Not everyone chooses to use a pool air pillow, but it is strongly recommended to use one if you have an above-ground pool. Above-ground pools need air pillows if your winter is cold enough to freeze your pool.
If you didn't use a pillow, the pressure from the ice pushing on the walls could damage the cover, liner, and the walls themselves. In other words, using a pool air pillow can save you from costly repairs and replacements. It's cheap insurance that's well worth having.
Some people use an inner tube or exercise ball instead of a pool pillow, but they often deflate during the winter season, as these items are not designed to stand up to the elements.
When rain, snow, and ice accumulate, and pressure builds on the cover, the ice will expand inward toward the pillow. Without the pool air pillow, ice would expand outward, putting pressure on your pool walls and causing potential damage to your cover, liner, and pool walls.
If you DON'T use an air pillow with an in-ground pool, the leaves, water and other debris gets scattered all over the cover, pooling up in pockets, etc. THIS takes a LONG time to clear and clean up!
As a general rule, you shouldn't need many air pillows. Air pillows are most effective when they remain in the center of the pool. They become less effective when they float around the pool. Below is a chart showing the recommended air pillow size for above ground pools.
In time, stretching will occur mainly due to rain water and snow laying on top. 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.
While cost-friendly and easy to set up, tarps are typically less durable than pool safety covers. Also, the material demands much more winter maintenance. You will need to regularly remove any debris or excess water with additional equipment such as a water pump.
You should inflate the air pillow to about 60% of its capacity to allow for compression. You should also place two strips of duct tape over the air valve to ensure the pillow doesn't deflate over the winter. The air pillow will be more effective if it remains in the center of the pool.
Stains, scaling, algae growth, and imbalanced water chemistry are just a few dilemmas that can arise if you don't use a winter pool cover. Pool covers block both debris and sunlight from entering your pool — conserving winter chemicals and protecting the pool's structure.
Use sand bags as weights to hold the pool cover in place so that nothing floats into the pool. Plus, the smooth nature of sand bags offer a safe alternative to abrasive bricks or rocks that can damage your pool cover.
While research is limited, anecdotal reports show that sleeping without a pillow can help reduce neck and back pain for some sleepers. Stomach sleepers are generally best suited for going pillowless, because the lower angle of the neck encourages better spinal alignment in this position.
Abandoning your pillow and aligned sleep posture can cause or worsen neck pain. Especially if you're a back or side sleeper, the lack of a pillow can cause your neck to overextend or crane. This can cause anything from aches to tension headaches.
People who sleep in this position for longer periods end up complaining about spinal disorders – chronic backaches, frequent muscle strains, etc. If you are experiencing discomfort or any sort of pain in the back, neck or head, you need to get rid of your pillow.
Which Way do the Bubbles Face? The simple answer is they should face down, always. The way they heat your pool is through the sun warming up the air that is trapped in the bubbles. The heat is therefore then transferred into your pool.
We suggest using the 4 x 4 Air Pillow on pools up to 24' round. Use the 4 x 8 Air Pillow on pools 28' round and up and on small oval pools. Use the 4 x 15 Air Pillow on Large (15 x 30 and larger) Oval aboveground pools.
We recommend covering your pool with the bubble side facing down for the best results in warming your pool in the summer sun. The sun's UV rays will heat the bubbles and in turn, transfer heat to your pool water.
Should you leave your pool cover on or off during rain? You should use the pool cover if the rain is mild and doesn't come with severe wind. The cover will protect the pool water from the acidic rain bound to dilute the chlorine.
When automatic pool covers are utilized properly, they are a physical barrier between you, your children, pets, and neighbors' children. So, to leave the cover open and unattended while it rains just for the convenience of not having to pump the water off before you swim is a dangerous idea.
Reduces water evaporation.
It's why your pool can drop in water levels a few inches when left uncovered for a couple of days. Covering the pool, whether that means doing it overnight or simply over the course of a cloudy and cool day, means less water (and money) is floating off into the atmosphere.
The benefits of a water pillow include reduced morning pain intensity, increased pain relief and improved quality of sleep. But beyond the clinical results of this study, thousands of people have discovered that a water pillow is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to improve sleep quality, night after night.
Here is an example to help you understand: For a 15,000 gallon pool, the pump is able to push 40 gallons per minute of water through the filter. That equates to 2,400 gallons per hour. At this rate it will take your pump 6.5 hours to filter the whole 15,000 gallons.
It's recommended you change the water once a year, so while it does take some time to set this pillow up, you won't have to worry about changing the water for a long time.