Swimming Pool Covers
In this article I'm going to focus on swimming pool solar covers, which get used during the summer and swimming pool winter covers. These latter ones obviously are designed for use during the cold winter months. There are other types of swimming pool covers that I will write about in separate articles. The would include dome covers, retractable covers, automatic covers (for larger pools) and entire swimming pool enclosures to name a few. You can generally find pretty much any swimming pool cover that you need for sale online at pretty good prices.
When you talk about swimming pool covers, there are a couple of different types that usually come to mind. Swimming pool solar covers are used during the swimming season. Their purpose is to keep light debris out of the pool and store heat. Swimming pool winter covers are heavier duty items and they are meant to be left on over the entire non-swimming season.
During the warmer months, a solar swimming pool cover can be used to help hold in the heat stored by the water during the day. You simply spread the solar cover over the surface of the swimming pool when you are done swimming for the day and then remove it when you are ready to swim again the next day. These covers look like giant, blue pieces of bubble wrap. Some people swear by them and use them faithfully. For me, the one thing I did not like about these was the fact that they were cumbersome to get on and off by myself. I always ended up soaked. If you have a helper available, that could make a big difference. There are also special wind up devices available that are designed to make the whole process easier.
As the summer season ends, pool owners must go about the task of closing their swimming pools for the season. Although it is not necessarily the most enjoyable chore, it must be done if you are going to get the longest possible life out of your swimming pool. Winter swimming pool covers are an essential item if you live in an area that gets weather cold enough for you to close down the swimming pool.
These heavy duty swimming pool covers do just what you would expect. They cover the pool during the cold winter months and they keep out debris. It is amazing how many fall leaves can blow in to a swimming pool in just one day. Take it from one who knows, getting them out with the vacuum is no fun. It requires a lot more patience and time than a standard cleaning. I have found in the past that leaves do not like to go into the vacuum head unless the suction is applied directly on top of them. When you are talking about hundreds of leaves, this can take a while!
When you are purchasing your winter cover, be sure that you get the right size. Depending on the cover you purchase, these may or may not include a heavy wire that laces through the outer circumference of the cover. This wire is then fed into a ratcheting end piece that can be used to tighten down the cover. Some people prefer to hang milk jugs filled with water from the edges of the cover as a way to hold things in place. I personally have never tried that method since I've always had the wire and it worked fine.
I would recommend getting the best winter cover that you can afford. The wind can really whip up during the winter and covers sometimes end up flapping like flags in the breeze. This can put some wear and tear on the cover quickly. I ended up replacing covers in two consecutive seasons because of this. The plastic fiber simply wore through. I think that finding a heavier duty cover from the beginning would have been the smart thing to do.
The specific costs involved in buying above ground swimming pool covers or in ground swimming pool covers will depend on the size of your pool, the quality of the cover and some other individual differences that may or may not be important to you. As with many things, if you choose the lowest quality that you can find to save a few bucks, you may end up paying more in the end. Here are a few of the currently listed swimming pool cover on eBay in case you are shopping around for deals.
US $4.00
