Winter Pool Covers:

Which Are the BEST Winter and Swimming pool covers to keep your pool safe and clean

There are generally two types of swimming pool covers. Winter pool covers or pool safety covers. Among those two types they are also separated into in ground pool covers and above ground pool covers. It can be a little confusing to figure out our which you want so I am going to explain to you the different kinds there are and the pros and cons of the choices you have.  I will talk about cheaper pool covers,safety pool covers, retractable pool cover, solar pool covers, pool covers you can walk on and everything you need to know about these covers that will help you make an educated decision as to what kind of swimming pool cover is the one that will suit your budget and your type of pool.

You obviously know how important a good pool cover is for your pool especially if you live in an area where winter is a good part of the year. If you don’t cover your pool for the winter that you can cause tremendous structural damage to your pool when the water turns to ice. A good pool cover will help you pool withstand the  harsh winter weather conditions like snow, rain, cold and heavy winds. It is important to make sure that there is anti freeze and other pool chemicals in your pool under your winter pool cover before you put it to sleep for the inter. The covers are alos pool safety covers and will ensure that no animals or children have any accidents in your pool.

If you live in a warmer climate and use your pool all year round then your cover will be more of a safety pool cover than a winter one and will make your pool area lots safer to be around for children and pets when the pool is not in use.

In ground pool covers

There are a number of options you have for your in ground pool cover. For the most part you will probably be making your decision based on price so I will discuss the higher end, safer pool covers first and then will talk about the cheap pool covers. Within the in ground pool cover group you can get the ones that are only to cover the pool, which are not very strong and then you can get the ones that are more for safety and are stronger.

Pool safety covers: Under safety covers you can find mesh pool covers and solid safety covers.

Mesh pool covers

Mesh pool safety covers are made from a lightweight yet strong weave of materials. They have heavy duty stitching, 2 ply webbing and stainless steel tension springs. They can resist heavy rain or snow and since the material is porous it allows rain and melting snow to drain into the pool. They are held down to the sides of the pool with heavy anchors that are cemented into the ground around the pool.

Advantages

• Material is strong yet lightweight. Installation and removal is therfor easy.
• Water and snow passes through the material. This makes sure there is norevents puddling on the cover which is hard to remove.
• The mesh keeps almost all of the debris out of the pool. Only the finest of particles end up in the water which is easily vacuumed up.
• The cover  dries quickly, allowing leaves and debris to blow away.
• They are quite strong even though they don’t have the plastic coating of a solid cover and can hold quite a bit of weight

Disadvantages

• There is still some additional cleaning to perform when you reopen your pool since it doesn’t keep out all debris.
• Sunlight passes through the mesh cover and will often allow  the growth of algae and bacteria

One of the things you can do to make your mesh pool cover more efficient is to add a leaf net over it. After all the leaves have fallen off of the trees in the Fall time, you then remove the thin leaf net along with the leaves and the mesh cover is as clean as it came.

Solid safety covers for in ground pools

In order to meet the safety standards of the ASTM the pool covers have to be able to hold up to 4000 lbs. These solid safety covers are therefor pool covers you can walk on without any worry of accident at all. Solid pool safety covers from a total barrier between the pool and the outside environment. They form such a tight barrier that the water does not evaporate from the pool since no sunlight reaches it. It also keeps algae from growing. 

Advantages

• Since they are so airtight, they don’t allow water, sunlight, or debris to enter the pool.
• Algae, mold and other organisms don’t develop the pool
• Opening the pool in the summer is  less work and less chemicals.

Disadvantages

• Water and snow does pile up on the surface of the cover.
• Therefore, a cover pump is REQUIRED for a solid safety cover. (Although some solid covers incorporate mesh drain panels.)
• Solid covers are heavier and require more work to install and remove.

Pool cover pump

If you have a solid pool cover then you will definitely need to get rid of the water that will gather there. To do that you may buy a commercial pool pump that comes with the pool cover  or a separate one. If you don’t want to spend the money you can  use any cheap submersible pump like a cheap utility pump. There are also times that you can use your vac hose. If you get your pool brush to move the water over to where you have your vac or pump and it will do the job quite quickly.

