Pool Covers

There are many reasons why you should consider purchasing pool covers.

Energy Cost Savings

A good pool cover will seal in heat, water and chemicals. This will help decrease energy costs and save you money. It will also decrease the use of equipment such as your automatic pool cleaners and your circulation systems. If you have and indoor pool, a pool cover will eliminate the need for expensive dehumidification systems.

Water Savings

Pool covers will decrease evaporation. If you live in the West or Southwest this can mean much lower water bills. Here in Arizona our pools can lose its entire volume of water in a year just from evaporation. Eliminating evaporation can significantly increase the life of pool plaster, liners and equipment. A pool cover acts like a solar collector by keeping heat from dissapating into the atmosphere. A cover will reduce heat and water loss up to 70%. It will also save on chemical usage.

Decreases Maintenance

A pool cover will keep dirt, leaves and other debris out of your pool. This means that you will not have to clean the pools as often, you will have less use of expensive chemicals and your utility bills will be lower.

Safety

This may be the most important reason to consider having a pool cover. Every year hundreds of children drown in swimming pools. Even fences cannot keep a child away from a pool. Using a certified safety cover can help prevent these accidents. It doesn't hurt to have layers of protection. Of course the most important advice is to watch your children around water.

Automatic Covers

Automatic Covers are custom made to fit your pool. They will look better and have more style than the other covers. They will also be more expensive. They are safety covers as well. They are very easy to use. By turning them on and off you save time and your energy.

Floating Covers

They will keep the heat in the pool so that you can have a longer swimming season without heating the pool. They will also keep the debris our of the pool and reduce evaporation. These are not safety pool covers. They offer little or no protection from accidents. They cannot be securely anchored for safety purposes. They can also be difficult to handle or store..

Mesh Covers

This cover will cut down on pool maintenance. Although they are advertised as having some safety features, I would not recommend them for safety. The advantage they have is that water can't accumulate on top of them.

Solid Covers

All solid covers are best for keeping the pool clean and keeping the heat from evaporating. These can be used in all climate areas. They will also decrease your costs for chemicals and your electric bills. They also eliminate algae since light can't penetrate the cover. Some are also certified as safety covers. You must check with each manufacturer to see if they meet the safety standards.

Safety Covers

If you have children or you know of children that will be in your pool, it's absolutely necessary to use as many safety features as possible. Safety covers are available in both solid and mesh styles. These covers are designed to meet safety requirements. One example would be that they need to withstand 450 pounds of weight 3 feet from the pool edge. These covers must securely latch onto the pool deck or fit into tracks along the pool edge.

The Swimming Pool Industry has certain requirements that pool covers must meet to be called safety covers. You can check with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to find out about the latest standards.