Swimming Pool Covers

Swimming Pool Covers

Pool Covers

Swimming Pool Covers Reduce Maintenance and Increase Safety

Pool covers serve two main purposes.  First, they can reduce your pool’s maintenance cost, and second, a safety cover can prevent a serious accident.  There are a variety of covers available, and you should be able to find one that meets your needs.  Or, you may decide to get two covers.  Four main types of pool covers are Solar Covers, Winter Covers, Safety Covers, and Leaf Nets.  They are made from different materials including mesh fabric and vinyl material.  Leaf nets and winter covers protect your pool from accumulations of dirt, leaves, and other debris.  Covers for in ground pools and above ground pools differ in use and design, but there are stock and customized covers that will fill the needs of most customers.  Each type of cover serves a different purpose.

Solar pool covers or blankets help save energy and water.  They will raise your pool’s water temperature by an average of ten degrees by absorbing sunlight during the day and keeping that heat in the pool at night.  A solar cover will reduce your water and chemical evaporation by up to 70 percent which can save gallons of water each month.  If you use a heater, the heat retained by a solar cover helps to reduce your heating costs which can mean a savings of up to 90% in the summer time.  Another advantage of a solar cover is that it helps to keep debris out of your pool, and that saves run time on your filter pump.

Winter pool covers are used mainly to protect the pool from winter weather and to keep tree limbs, leaves, dirt, and other debris from falling into the pool.  For an in ground pool, a solid winter pool cover is held in place with water bags placed around the edge inside sleeves attached to the cover.  An above ground pool uses the same type of solid pool cover, but it is held in place by a combination winch and vinyl coated cable assembly that runs through grommets in the cover.  Inflatable air pillows rest on the water under the cover to make stick and leaf removal easier and helps water to run off the cover.  A winter cover also blocks sunlight and inhibits algae growth.  A winter cover is an important part of winterizing your pool which makes your springtime opening much easier and less expensive.

So what does a leaf net do?  Leaf nets are lightweight covers made of an open weave material that fits over your winter cover or solar cover and helps you avoid accumulations of wet, heavy, saturated leaves and twigs on top of your winter cover.  These nets ensure a quicker removal of leaves and helps prolong the life of your winter or solar cover.  They can be used in any season and are a big help if your pool is located in an area surrounded by trees. The open weave allows water to pass through the net but will block twigs and trash.  Leaf nets make it easier to remove your pool cover.

Finally, we have safety pool covers which are the most expensive type of pool cover.  A safety cover is a maintenance cover as well as a safety barrier over your pool.  All safety covers must meet the requirements in the ASTM standards F1346-91 (1996); that means a cover must be able to support the weight of a small child or animal should they walk out onto the cover.  A proper safety cover is securely anchored into the deck area surrounding the pool and lies flat so there are no gaps between the pool and the cover that could allow a child to get under the cover and into the water.  Safety covers give the pool owner peace of mind that no child can fall into the pool.  Sharp objects can create a hole in your safety cover, but a good cover is made from material that will not run, so the hole will not automatically increase in size.  A hole can then be patched.  Safety covers follow the shape of the pool and have a proper number of anchors embedded around the pool to hold the cover in place.  Some covers require professional installation, but many can be installed by the owner.  Safety covers are available in a mesh or a solid material.  Mesh covers are lightweight and allow water, but not debris, to pass through.  Some solid covers also contain a mesh area for draining.

It is important to remember these points.  A covered pool will experience less freezing than an uncovered one.   A covered pool will require less work, be less stressful and less expensive when you open it up in the spring time.  And safety covers will protect children and animals from falling into the water.  Check out the different types of covers and decide which is best for your pool.  Look for a local professional if you decide on a safety cover and need someone to install it.

6 thoughts on “Swimming Pool Covers”

  1. Sabin zara

    Every year swimming pools are wasting billions of gallons of water that can be saved. This paper addresses the problems with the current use of full pool covers and how half covers are the solution to pool water conservation.

    It is well known that pool covers can reduce water evaporation by up to 95%, yet less than 30% of pools are using covers. The current limitations imposed by full covers for the most part boils down to two problems.I like your post. I will share your blog to my friend.

    1. Trey Collier

      A raccoon taking a dip in your swimming pool or leaving you a present on your top step, you know that it is simply replacing a natural body of water with a man-made one. There isn’t any cover made specifically for keeping raccoons out of your pool.

      Consider getting some granular pool shock and sprinkle the power around to coping. The strong smell is a deterrent in of itself. If they walk on the powder it will make their pads of their paws burn. This is pretty effective if done fairly regularly.

  2. Lora Walsh

    okay-
    We closed our pool with the correct winter cover. Now with this crazy winter weather, it has “torn” due to the weight and strain of frozen snow, We typically don’t get this much snow. I only hope for the weather to get a bit warmer and drop a large tarp over the torn edge of the cover. Yes, it ripped just beyond the seam of the fabric to the hook. So the rip is along the pool edge / seam. Not toward the center or anything. I will try to weight it down with more snow-bags and that should hold it. The Goal is to keep “stuff” from going into the pool. right? This should at least help. I might be lucky since the rip is along the edge of the pool. I know it’s the stress from the weight of the frozen snow. I live in Wisconsin. any suggestions are appreciated. thank you. *~*

    1. Trey Collier

      I’m going to assume that you are talking about a winter pool cover vs that of a safety pool cover. Yes, you are correct, the intent is to cover the pool to prevent dirt & debris to get into the pool so there’s less “Cleaning” of the pool when you open the pool for the season. Snow regularly gets on top of these covers, and don’t rip it….I’ve witness’d 3ft of snow on a cover without incident.

      The cover should hug the surface of the decking, go over the lip and straight down the side of the pool, then it floats directly on the water. Water tubes completely encircle the edges of the cover to prevent air from wind blowing under the cover. If you cover was a little tight and didn’t go down the edges of the wall to the water, then this could have caused some issues with the weight of the snow ripping your cover.

      Even if you cover the rip up, you’ll have to secure the tarp so air doesn’t get under it….and I can’t think of a good way to do that.

      1) You can get another cover and when the snow is melted, put it directly over the ripped one, as I described above.

      2) You don’t do a thing….wait until spring…and you’ll have a little more cleanup/vacuuming to do when its time to open your pool.

      Hope this helps.

  3. jessicalohan

    Yes, I agree that we really need to cover our swimming pool for lesser maintenance and the safety is certain that can’t harm anyone.

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