Swimming Pool Covers: What You Need To Know!

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Swimming Pool Covers: What You Need To Know!

People cover or do not cover their pools for many different reasons. I for one do not cover my pool during the winter but I live in Coastal Carolina, which is an area not prone to harsh winters.   Also I don’t have small children at home or a significant amount of trees close to my pool, which are two of the major reasons people choose to cover their pools in the offseason.

Here are a few options to consider if you’re thinking of covering your pool.

Standard Winter Covers

This kind of cover is basically a tarp that is held down with water bags. It does not hold much weight and if a child or large pet walked on this cover they would definitely get wet and possibly fall into the pool.

It does a good job of keeping leaves and other debris out of the pool but will need to have rainwater and melted snow periodically pumped off to ensure it does not collapse into the pool.

Safety Covers

Safety Covers are the most popular type of cover for in-ground pools. They are made of a strong mesh material that lets water seep through so that it doesn’t accumulate on top of the cover or with a reinforced solid material that requires the use of small pump periodically to remove the accumulated water from the surface of the cover.  These cover are built with spring-loaded straps that are connected to anchors that have been drilled into the deck.

This cover can bear a good amount of weight and does a great job of keeping debris out of your pool. It requires little to no maintenance once it’s on. The one drawback is that since it is made of mesh, dirt particles can pass through along with rainwater and melted snow, which will result in dirty water when you remove the cover. You can usually count on this cover to last 12 to 15 years.

Automatic Covers

There are a few things to think about when considering an automatic cover for your in-ground pool. Motorized or crank? Exposed tracks or hidden tracks? What you decide will greatly influence the price of this cover, which can range from $8,000 to over $15,000 depending on the size of the pool and design of the cover.

Automatic covers can be used on demand and only require a few minutes to open and close.  A built-in safety feature for automatic covers is that the switch to open/close the cover must be turned and held in place the entire time the cover is moving.  You cannot simply flip a switch and walk away from the cover, this insures that children and pets will not be trapped under a closed automatic cover.

The upside is they do a great job of keeping your pool clean, they keep unwanted swimmers (human & critter) out of your pool and they act as a great solar cover.

The down side is that because they are mechanical they may require some maintenance down the road. Also the vinyl material the cover is made of is not as strong as the mesh security cover and may wear out sooner than the mesh material as well as not support as much weight as a security cover.

I hope we have given you some insight into swimming pool covers so that you can make a more informed decision when making your purchase. If you have any other questions or comments feel free to fill out the comment box below.

Happy Swimming!