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.
How Tight Should a Safety Cover Be? 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.
Mesh winter covers provide excellent winter protection and are perfect if you live in an area that receives heavy snow fall during winter months. Mesh covers are porous so that melting snow, melting ice, and rain will drip through the cover into the pool, preventing puddles on the surface of the cover.
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.
InGround pool covers should have enough material left to overlap the deck and Above Ground covers should hug the sidewall of the pool while laying on top of the water. If you find that your cover or leaf net is too small, don't stretch it across the pool in an attempt to make it fit.
Safety cover sagging is okay, well in most cases. It is not the safety-cover that supports the snow and ice. It is the water underneath your cover that helps it and keeps it from sagging too much. Whoever sold you the cover should have warned you or directed you to read the directions.
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.
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.
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.
Drain the water down to no more than 6 inches from the bottom of the skimmer if you plan to use a standard floating winter cover. Use your pool filter, switched to the "Drain" setting, to empty the pool water. Attach a pool hose to the end of the filter opening that leads to your yard's drain to avoid flooding.
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.
A winter cover is essentially a large tarp that goes over your pool in the wintertime to help keep out debris. They can protect against damage to the pool as a whole, which will help things run more smoothly during come Springtime. Winter covers: HELP KEEP THE DEBRIS OUT OF THE POOL.
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.
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.
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.
Most automatic safety pool covers on average last 4 to 6 years if you maintain them properly. We recommend that you buy a pool cover that comes with a pro-rated warranty. That way, you can always ask for a replacement if you notice issues within a few weeks of purchase.
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.
Sometimes it can be hard to keep pool covers in place. High winds, heavy rain, and even snow can cause them to fall into the pool. One thing you don't want to do is place anything on top of the cover in an attempt to keep it in place. If you do, you can risk causing it to slip into the pool as well.
Water accumulation can damage pool covers
This is because pool covers are not made to withstand the weight of water (or anything else) on top of them. Even the smallest amounts of water can add up, putting pressure on the seams of the cover and starting to weaken it.
Sand Bags.
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.
The best time to consider replacing your cover is either when you first open the pool or before it is time to close the pool. The cover's age and the amount of visible wear and tear will help determine whether to replace it now or wait.
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.