Pool Covers: Are They Important?
Pools can get messy, fast. Despite your best efforts, twigs, grit, leaves, and bugs can litter your pool. In a matter of days, sometimes. Even without you noticing it. It can be frustrating to start scrubbing and skimming when all you want is to jump in without a care in the world. But what can you do?
It’s hard work to maintain a pool, but it’s harder to prevent junk from falling in. A simple pool cover can be a quick solution to your cleaning woes. With a pool cover, you can keep your pool sparkling clean, aesthetically pleasing, and even save on your bills. Imagine flicking a switch to have an automatic mechanism pull the cover off your pool within a minute. Imagine slipping in to find the temperature not too cold, or too hot, but just right.
This is what a pool cover can do for you.
Why Should I Get A Cover?
Maintaining a pool is often expensive. Regular skimming, scrubbing, filtering, and chemical balancing takes some serious time and effort. Algae needs sunlight to grow, and the water in your pool eventually evaporates when left to the elements. You don’t want unwanted swimmers, or intruders from slipping into your pool either. It’s a liability as well as a pain to prevent intruders.
There are plenty of pool covers in the market that will meet your needs. A pool cover does so much for so little effort and is often mandatory in some cases.
How Can A Pool Cover Help Me?
- A pool cover can physically prevent intruders from taking a swim.
- It can prevent evaporation by closing off the top of the pool.
- It can prevent algae growth by blocking 100% of all sunlight from entering.
- It can keep your pool at a constant temperature by insulating the heat within.
- It can stop bugs and mosquitoes from falling in.
- It can reduce chemical consumption by saving water
- It can reduce the energy cost of heating your pool
Best of all, you can take off the cover at a moment’s notice to enjoy a quick swim.
As for safety? Fibreglass pools come with fibreglass covers that can withstand a force of 4000 pounds (1,814.37 kg) per square feet. These are serious load-bearing covers that prevent people, snow, rain, and junk from falling in.
Of course, there are different kinds of covers. And different covers offer different advantages when protecting your pool. Let’s explore our options.
What Pool Cover Is Right For Me?
There are three main types of pool covers:
- Winter pool covers.
- Safety pool covers.
- Automatic covers.
Let’s look at each one.
Winter Pool Covers
Pros
- Keeps your pool free of debris.
- Relatively low cost
- Blocks algae-promoting sunlight.
- Super easy to install.
Cons
- Zero safety benefits.
- Not durable
- Potential legal liability when it comes to stopping pets and kids from falling in.
- Not aesthetically pleasing.
Winter covers are fine as a quick-fix, They should never be considered if children and pets are nearby.
Safety Pool Covers
Pros
- Safety pool covers genuinely prevent unwanted access to your pool
- They do a great job preventing junk from falling in.
- They are low maintenance
- They are durable, with long life spans
- They are aesthetically pleasing. They comply with safety laws and so can be manufactured with pleasing aesthetics in mind.
Cons
- It is a custom cover.
- These can require weeks to construct.
- High initial cost.
- Specialized tools are involved in the installation, as well as significant physical labor.
- Not easy to install.
- Water bag need to be replaced often.
- Increased costs of cleaning as well.
Safety covers are made from either vinyl or mesh. They’re strapped onto the entire zone of the pool with straps to anchor them. The straps use springs to hold them in place.
These are specifically designed for protection, and are compliant with ASTM F134691 regulations.
You rarely need to pay any attention to a safety cover after you install it. It does its job efficiently, and without need for further concern.
A good safety pool cover lasts 12-15 years and costs more than a winter pool cover as a result.
Mesh-based covers are super easy to handle, and light. They let snow and rains pass through them and collect big debris on the surface for easy cleanup.
Solid safety covers can block 100% of all sunlight and stop algae growth in its tracks. It’s super sturdy and durable, capable of keeping even the finest particles out of your pool.
The purchase cost of a safety cover is higher compared to a winter cover. However, the price differences thin out after years of usage. The winter tarps have short lifespans and the safety tarps last longer, making safety covers more cost-efficient in the long-run.
Automatic Safety Covers
Pros
- Constant protection against the elements
- Durable. Sturdy enough to prevent accidental drownings and falls
- Minimizes debris and pest in pool.
- Blots out the pool from the sun’s rays
- Very aesthetically pleasing cover options
- Keeps the pool zone clean and ready for immediate use
- Long lifespan
- Significant energy savings in the long-run
Cons
- Specific automatic covers made from vinyl can run out after 5 years of frequent use
- Is complex and has many parts. The more parts, the more elements in the mechanism that can fail.
- Expensive to replace.
- High upfront cost
- Too good at insulation. Can cause over warming of pools during months like July and August.
- Fantastic solar covers
- Might need to re-deck when installing onto an already existing pool zone
- Requires additional equipment and parts.
Automatic pool covers are the most cost-effective pool covers that tick a ton of boxes and offer the most benefits out of all pool covers.
This is the safest possible pool cover, ensuring your pool is sealed super tight and gives you the peace of mind needed when it comes to all safety-related matters.
It opens and closes within minutes, making it ideal for everyday usage.
Everyday usage ensures minimal debris buildup, maximum evaporation protection, maximum energy savings, minimum filtration needs, and minimum chemical balancing needs.
All mechanisms like the motors and pumps require to be replaced less often as everything needs less cleaning.
An automatic pool cover is the most superior choice, hands down. It is also the most expensive of all the pool covers but is worth its weight in gold if you can afford it.
These can be installed on any size, or type of pool, and even in ways that can render them completely invisible from the outside. This pool cover works with the simple press of a button or even remote control and looks impressive and sleek.
The Bottom Line
Pool covers are the ideal solution to most pool-related problems. They significantly improve your pool experience and extend the lifespan of your pool to its maximum. A pool cover quickly makes up for its initial cost with its long-term savings and makes the entire process of owning a pool way more enjoyable.
The simple act of tossing a cover on your pool holds several benefits that cannot be ignored and is incredibly convenient. You can have real peace of mind in maintaining your pool thoroughly. Best of all, you can now spend less time maintaining your pool, and more time enjoying your pool instead.
