Do I need a winter cover?

[Dogwell]

Hi all. We bought a house last year and were only able to use our pool for a little over a month this year. Overnight the pool went green and we later found out the CYA levels were through the roof. We didn't bother to change out the water this year and will start afresh with a new liner and water next spring.

We won't put on any sort of cover this winter, but I wanted to chat about covers in general. Last year we used the solid cover and water bags that came with the house, but getting the cover off was a nightmare due to all of the leaves and water that had accumulated. I'm aware that we should have been draining the water throughout the winter, but it just wasn't feasible for me with two little kids. Moving forward, what so you recommend? There seems to be such a variety of techniques from what I've read! Some people don't seem to use any cover at all.

Can you please explain what the main benefit is of the cover if the water still is green when you open it?

We have a massive oak and many other trees around the pool. Can you recommend a leaf net for me? Can I use just a leaf net and no other cover?

Would you recommend a safety cover?

I'm totally confused and would appreciate any advice. Many thanks.

 

[pooldv]

We do not use a cover for winter and we have lots of trees. Get a nice heavy duty leaf rake. I don't know what kind ours is. The PB gave it to us in 2012 and it still works great. We also run the robot all through fall and spring to help with leaf clean up.

What is half AT?

Add your state to your location over there <----- and we can help you better.

 

[Dogwell]

Thank You, PoolDv. Sorry that was a typo. Pool is half above ground and half in ground. It's on a highly sloped yard. We are in MD. We have a leaf rake, but it doesn't cope. I have to clean the pool at least 3 times every day even in the summer time. There are so many leaves. I was thinking of getting an auto cover, but the costs are prohibitive. Is there a vacuum that will take care of all the leaves on the surface?

 

[Dogwell]

Bump.

 

[pooldv]

I'm not familiar with a surface vacuum. What we do is run our variable speed pump at 1100 rpm 24x7 for maximum skimming and keeping debris off the bottom. It only uses 150 watts and at 10.25c/kWh it costs less than 12 bucks a month to run 24x7. We have to empty the skimmers very day during the summer and run the robot every day. During spring and fall we have to empty the skimmers 6 or 8 times a day and sometimes still use the leaf rake.

 

[mariane]

Thank You, PoolDv. Sorry that was a typo. Pool is half above ground and half in ground. It's on a highly sloped yard. We are in MD. We have a leaf rake, but it doesn't cope. I have to clean the pool at least 3 times every day even in the summer time. There are so many leaves. I was thinking of getting an auto cover, but the costs are prohibitive. Is there a vacuum that will take care of all the leaves on the surface?

Hi Dogwell. We use a solid cover for the fall, winter and spring, draining it using a submersible pump and a leaf rake to remove the leaves, all before it freezes. When it starts to snow, we just let it be. We tried a leaf net but the smaller leaves fell through anyway and the big leaves were heavy and wet. The leaf net just sat on top of the water, so it didn't seem to help at all. It also was harder to clean off than the winter cover.
We also use a Polaris 65 for sweeping the bottom. (It calls itself a vacuum but it just catches the leaves in a bag that drags along the bottom.) It works, but sometimes is temperamental.
Hope this helps.

 

[DanielJ]

Good advice from Pooldv!

Regarding a safety cover, we have one and I think that it works great. It fits snugly so very little debris can get in during the winter. It is permeable, so water does not pond on it. Snow does accumulate on it, but it melts eventually. They are a bit pricy and require a sturdy anchoring system. We had our pool builder install ours.

 

[jsaidoo]

I'm looking at covers right now for my new pool (never owned one before). Can you share some details about yours? The one we've been quoted by the PB is rated as 90% UV blocking mesh.