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.
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.
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.
After most of the water is evacuated, you can open your cover 1/2 to 2/3 of the way to gather any remaining water, put your cover pump back on for a couple of minutes to remove remaining water, and then you are ready to open the pool cover the rest of the way to swim.
After 24 hours of circulation test your pool water for PH and Chlorine and adjust accordingly. The chemical levels should be PH 7.2 – 7.6 ppm and chlorine 1.5 – 2.0 ppm. Take your swimming pool cover and water bags out to the driveway remove all debris and wash them, let them dry out fold and store for the fall.
The water level should not be lower than 18” from the top of the pool. If your water level goes down further than 18”, the cover could stretch out too much and either rip or cause anchors to pull out of your deck. For most manufacturers of Solid Spring type pool covers, this could void your warranty!
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.
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.
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.
An uncovered pool will lose water in the winter to evaporation in the same way it does during the summer. But the water loss is only about a quarter-inch on average during a 24-hour period when the pool is not in use. An uncovered or covered pool can have problems in the plumbing lines or pump.
The average pool water evaporation rate is about a quarter of an inch of water per day or more than two inches in a week, which on a 33′ x 18′ swimming pool (an average pool size) is more than 2500 liters or approximately 600 gallons a week; this may vary depending on your climate and the factors listed above.
How Quickly Does It Evaporate? For evaporation, anywhere between 2 millimeters to 2 inches per week is about what you should expect in terms of pool water loss.
Mesh safety covers are porous and do allow for evaporation. Remember, you can lose 1-2 inches of water in the summer, but it is also very dry with less humidity in the winter.
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.
If you have an above-ground pool with a vinyl pool liner, drain the pool to about 1 inch below the bottom of the skimmer mouth. It's acceptable to drain the pool a few more inches below that if you live in an area that gets heavy precipitation during the winter months.
After Shocking Your Pool
It is safe to swim once your chlorine levels are around 5 ppm or after 24 hours. It is always best to test first!
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.
Depending on the size of your pool, we still recommend you run your pump run at least 4-6 hours a day during the fall and winter months. The daily cycle can be divided into multiple cycles, but each cycle should be no shorter than 4 hours, for all the water to pass through the filter at least once.
It's best to run your pool pump during the day
Not only does sunlight give fuel for algae to grow, it also destroys your pool chlorine and this is why you should always run your pool during the day!
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.
Outside of the air conditioner, the pool pump is the largest electricity consumer in the average pool-containing home. According to the study, at the national average of 11.8 cents per KWh, a pool pump alone can add as much as $300 a year to an electric bill.