Customers often wonder whether they need to buy a pool cover for their swimming pools or not. Are you a fan of spending more on energy and heating bills? Do you regularly enjoy skimming leaves and twigs out of your swimming pool? What about having to buy chemicals for your pool, like chlorine, on a regular basis?
If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, then yes, you absolutely need to get a pool cover for your swimming pool.
There are various advantages to investing in a pool cover – starting from less time spent on maintenance to increased pool heating without additional heating costs.
One of the main reasons people cite behind why they don’t want a pool cover is aesthetic reasons. A pool cover takes away from the visual appeal they were trying to create with their swimming pool in the first place. But think about it – would you rather have an unusable swimming pool that looks good? Or do you want to have a swimming pool that you can regularly swim in and enjoy without your pool blowing a huge hole in your pocket?
How Can A Pool Cover Reduce Maintenance Costs?
Your pool’s heating system, as well as draining and refilling your pool, are the two main ways you’re losing money on your pool.
A pool cover can help your swimming pool retain heat. If your pool doesn’t come with a heating system but relies on the sun’s temperature for heating purposes, then a pool cover is an excellent option for you.
Keep your swimming pool covered when you aren’t using it – especially at night. That way, the heat in the water from the day’s sunlight will maintain the water at a higher temperature than if you didn’t have a pool cover. In fact, you can easily swim in your pool the next day without feeling chilly at all. Swimming in cold water can be bad for your health, so a pool cover protects your health and wellness as well.
Even if your pool has a heating system, with a pool cover, you’ll be less reliant on your heating system. This means lower heating costs, which over time, amounts to a lot of money saved.
Keeping Your Pool Clean And Free From Debris
Debris, such as falling leaves, twigs, and other larger contaminants, requires you to get out your skimming net and spend a lot of time cleaning your pool. If your swimming pool comes with an automatic cleaner, then fallen debris can be a load on it. Debris can also affect your filter and pumps.
A pool cover acts as protection against fallen debris by catching the debris before it hits the water.
Reduce Evaporation And Spend Less On Chemicals For Pool Maintenance
Did you believe that excessive splashing and leaks in the pool were the main ways your pool lost water? Evaporation, which is completely unavoidable if your pool isn’t covered, is the single biggest contributing factor behind water loss in pools.
Any time your pool is left exposed to the sun without a cover, the freshwater will keep evaporating. This affects your pool in a plethora of ways.
Without a pool cover, you’re regularly losing more water from your pool. This leads to higher water bills every time you need to refill it. At the same time, your pool is also being exposed to UV light from the sun.
This UV light has an adverse effect on the chemicals used to maintain the water in your swimming school. Chemicals like chlorine are degraded when directly exposed to UV light. If this happens, you’ll need to keep purchasing and adding chlorine or other chemicals that maintain water quality. This is necessary to make your swimming pool fit for swimmers. If you own a saltwater pool instead of a freshwater pool, then your pool comes with a chlorinator system. The chlorinator system needs to use more energy if you need to keep adding chlorine. A pool cover will reduce strain on this system. The skimmer and the pump system come with swimming pools in general. They also enjoy less strain and are more efficient for longer when you’ve installed a cover for your pool.
And finally, you can increase the duration within which you need to drain and refill the water in your pool because of totally dissolved solids. While it isn’t possible to prevent TDS from entering your pool at all, a pool cover prevents foreign contaminants from entering your pool when it isn’t in use. This means that the time it takes for the TDS in your pools to reach unacceptable levels is longer. This helps you conserve water and reduce your water bills.
Are All Pool Covers The Same?
There a variety of pool covers you can invest in, from cheaper plastic covers to more expensive options. You don’t need to buy an expensive pool cover – you just need something that adheres to your needs and expectations.
If you only want to reduce the presence of fallen debris, then a plastic or tarpaulin pool cover will work for you. But the options you can look through are extensive.
One of the best kinds of pool covers you can get for your swimming pools is a fibreglass pool cover. Fibreglass pools are already easier to maintain and clean, but the addition of a fibreglass pool cover is a match made in swimming pool heaven.
Although slightly more expensive than simple covers, a fibreglass pool cover is sturdy, and some options can hold nearly 400 pounds of weight on every square foot. This becomes especially necessary if you have kids or pets who are at risk of falling in the swimming pool.
Plenty of drowning accidents can be prevented by simply installing a sturdy pool cover when the pool is not in use. And when it comes to options that reduce accidents, a fibreglass pool cover definitely ranks near the top.
What Else Do You Need To Know About Pool Covers?
In recent times, the swimming pool industry has been shifting towards more environmentally friendly and sustainable options, even when it comes to pool covers. There are safety and compliance regulations that need to be adhered to when it comes to pool cover options.
The most important of these is that there must be a barrier that surrounds the pool zone. You should also ensure that the pool cover you choose is properly installed and secured. An insecure pool cover won’t be of much use. For example, a plastic pool cover can easily be blown away by strong gusts of wind unless properly secured.
From the various pool cover options you have available, choose the one that works best with your pool. If your pool doesn’t have a heating system, then a pool cover option that’s slightly thicker can help the pool maintain heat. To prevent accidents from people falling into the pool, choose a sturdy option like a fibreglass pool cover. A plastic or solar pool cover will not prevent people from falling into the people. Plastic pool covers are effective in reducing debris such as leaves or even dirt from entering the pool. However, they simply aren’t durable enough to hold a larger weight, such as from people or animals.
As long as you keep in mind what you’re looking for from a pool cover, you’ll be able to find an option that gives you everything you want.
