In the Swim solar cover warranty experience

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svenpup

svenpup

LifeTime Supporter
Nov 18, 2009
841
Sacramento, CA
My 12 Mil solar cover from In the Swim (aka Save On Pool Supplies) which has a 7 year warranty (2 Years Full) completely failed after only 12 months. The side exposed to the sun deteriorated to the point where thousands of little blue dots were everywhere. Needless to say I was not happy with this, but they may have redeemed themselves with their warranty process.

The warranty states that the customer is responsible for returning the cover, but I was pleasantly surprised that they only require a 2'x2' section to be returned. About a week after sending them a small piece of the old cover, I received a new cover.

So I am not thrilled that the cover fell apart so quickly, but at least they stand behind their product.
 
That's impressive, because warranty's state, if left on pool with chlorine above 1ppm, the warranty is void LOL.. and I believe they only truly warranty the seam, not the actual bubbles. That's one positive about buying from a large online store, they more they buy, the more they can leverage their supplier and get x amount of free stuff to deal with issues outside of warranty.
 
I have a cover from them too, clear and new this year. What I had a problem with was the attachment kit #S6500 which would not adhere to my aluminum reel. I used a green scotch brite pad and 409 to clean the reel and rinsed and dried it before applying the sticky velcro squares to it. Within a day they started to drop off and by the end of the month they had all fallen off at least once and some wouldn't even stick anymore. I tried to warranty them but shipping the whole kit back as requested wasn't reasonable compared to it's cost. Ended up using self tapping screws and some slightly bent SS fender washers to fit the curve of the reel to hold them in place. I love the cover so far and it seems to work better at retaining heat than my previous opaque blue one.
 
pooladdict said:
That's impressive, because warranty's state, if left on pool with chlorine above 1ppm, the warranty is void LOL.. and I believe they only truly warranty the seam, not the actual bubbles. That's one positive about buying from a large online store, they more they buy, the more they can leverage their supplier and get x amount of free stuff to deal with issues outside of warranty.
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That is funny because the side that disintegrated was the side exposed to the sun, and not the side exposed to chlorine (with 70ppm CYA). The seam was fine, and it was the back side of the bubbles that were falling off. I don't think the warranty said anything about chlorine level or being seam only. I didn't even have a section of seam in the piece I returned.


kiss4afrog said:
I have a cover from them too, clear and new this year. What I had a problem with was the attachment kit #S6500 which would not adhere to my aluminum reel. I used a green scotch brite pad and 409 to clean the reel and rinsed and dried it before applying the sticky velcro squares to it. Within a day they started to drop off and by the end of the month they had all fallen off at least once and some wouldn't even stick anymore. I tried to warranty them but shipping the whole kit back as requested wasn't reasonable compared to it's cost. Ended up using self tapping screws and some slightly bent SS fender washers to fit the curve of the reel to hold them in place. I love the cover so far and it seems to work better at retaining heat than my previous opaque blue one.
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My Velcro squares wouldn't stick either. I used Elmer's Probond Advanced to stick them on and it worked great. I am always amused and saddened when products don't perform their intended purpose at all. The business model must be that most people won't bother to return them.
 
We bought a pool cover from them. Recieved it and it was ripped down a seam. I wasnt impressed by the quality of the product at all. They sent another one and it was good enough to use. I highly doubt it will make it past the full warranty. Although we had to send the whole cover back to get the other one they said all we would have to do is send a 6'x6' section to them for the warranty. So it looks like they cant make their mind up on that one.
 
I figured I would follow up on this.

It is crazy that they claim 7 year warranty since I never make it much past a year. My covers always fail in the same way; the top of the bubbles exposed to the California sun become brittle and crack. This allows water to get into the little depression and eventually the little blue dots fall off and get everywhere.

I have received several replacements. Their policy is that if you don't pay anything for the replacement the warranty period doesn't reset. So if you get a free replacement or two, eventually you will get into the pro rated period and will only get a partial amount towards a replacement. It turns out that you essentially pay full price since they base it on full catalog price (not discounted eBay price).

I think they finally got sick of giving me covers. This year they claimed that the damage was caused by incorrect chemical balance. Why this would manifest itself as the top of the bubbles exposed to the sun becoming brittle, while the bottom of the bubbles exposed to chlorinated water are fine they didn't bother to explain. Their "experts" determined that it was my fault. No appeal.

My new philosophy is to get the thinnest, cheapest cover I can get and just resign myself to replacing it every season.
 
Well put me down for disappointed. I bought the thick heavy cover and I have more of the plastic bubble circles in the skimmers than I have left on the blanket. It's really looking ratty and rips easily as I try to pull it off the reel to cover the pool. It only gave me three seasons and it's shot. Three is generous as it was getting pretty bad last year. Looking for a replacement this weekend.

I like the thin idea as I could move the old cover myself but this one, no way. I figured the thicker one had a better warranty and would hold up longer. So much for that thinking.
 
svenpup said:
I figured I would follow up on this.

It is crazy that they claim 7 year warranty since I never make it much past a year. My covers always fail in the same way; the top of the bubbles exposed to the California sun become brittle and crack. This allows water to get into the little depression and eventually the little blue dots fall off and get everywhere.

I have received several replacements. Their policy is that if you don't pay anything for the replacement the warranty period doesn't reset. So if you get a free replacement or two, eventually you will get into the pro rated period and will only get a partial amount towards a replacement. It turns out that you essentially pay full price since they base it on full catalog price (not discounted eBay price).

I think they finally got sick of giving me covers. This year they claimed that the damage was caused by incorrect chemical balance. Why this would manifest itself as the top of the bubbles exposed to the sun becoming brittle, while the bottom of the bubbles exposed to chlorinated water are fine they didn't bother to explain. Their "experts" determined that it was my fault. No appeal.

My new philosophy is to get the thinnest, cheapest cover I can get and just resign myself to replacing it every season.
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, are you putting the smooth side of the cover up or down?
 

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