Winter cover

[Luric]

I know this has been asked a million times, but I'm having trouble sifting through the posts for truly relevant info for us. It's our 1st time owning a pool, our 1st time closing. The ppl we bought from were in the house less than a year and never closed it, so we can't ask their advise. To the best of our knowledge the pool has never had any type of cover (built in '93). Our pool inspector mentioned the design & layout would make it difficult & expensive, so I'm assuming that was the reason, but is it worthwhile to ante up and get some sort of winter cover? We're in the northeast (NJ), so it snows a lot, and the pool is surrounded by all sorts of plants/trees/flowers/bushes (beautiful, but already overwhelming our filter & polaris in early September!) What are the benefits & drawbacks to NOT using a cover in the NE through the fall & winter? All the pool closing places I've called talked about us needing to balance the water and clean everything out before closing, but is that much of an issue if we're not using a cover? And if we aren't using a cover, should I be routinely doing anything throughout the "offseason"? I've attached a couple photos to show what I'm dealing with. Thanks for your help!
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[Texas Splash]

Beautiful pool! You're right, there are lots of threads and different opinions on the subject. Even if you decide not to get a full-blown solid cover (pros & cons either way), I would recommend at least a good mesh netting to help you capture the leaves from the numerous tress in your area. That will help considerably. Of course follow the instructions here for Pool School - Closing an In Ground Pool and you should be fine. Have a great day.

 

[Luric]

I'm confused because there appears to be no damage to the pool itself, no marks or staining on the tile, still original plaster w/ pebble finish - so if the pool is in fine shape after over 20 yrs of no cover (landscaping has always been the same), is a cover worth investing in other than to make opening a little faster? I'm having a hard time finding any previous posts from someone in the NE with a freeform pool with a raised wall with plants hanging over the pool edge talking about whether or not to cover. Most of the cover/no cover threads are ppl in areas where it gets too cold to swim, but they don't deal with snow and certainly no one dealing with as much leaf debris as our pool will get.

 

[EVChargeGuy]

I'm in the NE & like your pool, mine is surrounded by many tree's etc. so I speak from experience
As we go through the fall it most likely will be a full time job keeping the leaves out of an uncovered pool located near so many trees.
Spring start up could also take much longer as you would have to get all the winter 'stuff' out.

I agree with Tx Splash, at least get some sort of Mesh/Net cover to keep the bulk of the leaves out. BUT this would require you to make sure the leaves are blown off such a light weight cover. if the netting gets a good cover of leaves which are not blown off, with the snow we've been having I doubt the netting would hold the weight. I had over 3 feet of snow for weeks on my LoopLuc cover last winter. It laughed at the weight and just some pine needles got into the pool.

So its a trade off, spend $'s on a cover using water bags etc or $$$'s on a safety type cover like LoopLuc, OR devote the time dealing with all the stuff that gets in the pool.

About ten years ago I spent $3,500 for the custom shape LoopLoc and expect many more years of use from it. At that time I had a waterfall and the cover had to be designed around it. I expect such a cover for your pool would cost more.

It's just mid-September I'm already spending too much time scooping leaves & small branches out of the pull and I'm sorry to say cant wait for it to be cold enough to close it.

 

[Casey]

With all of those trees, I'd invest in a cover or you could try your hand at the never ending task of raking a murky green pool blind next Spring.

 

[domct203]

That is a beautiful oasis you have!

I'm with the majority, at the least you should consider some type of netting to catch leaves.

The last long term owner may of had the time to keep up with the leaves, removing them throughout the day during heavy falls.

Do you have any small children or pets that may wander? If so I recommend you look into a proper Safety Cover.

I'm in Southern CT, under two big trees. I'm going to use a solid cover and a leaf net cover on my AGP.

Dom

 

[zimm]

Very nice pool! I'd get a loop-lock solid cover with mesh drains. I love mine. I just installed it last weekend because my trees are already dropping enough leaves to fill the skimmer daily. They're custom made so this time of the year it'll take several weeks before it's ready, and that's after the installers come out and measure for it. Mine is going on it's 3rd year and holding up great.

I install the cover on labor day weekend, but keep the pool operating for a month or so, until the water is below 60 degrees. Then I open some of the cover in order to blow out and plug the returns and winterize the pool. In the spring, when the water hits 60 degrees, I do the reverse- I pull the plugs, get the water filtering and balanced, and only remove the cover after the spring pollen fiasco stops. Doing this, I don't have green water ever, and upon removing the cover, I only have a quick vacuuming of the bottom sediment and suicidal earth worms to suck up.

To date, I've had 2 large dogs, a couple kids, and my mother in law fall or accidently walk out on the cover and no issues. Much safer than a cover with water bags or rocks holding it.