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.
Covering a heated swimming pool at night will reduce heat loss. That means warmer water, which is what anyone who has ever gone swimming in a chilly pool can tell you is very important.
Wait until the average water temperature is below 65 degrees before placing the cover over your swimming pool.
No, but winter covers protect your pool from stains, algae growth and poor water balance that could damage pool surfaces. Pool covers block both debris and sunlight, to conserve your winter chemicals and protect soft and shiny surfaces.
The cover should not be continually left on for more than 7 days continuously. Pool covers are very effective at reducing chemical usage. Make sure you continually monitor the water quality and quantity of chemicals required to maintain water chemistry within the recommended levels.
We use our pools all summer long, but if there are extended periods when you don't have time for a dip, it's extremely important to still remove your pool cover for a minimum of 1 day per week. Removing the pool cover allows your pool to 'breathe' and helps avoid overheating the water.
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.
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.
Do I Need A Pool Pillow? While they're not 100% necessary, winter pool pillows are incredibly helpful. They help protect your pool from expanding ice and promote even weight distribution, which is why we highly encourage them for pool owners.
People often avoid covering their pool for the winter because pool covers are an additional cost. However, an uncovered pool will cost you far more over the span of a few short years than a simple pool cover. For one thing, an uncovered pool will become a catch-all for leaves and debris.
So while a solar cover won't actually 'turn your pool green', it will warm your water by up to 8 degrees, so if the other conditions are right, adding a solar cover can easily accelerate algae growth, very rapidly. You need to get the water balance in your pool right before putting the cover back on.
Algae can become resistant to normal levels of chlorine and can then breed rapidly if the conditions are right. Simply fitting a solar pool cover will not make the pool go green. However, because solar covers will warm the water, they can accelerate algae growth.
Air bubbles in the pool cover act as an insulator in a similar way that your thermos would keep water warm. A pool cover will, therefore, keep your pool water warmer for longer.
It may be cheaper to run the pump at night, but honestly you should run it 1 hour a day per 10 degrees of temperature at least, and it should be during the day. Running the pump at night should only be when you are doing a major chemical treatment such as algae clean-up.
The size of your pool, the efficiency of your pump and filter, and how dirty your pool is are just some of the factors you need to consider. Nevertheless, most pool cleaning professionals would advise against running a pool pump for more than 8 hours a day.
Covers prevent evaporation
When the sun and your pool meet during the summer, this means that your pool water will disappear at a greater rate. Having patrons in the water during the day may reduce this effect, but an uncovered pool will still lose water during the night.
Many pool owners use a float under their cover instead of an air pillow. The plus side to using a float is that you likely already have one lying around.
Tie strong string or thin rope to both ends of the pillow; it should have grommets on the edges for this purpose. Place the pillow in the center of the pool. Secure the other ends of the strings to the edge of the pool to keep the pillow in place.
DON'T: Break the ice or remove snow on the cover with a sharp object such as a shovel. Attempt to melt the ice on top of the cover. Ignore the snow sitting on top of the pool cover and assume no damage will occur.
Liquid solar blankets are not meant to heat your pool or replace your heater, they simply retain the warmth from the sun therefore keeping the water warmer for longer and preventing heat evaporation. Less evaporation of course means having to add water to the pool less frequently, resulting in cost and energy savings.
On average, the rise in temperature will be 2 to 5 degrees F for each circulation of water through the solar system. It normally takes from 8 to 12 hours to cycle all of the water in your pool so you can expect an overall temperature rise of 5 to 15 degree F after several days of sunny weather.
When pool water evaporates, it carries with it heat and therefore cools the pool water down. So if evaporation is prevented, then there will be much least heat loss. So simply put, covering your pool you will help warm the water up.
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.
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.
The best way to prevent large build ups of ice is to keep the water level on top of the pool cover to a minimum. You will want to keep a half inch of water on top of the pool cover to keep it from blowing during heavy winds.