Is it okay to keep the solar cover on all the time except when the pool is being used? Somebody told me that the cover should be removed at least every 3rd day to let the pool air out. I know that the sun lowers the level of free chlorine but aside from that I'm not sure of the effect of leaving the cover on all the time. I don't want to take the cover off more than necessary since it's extra work and keeps the pool warm.
keeping solar cover on all the time
- Thread starter SAB
- Start date
The cover keeps the skimmer from working, and sun hitting the water helps break down CC. If I leave mine on for more than a couple of days I end up with bugs and leaves on it that tend to settle when I roll it up.
What John said. It keeps CC from breaking down. The skimmer problem is not as much of an issue as the cover will keep most stuff out of your pool. The pain is getting any debris off the cover when removing without dumping it into your pool or rolling it up in your cover. I've known people that keep it on all the time when not swimming and haven't had any issues.
Diver
0
i keep my cover on for 5 week days and then remove it for a weekend. on several occasions i kept it on for 12 days in a row without any problems. however, it only covers about 80% of the surface, so it might make a difference when it come to CC
I keep my cover on 24/7 except while swimming which maybe for 2 hrs max a day
No problems with ccs yet
I probably just jinxed myself
No problems with ccs yet
I probably just jinxed myself
MikeInNH
0
Mine is on unless someone is swimming or my Aquabug is doing it's thing. I've never had an issue as long as the chlorine levels are good. My pool water would not be 81 right now without it (and my solar panels). The nights are just too cold here right now. If we know we're going to swim we do roll up the cover so the skimmer can pick up the floating stuff but there's not much of that seeing the cover is always on. You can use a lite net on a pole to pick debris off the cover. Also, by the skimmer I lift the cover up onto the pool side held with a water jug so the water flows well into the skimmer.
If you never used the pool, then keeping the cover on all the time wouldn't matter. There wouldn't be chemicals in the pool that need to get broken down in that case. However, for a pool that is used even infrequently, you can build up organic matter that is slow to oxidize without the help of sunlight. Having the pool open at least once per week with sunlight will help prevent buildup of such organic matter (mostly urea). During the winter, I usually keep the cover on all the time except when briefly adding more chlorine about once every couple of weeks. During the summer, the pool gets used for about an hour or so every day and longer on weekends.
Thanks to everyone for your responses, appreciate you taking the time to help out a newbie 
A lot of times during the week we only roll the cover back to uncover the shallow end
On the weekends we roll it all the way off during the day, but recover at nite
I opted for the clear cover last year for a new cover, not sure how much that helps by letting in the sun
I also heat with solar
We actually both use hand skimmers while we are in the pool when we 1st roll back the solar cover
The less debris/bugs that go into the filter the better
On the weekends we roll it all the way off during the day, but recover at nite
I opted for the clear cover last year for a new cover, not sure how much that helps by letting in the sun
I also heat with solar
We actually both use hand skimmers while we are in the pool when we 1st roll back the solar cover
The less debris/bugs that go into the filter the better
One other negative to leaving the cover on is algae growth on top of the cover. If water gets splashed there from returns or from rain, the water on top doesn't get chlorinated. This can give algae a foothold that can take advantage and get started in the pool, or maybe just make the cover ugly.