The standard that the pool cover industry references is from ASTM, a company known and referenced widely for safety standards for many industries. The ASTM standard for pool covers requires the ability to hold at least 435 pounds.
The biggest benefit of using a winter safety cover is, yep you guessed it, safety! Kids, dogs and deer can walk across this cover without falling into the water.
High-quality pool covers can safely hold about one to two feet of snow before they start straining. If you expect a large amount of snowfall, make sure you're constantly cleaning snow off your pool cover.
Pool covers serve a lot of different purposes, but in general, they're not intended to be walked on. Oh, there are safety pool covers that can easily support the weight of children, and one that famously advertises its ability to hold up under the weight of an elephant.
Automatic pool covers work good for keeping children and even adults out of the pool if you do not wish to have them in the pool. You can even walk on the cover; it feels like walking on a water bed.
Automatic pool covers are rated to hold around 2,000 pounds, which is a lot of weight. However, snow, ice, and water can be very heavy, too, especially if it becomes concentrated in one area.
Safety covers should be drum-tight, with only a slight deflection in the middle. When covers are too loose, leaves can blow under easily, and a high water level in springtime quickly traps leaves and turns your cover into a giant tea bag.
Request Your Free Estimate. While the average automatic retractable pool cover can cost $6000 to $15,000, the peace of mind you get from knowing your swimming pool is secure and your friends, family, and pets are safer can be invaluable.
If your dog falls through a pool cover, they can become trapped and disoriented and potentially drawn. Fortunately, you can prevent such a tragic event from ever happening by training your dog to avoid the pool cover and using preventative safety measures to keep them safe.
Pool fences are ideal because they are very secure, and they are easy to open and close. Pool covers take time to secure and un-secure, so they can be quite inconvenient. This often leads to accidents, because people don't want to take the time to secure the pool cover.
Use a leaf blower on light, powdery snow to blow the snow off the cover. Wait for frozen snow and ice to melt on its own if it is a solid sheet on the cover. If you have a cover pump and it is buried under ice, pour a few gallons of hot water into one spot on the cover to let the device do its job.
Heavy snow can stretch and damage the cover, but you generally don't have to be concerned until there's two feet of snow or more on your cover. That said, more inexpensive plastic covers damage more quickly and more easily than expensive mesh or solid safety covers.
It consists of a series of some interlocking gears. When you switch on the system, the gears become activated and they will automatically start spinning the heavy aluminum tube. Hence, the pool cover will also start rolling on or off the pool to cover or uncover it.
Pool Safety
Covers such as bubble/solar covers simply lie on the surface of the water and have no anchoring system whatsoever. They can easily be removed at any time by anyone and because they have no anchoring there is absolutely no way to lock them.
California law approves only certified safety covers. They must completely cover the pool or spa so children cannot fall into the water. All doors opening into pool or spa areas should close and latch automatically. Latch releases should be child-resistant or out of the reach of children.
Your backyard swimming pool isn't always a safe place for your dog: according to the Pool Safety Network, around 5,000 family pets drown every year in backyard pools.
How Long Can a Dog Swim Before Drowning? A healthy adult dog can probably swim 20 minutes before drowning but the real number greatly depends on your dog's fitness level, breed, and age.
Recent studies seem to suggest that dogs do indeed experience pain and suffering when they drown because the supply of oxygen to their brain becomes limited and can cause them to die in a remarkably unpleasant way.
How much does a winter pool cover cost? Winter pool covers are among the least expensive inground pool covers and cost around $50 to $175 on average. That price can easily increase to more than $300 for thicker, more durable covers with longer-lasting warranties.
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 will want to close your pool properly over the winter to prevent freezes from damaging expensive pool equipment. Surface freezes can also tear through vinyl liners as a result of ice expansion. A second reason to winterize your pool is because most people completely stop maintenance over the winter.
Cover is Loose or Slack
Many times the cover is simply too large for the pool. In this case, fold the cover under itself, to leave 3-4 ft of overlap all around the pool. For areas of limited space, use extra water bags.
If you have a vinyl-lined above-ground pool, leaving it full for the winter will protect the vinyl liner from shrinkage and other damage. Since these pools are above ground level, keeping them full ensures that the wind will not damage the walls, liner, or frame.
Winter Covers
A winter cover is essentially a large, oversized tarp to prevent debris from getting into the pool, and minimizes algae growth over winter. Winter covers can last on average 3-5 years and will then need to be replaced with new.