My 18x36 IG pool was new last fall so after just one winter my cover was torn and it seemed more work than necessary. I have minimal leaves to worry about, so why not leave it not covered? The installer claims that he doesn't cover his own pool. I'd love to hear some opinions on this! Thanks.
What if I just don't cover my pool this winter?
- Thread starter dinman
- Start date
If you live in Miami, no problemo. If you live in Anchorage, it may cause some issues. Where are you?
I've read of it being done on the pool forum and elsewhere. I've thought about it for the pool we're setting up, I think it depends on your circumstances. Lack of crud in the pool, ability to disconnect skimmers and returns so they can overflow if the water rises. The one I'm concerned about is if the temps rise and you get an algae bloom, without a cover you'll get sunlight so more potential for growth. But I've never wintered a pool before so I'm interested in more informed discussion 
duraleigh said:
I found this on another post of theirs and it looks like they live in Maine.
dinman said:
Off the radar for a day. Yes, I am in Maine. Last winter the snow was to the top of the 4' fence and you couldn't even tell there was a pool in there. In the spring when the cover came off the water was level with the deck. So lots of snow and cold winters.
I can't comment knowledgeably on Maine. I would say that VERY few folks in your area leave the pools open but we'll have to wait for folks in your area to chime in.
Just for clarification, do you mean closed but uncovered, or not closed? For here in southwest MO I'm thinking of closing but not covering so I'm interested in this issue. I don't get near as much snow as dinman, though last winter we got a couple of feet during a rare blizzard. Most winters it gets cold enough at least once a year to safely go ice skating on the pond. My main concern with leaving it uncovered is loss of chlorine from the winter sun and getting algae during a mid-winter warm-up.
Yes, I'm talking about closing the pool but not covering it. BTW, it has a salt generator for what its worth. I think the issues that seem to be at hand are dirt/dust, which there won't be much of, and exposure to the sun, which for at least a few months will be nil because it will be frozen and covered with snow. I too hope to hear from other New Englander's about this.
dinman said:
Add your pool info and location if you want to your signature. This will then show up so people will know exactly what you have.
Last year for the first time we closed our pool but didn't cover it, except for a leaf net during the fall. I wished we had put the leaf net back on in the spring, as this would've made the clean up easier when we opened. The pool was not green in the spring, but we did get some leaves and small twigs in it. I felt more eager to get it up and running in the spring, because once it started warming up outside, we really needed to get some chlorine in it. For what it's worth, I've checked chlorine levels after closing and covering the pool before, and the chlorine was all gone within a month.
It was much better not having to deal with a cover full of water, so we will do something similar this year. We have a "mesh" winter cover, and in my opinion they aren't nearly "mesh" enough. Those miniscule holes filled with fine silt and didn't let enough water through to make the cover easy to take off without getting all the top crud in the pool. Also, it's much nicer to look at without a cover too. I look at the blue and I think "aah, summer."
It was much better not having to deal with a cover full of water, so we will do something similar this year. We have a "mesh" winter cover, and in my opinion they aren't nearly "mesh" enough. Those miniscule holes filled with fine silt and didn't let enough water through to make the cover easy to take off without getting all the top crud in the pool. Also, it's much nicer to look at without a cover too. I look at the blue and I think "aah, summer."
This will be the 16th or 17th year that we have closed our inground vinyl pool but not covered it. I really love looking at the water/ice all winter instead of a cover. We live in northern Maryland so our winters are not as harsh as Maine but the last few years we have gotten quite a bit of snow. Unfortunately, we tend to open later than we would like due to work schedules in the spring so it is often a swamp by the time we get to it, but we can usually get it cleared up and crystal clear in a week. So far, it has worked well for us.
Interesting ! We are shopping for a cover for our new pool. The idea of leaving it uncovered and saving $$$$ is tempting.
What is a leaf net? We have a tree line 50 feet north of our pool and another tree line 80+ feet west. ( 3.5 acre lot)
We are in St. Charles MO near St.Louis
What is a leaf net? We have a tree line 50 feet north of our pool and another tree line 80+ feet west. ( 3.5 acre lot)
We are in St. Charles MO near St.Louis
Most of the leaf nets I've seen say to put them on over a regular cover, can they be used solo? Mesh covers might work but they're more expensive then equivalent winter covers. What about using a cheap winter cover just during the leaf falling period? This would extend the life of the cheap cover as it would be stored most of the time.
I was thinking of the savings. We are getting quotes of $3500 - $4000 for a mesh cover. Was avoiding a solid because of the weight. We have a large irregular shape pool. The pool guy was charging I believe $500 to drill the anchors into our pretty new stamped concrete and warned that we can expect some chipping. We got well over 20" of snow last year. I certainly don't want to risk damaging the pool. We would still have someone do the closing, blow out the lines and the antifreeze application.
Yays or Nays ?
Yays or Nays ?
I can't tell you how it would work for you but it has worked well for us. We have been hit by several blizzards and nor'easters over the years, dumping huge amounts of snow on us. Not covering the pool has never caused a problem. We started doing it when our old liner was getting old and we thought it was on its last legs. We actually got several more years out of it than we thought we would. By the time the new liner went in 10 years ago, we were pretty comfortable with not covering it. We do have the pool store come out and blow out the lines and winterize the equipment. I would much rather they do the blowing, not me. Anyway, we have been happy with the decision and so far, no issues with it. 
msgtdan: Your idea of using a cheaper regular cover during leaf season only might work on a smaller agp, but on our pool any water in the cover means it's almost impossible to remove, so it's never an easy process to take off a cover unless it truly lets water drain through it. The only kind I've found that does this well enough for our purposes is a leaf net. Yes, they are really meant to be used over a solid cover, but for our situation they keep the big stuff out, and that's really all we need.
joykens,
I've not had any experience with covers and wasn't sure about the leaf cover solo, but if it's working for you sounds like it ought to work for me. Thanks
I've not had any experience with covers and wasn't sure about the leaf cover solo, but if it's working for you sounds like it ought to work for me. Thanks
The leaf cover is a net with small holes, so a lot of residual dirt will enter your pool and you'll need to use a pool cleaner. It certainly picks up all the big leaves and is realtively light for 2 people to handle. We have an 18x36 pool kidney shape so the leaf net is 24x36. I have leaf issues and I'm just about ready to put the winter cover on and keep the pool un-winterized until November just to keep the leaves out. I find cleaning the pool to be a little easier than using a leaf net personally. I can net the leaves in 10 minutes and taking the leaf net off, cleaning and reinstalling would take longer. Now when I winterize the pool, I'll put the Loop-loc cover on for the winter and put the leaf net on top. My current technique revealed
msgtdan: Well, I guess it just depends on your situation. You will get some fine dirt in your pool if you just use a leaf net. For us that is acceptable, since it means that I, a small woman, can take the cover off by myself. But for others, cover removal may not be so much of an issue.
XsAllOverIt: I see what you mean. Now, for me, I can't scoop anything from the center of my pool from the outside. I have to get in to get leaves out, which I don't do unless it's quite warm .
XsAllOverIt: I see what you mean. Now, for me, I can't scoop anything from the center of my pool from the outside. I have to get in to get leaves out, which I don't do unless it's quite warm
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