Retractable pool covers

A retractable pool cover for the most part is one of the automatic pool covers that people buy if they want to cover their pool all the time and not just for winter. It is much safer to be able to automatically cover your pool when you are finished using it for the day. Your peace of mind will be so much greater even if you have a good fence around your pool. These automatic pool covers are often built into the pools but if you didnt’ do it when you built your built, or you bought your house without it, you can still do it.. They usually fit into a track on the sides of the pool. The advantage of an automatic pool cover is of course then you don’t have to work at removing the pool cover whenever you want it covered. Just flick a switch and your pool gets covered.

There is a pool cover manufacturer called pool cover specialists that have an automatic pool cover that has a control panel which has a key code that needs to be entered before it can be opened. This is an excellent addition if you have children that may take it upon themselves to open the pool themselves.

Cheap pool covers

If you don’t want to go with the more expensive mesh pool covers or the solid safety covers there is a cheaper type of pool cover. Theses are only winter pool covers, not safety pool covers. This type of pool cover is helpd in place using water bags or sometimes called aqua blocks.. These are tubes filled with water as you can see above that are put down along the edge of the pool and will keep the wind from blowing the cover off of your pool. This type of cover lies right on top of the water and they are also available as mesh or solid. These are more affordable then the first type we talked about.

Solar pool covers

If you are looking for a solar pool cover then you are not thinking of a cover to help protect your pool. Some of these covers are even called blankets and the are put on the top of the pool when you are done swimming for the day to catch the sun and keep the heat of the pool in over the cool nights. There are solar heat sheets that are transparent and have thousands of air filled bubbles that look like lenses. They focus the heat from the sun into the pool raising the temperature of the water.

“Heavy-duty Solar Blanket material harnesses the power of the sun to trap heat as it prisms through the raised air pockets in the Solar Blanket bubble cover material.”

This can save you hundreds of dollars a year in pool heating costs. You also get savings as the water and chemicals don’t evaporate as easily when using a swimming pool solar cover.

Two well known manufactures of in ground swimming pool covers

Loop-loc also commonly referred to as loop lock pool covers are one of the best pool safety cover manufacturers. One excellent model of a winter pool safety cover comes with a cover pump. Covers by Loop-Loc® come in a variety of sizes & models. Loop-Loc recently introduced  ULTRA-LOC II, an all-new patented 100% polypropylene solid material that not only offers unmatched strength and durability but, is being incredibly lightweight.

This ultra-light, ultra-strong cover weighs 33% less than other all-vinyl solid winter pool covers, making your pool openings and closing a breeze. Below is an image of a loop-loc pool cover.

Loop-Loc solid pool covers can be ordered for any shape or size of pool and will anchor securely to any deck or wall.

Another well know pool cover manufacturer is Meyco. Durable long-lasting Meyco safety covers are strong enough to support your entire family, yet light enough to install or remove from your pool in minutes! Crafted from super-strong, two-ply Maycolite® mesh, Meyco safety covers resist rot, mildew, sunlight and chlorine damage and have a break strength of over 4,000 lbs. The cover is held in place with Meyco’s time-tested spring-loaded brass “Pop-Up” anchoring system that recesses flush with your deck when not in use.

Meyco’s fine lightweight mesh allows rain and snow to seep through, but screens out leaves and debris, making spring clean-up a snap! Just vacuum out the fine silt, and you’re ready for a new season! The cover is forest green and backed by a 12-Year Warranty. 2 years full.

Above ground pool covers

There are a number of things an above ground pool cover cannot have that an in ground pool cover can. It cannot have a solid safety cover as they are enormously have to have to put over an above ground pool. You also can’t have an automatic retractable pool cover.

When buying a pool cover for your above ground pool you need to make sure that it is large enough so that it comes well over the sides of the pool so that you can attach them to the anchors either on the pool sides themselves or on the ground next to the pool. You can either buy a cover then lays on the water itself or one that is kept up haigher by a piece in middle of the pool/

You do have the option for above ground pools to buy a mesh pool cover similar to the ones for the in ground pool. They may not be as strong but, they still allow the water and snow to seep into the pool through the cover allowing you to keep the water and snow from gathering on top of the cover.

If you add a leaf net to the cover it will also make it much easier for you as you can take that cover off with the leaves and other debris in it when Fall is over and winter has set in.

Tagged with: inground winter pool covers • pool covers for winter • swimming pool covers • winter swimming pool covers

Filed under: swimming pool stuff

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