While covered throughout winter, water is sure to build up on the pool cover. This is when a cover pump is essential to keeping water off the cover. Automatic pumps can be left on the cover. But Aqua Pools recommends removing the pump, including the hose, and bringing it inside during freezing weather.
It is vital to remove excess water from solid tarp style winter covers, commonly used on above-ground and some in-ground pools, to avoid damage to the cover and the pool. This can easily be done with a submersible pump on your pool cover whenever temperatures are above freezing, and liquid water is present.
Water accumulation can damage pool covers
This pressure can cause rips in your pool cover and even make the cover collapse into the pool. Lots of water accumulation on an above-ground pool cover can also put stress on the pool frame itself, which can be both dangerous and expensive.
Your pool water level should not be too low, as the water must support the cover in situations where you receive a heavy snowfall. At the same time, ideally you don't want the water to touch the underside of the cover under general conditions as that contact will create a wet spot where debris will accumulate.
Mesh covers do not need a pump on top because they just let the pool water pass through. Since there's no pump, mesh covers generally require no work during the offseason. With their light-weight material, mesh covers can be taken on and off by one person in most cases, unlike solid covers.
Before you can remove the cover, you have to remove the water that's on top of the cover. While you can try siphoning the water off with a garden hose or scooping it with a bucket, a much more effective method is to use a pool cover pump.
Ideally, 2 inches of water is acceptable on top of your cover simply because it aids in keeping the cover on the pool when it gets windy however, having excess water on top of the cover can cause severe damage to your pool structure as well as to the water quality underneath the cover.
Is It Safe To Run The pool Pump With The Pool Cover On? It is safe to run the pool pump and filter with a swimming pool cover on. The pool cover doesn't in any way stop or hinder the pool pump from circulating the water or carrying out its function.
In dry and/or windy conditions, the evaporation rate of the pool increases. Therefore, it is generally beneficial to have a transparent or bubble cover on during daylight hours. In warm, humid conditions the evaporation rate decreases. In this case, it may be more beneficial to leave the cover off during the daytime.
For safety reasons; if someone should end up under the pool cover, air will come in through the holes. These small holes prevent a large pool of water from getting on the pool cover.
Keep Water off the Top of your Solar Pool Blanket
The water on top of your solar pool cover will evaporate and pull the heat through the blanket and actually cool the pool. Thus after it has rained, you need to roll up the solar pool blanked and drain the rain water off.
When the water in your pool evaporates, it carries with it the heat, consequently cooling down your pool. So, if you can prevent evaporation, then you can significantly reduce the amount of heat loss. As such, covering your pool will help to warm the water up.
Pool covers reduce the amount of UV light coming into contact with the water. This is an important advantage as the pool chemical chlorine is degraded when exposed to UV light. This means you won't be required to add as much chlorine, which can save you time to refill and money purchasing the chemicals.
You should cover your pool every night for several reasons. First off, a pool cover saves energy and conserves water by decreasing the amount of make-up water. Also, it reduces the consumption of chemicals, and finally, it saves a lot of cleaning time since it keeps the debris out of the pool.
So if you have to leave it running for a week it shouldn't make a big dent in the electric bill. Having to spend the money on getting the pool back in shape will probably cost more than leaving it on anyway. I would make sure you fill the pool water as high as you can though since you will be gone for a week.
Keep the pump and filter on while you are away.
Set it before you leave to ensure the pool filter system will run at least 8 to 12 hours per day.
If you can pump around 30 GPM (gallons per minute), which is also equivalent to 1800 GPH (gallons per hour), it should take you 2.78 hours or 2 hours and 46 minutes to drain your pool using a hose.
CCS polypropylene mesh tarps are the best tarp for pool covers. They do an exceptional job blocking sunlight, which is essential for preventing algae growth when chemicals are not being added regularly. Polypropylene tarps are strong, too, so they can withstand the weight of ice and snow that builds up over the winter.
The cover is designed to touch the surface of the water. So your pool should always be filled when covered, and the water level should never go below 18 inches from the top of the pool. Check the water level of the pool and fill it up if it goes below 18 inches.
In most cases, rips and tears in LOOP-LOC pool covers can be easily repaired, either by using a self-adhesive patch kit(for holes smaller than 3" x 3") or by contacting your local LOOP-LOC pool cover dealer, who will provide more information on sending your pool cover out for repairs.
All LOOP-LOC mesh and solid safety pool covers come with a 15-year pro-rated manufacturer's warranty. When completed and signed by the original purchaser, this warrants that the cover is free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use, when installed by a qualified swimming pool professional.
Loop-Loc's Secure-A-Gap is used to close a gap 9" and greater created by varying levels. The cover should be installed, fully adjusted and tightened to lie flush on deck with the Secure-A-Gap against rise.