Do I Need A Pool Cover?
Your swimming pool remains open to the outside environment. Leaves, dust, dirt, debris, animal droppings, and even dead insects and animals can fall into the pool. This increases your work as you need to clean them all. Covering the pool seems to be a good idea. A pool cover can prevent your pool from becoming dirty, which makes maintenance easy. Do you really need a pool cover? Is it worth investing in a pool cover? The answers to these questions are explored in this article.
Why Use A Pool Cover?
Using a pool cover has many benefits. While some people feel that a pool cover spoils the appearance of the pool, its benefits outweigh this disadvantage. The various benefits of using a pool cover are listed below.
It Prevents Water Loss
Evaporation leads to water loss from your pool. The heat from the sun would deplete water levels from your swimming pool over time. This is why you need to cover your pool. It stops the evaporation of water from the pool.
It Retains Heat
Heating your pool is very expensive. If your pool is not covered, it causes heat loss. This wastes all the heat in the pool from the sun’s heat. As a result, the pool becomes cold and night, making it difficult to use. You then need to use a heater, which increases your expenses. A simple alternative is to cover the pool, so the heat is retained allowing you to use the pool at night. This represents a saving in energy consumption. Energy saved helps you to reduce your carbon footprint and is an eco-friendly move.
Reduce The Use Of Chemicals
You need to add chemicals to keep your pool clean. Chemicals can cause allergies. It can lead to irritation in the eyes and on the skin. The benefit of keeping the pool covered is that it reduces the need for adding more chemicals. Covering a pool can reduce the use of chemicals by up to 60 percent. This saves money and can reduce allergy problems.
Keeps The Pool Clean
The biggest benefit of using a pool covered is to keep the pool clean. When your pool is covered, it keeps leaves, dirt, debris, and other things from falling into your pool. This saves a lot of time that you need to clean the pool.
It Helps Ensure Safety
Safety is a concern when you have a pool. If you have kids at home, they can accidentally fall into the pool. A worse scenario is of a kid from the neighborhood falling into the pool. This is a serious situation. Using a pool cover can save you from the perils of this situation. You must note that an ordinary tarpaulin cover will not take care of the safety aspect, you need a hardcover for your pool.
Easy To Use
Whether you use an automated cover or a cover that you need to use manually, covering your pool is easy. Using an automated cover saves time and effort in covering the pool and removing the cover daily.
Saves Time And Money
A pool cover saves time and money. The time spent on cleaning the pool is saved. Money spent for pool maintenance or for heating the pool can be reduced.
Are There Any Disadvantages Of Covering The Pool?
As you saw, there are many benefits of covering your pool. There are a few disadvantages you need to know about. The cons of a pool cover are:
- Using a manual cover can be cumbersome. It affects the looks of the pool.
- An automated pool cover is the best option but it is expensive.
- You may have a pool of a different shape or size. Getting a cover to exactly match your pool size/shape may not be easy.
- When you have a pool cover, you need to store the cover somewhere when not used.
When you look at the disadvantages, you will find they are minor compared to the many advantages they offer.
Types Of Covers And Selecting A Cover
1. Manual Pool Covers
A manual pool cover is one that needs to be used manually. It usually works on a crank and pulley system. The cover roll would be installed at one end of the pool. There is hand cranks fitted to it that can be used to move the cover. This pool cover needs two people to manage it. One at each side of the pool needs to pull the cover and drag it to the other end of the pool. Similarly, opening the cover needs two people to pull the cover and fix it at the other end.
One more type of cover is made of tarpaulin. It may need to be held down with a weight on top of it. Usually, water bags are kept. This cover is ideal to keep off dirt. It is not the right type of cover if you want to ensure pool safety. If too much water builds up on the cover due to rain, it may cave in. The cover does not look good and can reduce the aesthetic appearance of the pool area. It does not last long. The main benefit is that it is cheap.
2. Automated pool cover
This is the best type of pool cover. This cover does not require anyone to pull it across the pool. All that is needed is to switch on a button. The pool cover automatically covers the pool. At the press of a button, the cover opens allowing you to use the pool. This is simple and easy to use. There is no requirement for anyone to manually move the cover. It is convenient to use.
This type of pool keeps the pool covered and keeps it clean. It also ensures safety. It keeps children and pets away from the pool and ensures there are no safety incidents. Automated pool covers are mainly suited for rectangular pools. The pool lids can look like they are a part of the pool deck. When the pool is uncovered, the lids would be levelled with the deck.
3. Solar Cover
This is a special type of cover that helps to heat your pool. If you live in a place where the day is hot and the night cold, then you can use this cover to retain heat in the pool. It can heat the pool by up to eight degrees. This is a thin cover that is also known as a bubble cover. It is relatively inexpensive and also keeps dirt and debris from your pool. It can be used even for pools that are odd-shaped. However, it doesn’t ensure safety. A child who stands on this cover can fall into the pool.
4. Mesh Pool Cover
This cover is made of a mesh or a solid material. It is not very costly. It helps keep the pool clean and ensures safety. However, removing it and putting it on is not easy. This is the best option if you intend to keep your pool covered for a long time.
You need a pool cover to protect your pool from dirt, keep it safe, and retain heat. You can choose from among the different types of covers depending on your budget and needs.
