Still deciding on what type of cover to get

[Speed103]

This was our second season with our above ground pool. Last winter, we decided not to cover the pool and just leave it open since we're in southern Louisiana and our winters here are not bad. We may get a rare night below freezing but temps always rebound during the day.
Well it was an experiment that made me decide we needed to do some kind of cover. We're surrounded by trees and when the leaves dropped in the fall, we had to keep vacuuming the pool to attempt to keep it clean. I tested my water weekly to maintain FC levels and ran the pump for an hour a day. Having to vacuum the leaves was annoying, but when spring came, it got crazy with the oak trees dropping their catkins. It was so bad that for a few days I had to manually manage scooping them off the surface of the water and running the pump because they would have clogged the skimmer in no time.
After switching to BBB, I've had a trouble free summer, so I really want a trouble free winter as well. I've been searching here a lot and looking at a lot of cover threads and came to the following conclusions:

Solid covers are good but you have to drain them occasionally and with all the leaves and catkins, it could get pretty bad on the cover.
Leaf nets are good but only on top of a solid cover. With the catkins, I doubt the larger hole size of a leaf net would help with that.
Micro Mesh covers seem to be a good compromise as they allow water through meaning you don't have to drain the top, and they don't allow much sunlight in keeping chlorine from burning off as much.

However, some of the micro mesh cover threads have me confused. I'm not sure if they're meant to be pulled tight to where they're not touching the water. If it has water staying on top, I'm thinking that I'll have a soup of junk in the middle if the micro mesh is sitting in the water. Also, I won't be lowering my water level and I'll be running the pump, so I'm worried about the force of the moving water under the micro mesh cover. I've seen one thread where the cover was sagging in the water, and another where pillows or rafts were left in the middle to prevent the cover from sagging into the pool. I also read that you're not supposed to use pillows with micro mesh, but I never found an answer as to why.

Does anyone else have any experience with using micro mesh covers in a climate where you don't close your pool and is that a good idea for the situation I'm in?

 

[EllieWilliams]

Pool covers - I have the same situation at my house in Houston, TX - mild enough don't need one, but the neighbors trees and time spent on cleaning, chem testing and treatment, well, I splurged on a Merlin SmartMesh Safety Cover - paid $1,500 for a freeform kidney shape in 2008. I love it, tight enough mesh it does not normally touch the water but can and it does not accumilate any junk, nothing but the finest particles get in, it's dark green for a reason, will not let sun in so no alge.

No worries, open in the spring , vacuum, brush, clean the filter and done 2 hour set up. Best thing I ever bought myself, so now instead of fussing 1/2 hour max a week, checking, testing, and monitoring water is all you do in the winter, yes the pump is on, use the BBB through skimmer.

I did a lot of research, due to the investment and installation - it's light, spring hung on anchors, and I am a 57 year old female and can do it all by myself. Takes about 45 minutes to install, 1/2 hour to take down. I would recommend for you, above is a lot easier. I bought it for grandkids, they can not lift it up (springs are really tight), nor can they make it sink down enough (maybe 1/2 inch of water with a 4 year old and aussie shepperd) - not recommended - but can't stop them all the time. It is a Safety cover 15 year warranty, so guaranteed to hold 4,000 lbs and withstand a lot of environmental issues.

Couldn't find any pictures of the cover on - go figure. Going to put on in the next couple of weeks, will post then, or email me if you are still thinking about it later in the month. Attached are some of the paperwork I received to help in your research (owners manual too big to load, sorry). I purchased from Poolsupplyworld.com online http://www.poolsupplyworld.com/wintercovers.htm?cmpid=nav_sub, did a freeform and drilled holes for anchors with help, and have enjoyed ever since. Really easy if you are a DYIer.

I say buy it, can spend your time on the holidays instead of chasing pool.