I use throw away covers, mainly due to lack of storage space for a safety cover. Every year for the last 10 years, the cheap covers rip, the water bags leak and the pool is loaded with leaves, dirt, worms and other debris when I open it. So I'm wondering, why bother? Everything ends up in there anyway. What's the point? I'm thinking do the close without the cover.
Thinking about a no cover close next fall
- Thread starter georose
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It can be done. If you could add all your pool and equipment info to your sig, that will help us better help you. ?
I know the basic info, 36000 gal in ground with spa. Off the top of my head I don't know all the mechanical specs.
I don't close here in North Carolina but I am not sure what issues you might have in a colder climate.
I can't imagine any permanent damage if you give it a try for a season and see what happens.
I can't imagine any permanent damage if you give it a try for a season and see what happens.
You could easily close without a cover. You'd do everything the same just not put on the cover. That being said, you should close as late as possible and probably be skimming leaves/debris well into late fall/winter until it froze. If it does freeze solid, it would actually be easier to remove snow. You could shovel it off like a driveway. You'd also want to open as soon as possible in the spring and have a lot of days of skimming before it was warm enough to be swimmable.
I usually close 1st week in November and open mid April anyway. I hate the look of a closed pool. I think I'm going to try a no cover close next fall. Thanks for the input.
I've got 4 customers with VERY large and long waterfalls that make covering..... Interesting shall we say? After blowing money on "trash bag" covers and researching astronomical cost of a safety cover, we went cover-less for a season. Water is cheap here and we can drain and clean these particular pools in less than 6 hours. If draining isn't an option in your area, throw 3-4 chlorine floaters in the pool and hit it with your leaf rake 2-3 times a week for 10-15 min when leaves are at their worst. Don't try to get it all in one shot, let it settle. Eventually you'll be caught up and your floaters should keep your water at bay until your ready to fire up the pump again.
With a Gunite pool I assume you have some sort of tiles at the water line. If so you maybe concerned that if the water level happens to be at the tile line if/when it freezes you could get damage or pop out some tiles. I have read posts where this has happened to others.
That being said I had my pool close for 8 years with a Looploc cover and never paid attention to the water level. Ultimately the water level got above the tile line all the way up to the coping, which is natural stone. No problems with the tiles because they were way below the surface. But a bunch of the mortar around some of the stones became crumbly, I’m guessing from the freeze cycles.
That being said I had my pool close for 8 years with a Looploc cover and never paid attention to the water level. Ultimately the water level got above the tile line all the way up to the coping, which is natural stone. No problems with the tiles because they were way below the surface. But a bunch of the mortar around some of the stones became crumbly, I’m guessing from the freeze cycles.
I know all too well about tiles and freezing. I lost hundreds of them last winter. I think without a cover I could keep track of the water level with a glance out the window. I can't wait until I can move out of the **** Hole that is New Jersey to a warm place where my pool can remain open year round.
What I do now is to lower the water level below my top step which is also below my returns, and leave a sump pump with float switch on the step. As long as there is power the water never reaches my tiles