has no shut-off valve, so you may be working with the hose off.

When you stop

Stop if the steel under the skimmer is rusted or was crushed by ice. A fresh gasket on a rotten panel will weep beside the rust. Stop if water keeps falling after the level is below the mouth. That loss is a liner puncture, a seam, or another return, and sealant at the faceplate will not find it. Stop if the faceplate or the housing is cracked. Split ABS does not become a seal. Replace the skimmer when the plastic is split, or when the mouth cannot bridge the hole. Measure first on the wide mouth skimmer buying guide. Call a wall repair before you cut new steel. HSG179 does not apply to a private domestic pool used only by the household and guests.

Common questions

Do I have to drain the pool to reseat a gasket?
A kinked gasket still in place can be retightened with the pool up. A folded, missing, or rotten one needs the water below the mouth. The Hayward or Hydrotools extension screws often sit behind the wall, so that housing comes off. Lowering the level to the skimmer is enough. You do not have to empty the pool to the floor.
Should I put silicone on the faceplate?
Hayward’s FAQ says silicone is unnecessary when the correct gaskets are seated. Redo a kinked gasket by hand, in a cross pattern. One FixIdea reviewer used silicone after a leak, which records what they tried. Sealant on a cracked plate will not hold.
The drip is at the bottom fitting. Is that the faceplate?
It is the hose thread or the adapter. Hydrotools reviews describe straight threads that will not tighten, and TonGass reviews describe new connectors that leaked until the old ones went back. A new body keeps the fault if the same adapter goes on it. Refit the connector that used to seal.
The basket floats. Is that a leak?
A floating basket jams the weir and lets debris into the pump. Hayward reviews describe that bypass. It is not water on the outside of the wall. Reseat the basket. If the steel below the skimmer is also wet, you still have a gasket or a thread to find.
When do I replace the skimmer instead of the gasket?
Replace it when the housing or the faceplate is cracked, or when the mouth cannot cover the hole. A sound body with a folded gasket needs the gasket. If the panel is rusted, or water keeps leaving below the mouth, call a wall repair. Measure the inside face before the next body.

Related pages

Best wide mouth skimmer

Wide mouth skimmer

Wide mouth skimmer buying guide: measure the cutout

How to install a wide mouth skimmer on a rigid wall

Wide mouth vs standard skimmer for above-ground pools

Sources

Manufacturer pages, GOV.UK, and HSE, plus the sizing note marked as a US shop. Prices and ratings are amazon.co.uk listing lines. Retrieved 16 October 2026.

  1. Hayward Dyna-Skim manual IS1091LX (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. Hayward SP1091WM Dyna-Skim wide mouth skimmer (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Swimline 8939 wide mouth skimmer installation manual (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Plastica above-ground pool widemouth skimmer, The Pool Cleaners (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. HSE HSG179 — Managing health and safety in swimming pools (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, GOV.UK (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Pool Factory — leak on a through-wall skimmer (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Royal Swimming Pools — above-ground skimmer sizing (US shop; not a UK price) (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  9. amazon.co.uk listings for the seven ASINs in this comparison (retrieved 16 October 2026)