The Pros and Cons of Swimming Pool Covers

If you have been considering a cover for your swimming pool, you may be wondering if they are worth it or not. To be frank, the positives of a pool cover far outweigh the negatives. In this post, we’ll dive into the pros and cons of swimming pool covers to help you decide if you think they’ll be beneficial or not.

The pros

They keep your pool much cleaner

Any pool owner can tell you that it’s a constant effort to keep the pool free of debris and leaves. A pool cover can drastically cut back on the number of contaminants that make their way into your pool. This can reduce the amount of time you need to spend scooping out leaves, and it can keep your skimmer basket cleaner. Leaf litter and other organic matter are some of the main culprits when it comes to throwing off your pool’s chemistry levels. A pool cover can help to keep them balanced, saving you time and money.

Fewer pool chemicals are required

As the pool is cleaner, the chemistry levels are more balanced, and this means you won’t have to add chemicals to the pool constantly to rebalance the water. This can save you some serious coin over time. Another benefit to using a cover in terms of chemicals is that the sun’s UV rays degrade chlorine. A cover can prevent these from hitting the water and can decrease the rate that your chlorine breaks down. This means fewer top-ups are required.

Minimize the rate your pool water evaporates

Many things contribute to water evaporation in a pool. Some of the most common ones are the temperature, air, and the sun. When a cover is placed over the pool, these cannot make direct contact with pool water, and this has a huge impact on the rate that water evaporates from the pool. Without a cover, your pool water level will drop quite quickly, especially in the summertime or when it’s windy. When the water level gets too low, this can cause the skimmer to suck in air which can damage the pool pump. Additionally, filling the pool up with a considerable amount of fresh water means that your pool will likely need rebalancing as a result and more chemicals will need to be added to the pool. With a cover, you don’t have to top your water back up as often, and this can save you time as well as money on your water bills.

You can raise the temperature of your pool

There are tons of pool cover options available today, and one of the more popular ones is solar pool covers. Good quality solar pool covers can warm the water by up to 12 degrees which is a significant difference. They essentially act as an insulator and transfer heat from the sun to the pool water and trap it. The best part about solar pool covers is that once you purchase them, they cost you nothing to warm your pool and sometimes when the weather is a little cooler, a few extra degrees of warmth in the pool can make the biggest of differences. If you have pool heating a cover is a great way to retain warmth in the water when you are not using it. Without a cover, the heat escapes from the pool quite rapidly, and you need to run the heater for longer to get the pool back to a desirable temperature. This can save you a lot of money.

It makes your pool all-round easier to look after

A cover can cut down on the amount of time you need to spend cleaning the pool, topping it up and rebalancing the chemicals which makes looking after your pool hassle-free.

They are inexpensive and easily accessible

Pool covers start at as little as a few hundred dollars, and for the number of benefits they offer, they are worth their weight in gold. You can purchase pool covers online or at your local pool or hardware store.

The cons

They can detract away from the appeal of your pool

Some pool owners don’t like the look of pool covers however, you don’t have to use them 24/7 to reap the benefits that they can provide. One of the more appealing pool cover options is an automatic pool cover. While expensive, they are built into the side of the pool and generally look a lot better than a floating cover. As they have a hard top, they can make your pool safer too. If an automatic cover is out of your budget, there are tons of options to choose from, all ranging in color, style and materials allowing you to find one that suits your preferences.

Some types can be a hassle to use

Some styles of pool covers can be a challenge to use and if they are a hassle, you may not use them as much as you may like to. Floating blankets are usually stored on a roller, and they need to be rolled off the pool and back onto the roller when finished. It can be difficult to roll them neatly with only one person, two people are usually needed to be able to do this properly.

You may not get proper coverage if your pool is another shape other than a standard rectangle

Trying to cover an irregular pool shape with a rectangle-shaped pool cover can be impractical. You may need to have the pool cover cut to size if this is the case.

You need to store the roller

If your pool area is lacking space and you purchase a roll-able pool blanket, this can restrict the amount of free room you have.

We hope this post has given you an insight into the pros and cons of swimming pool covers. In our professional opinion, they are worth the cost and can save you some time and money on pool maintenance.

If you have any additional questions about pool covers or you are in the market for a new swimming pool in Melbourne, reach out to your friendly local Fibreglass Pool in Melbourne. They specialize in spectacular fiberglass pools, and would love to be of assistance if they can!