Are Winter Safety Covers Necessary?

[NullQwerty]

Hey folks,

I own an 18X36 IG pool and live in Massachusetts. For as long as I've owned the house, I've used the Winter Safety Cover that the prior owners installed. It is the green mesh type that attaches through spring straps to large metal bolts/screws drilled into the concrete deck.

This fall I am having the concrete deck removed and will take the fall and spring to install pavers myself. Because of that the bolts that the winter cover attaches to hold down won't be in the ground before the winter starts.

So...Is it perfectly fine not to have the safety cover on the pool over the winter? I've got a pool fence and don't have children, so I don't think there is much safety risk. Are there other reasons (other than keeping leaves out during the fall) that make a winter safety cover something I really want attached all winter?

Thanks!

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Unless you keep your pool open after swim season is over (sanitized and filtering) you will likely be looking at some icky water...

 

[mickey4paws]

I use a regular winter cover and use water blocks to hold it down. Is it possible to use water blocks to hold your safety cover down until you get your new deck?

 

[NullQwerty]

Thanks!

Sounds like it does serve a purpose then. Water blocks won't work for me because the snow that collects on top of it over the winter must weight a few thousand pounds. Maybe what I'll try to do instead is see if I can jurry-rig up something similar to the metal tent posts you use to keep camping tents down...except mine will be about 3 feet long.

Otherwise maybe I'll try attaching line to the straps and attaching the line to trees and stuff surrounding the pool.

Thanks for the info!

 

[pooladdict]

Hi:

I live in the Maritimes of Canada, and I do not use a cover at all. Neighbours are always laying theirs on their lawns and manually cleaning them in the spring. They use the water filled bags, and the weight of the snow and ice eventually pulls most of those into the pool. If I was to get any cover at all, it would be a safety cover so that I could walk on it and push the snow off.

I believe most covers are mainly a hassle over just leaving the snow to fall on it, and the ice eventually will form.

If your safety cover is on for dogs or small children possibly walking on to it, then by all means I would just drill in some bolts to your new bricking. You could recess the bolts so no one steps on them in the summer, and can snap in the safety cover in the fall.

Hope this helps

 

[mickey4paws]

Thanks!

Sounds like it does serve a purpose then. Water blocks won't work for me because the snow that collects on top of it over the winter must weight a few thousand pounds.

Oh yeah, I forgot those safety covers lay flat across the top of the pool. My winter cover is one of those tarp kind and we drop the water below the returns when we close the pool, and then the winter cover drops down into the pool so it sits on top of the lowered water. We gets tons of snow here but so far we've been lucky with the waterblocks. The only downside to waterblocks is the wind will blow the covers off. So we remedy that by tying string around the waterblock which seems to keep the lid on.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution, albeit temporary.

 

[NullQwerty]

Hi:

I live in the Maritimes of Canada, and I do not use a cover at all.

Oh cool...so do you have issues of opening the pool and the water is overly dirty or algae filled?

This will be for only one season for me while the area is under construction, so as long as it's not too bad I think leaving it off might be a good way to go for me. Only thing that I think may get a little out of control are the leaves dropping into it in the fall. Maybe if skim everyday during that time period though...

 

[pooladdict]

I have four neighbors with pools, I am the only one who doesnt use a cover, mine has a lil dirt in it upon opening, but after one day I am good to go.

One neighbor keeps his pool spotless, cover comes off and you could swim in it, the other three are worse then mine, as all that crud that collects on the top, gets snow on it, then filters down through their covers.

Its alot of work in the fall, and more work in the spring or possibly mid winter when to much snow/ice has built up and melting occurs naturally. One good vacuum in the spring and I am good to go.

The only, and I mean only reason I would ever get a cover is for small children or dogs, other then that, we leave it open and always have a nice view until the freeze sets in.