Leaf Cover/Net

[RayB]

Hello,
new to this site and "pool ownership".. Just bought a house with an in ground pool, in Marietta Ga. area. The property is heavily wooded and the previous owner's told us that "leaf season" is tough. I started to look into Leaf Covers.
I am not planning on shutting down and covering the pool for the winter... So my question is, do Leaf Covers HAVE to be installed over a winter cover? Or can you put a leaf cover over the pool all by itself? Seems logical but all the descriptions I am reading say that these leaf covers go over your winter cover....

Logically I'm thinking if the leaf cover is properly anchored and I blow off or pull off the leaves every day or so it should be just fine...

Any advice is welcome..

RayB.

 

[ctrav]

Welcome to TFP Ray...

Good question and I’m sure someone with experience on this issue will be along soon...

 

[Yev]

Sorry I am not familiar with a leaf cover. I would like to ask you a question. I am in teh midwest, so closing a pool for the winter is a necessary thing. But for you in GA, what is the climate like between Nov and Feb? The idea of not closing the pool sounds good, but if you will not actually swim in the pool during that time, keeping it open is a time consuming and costly endeavour. I close the pool not only because the freeze forces me, but this gives me a 5 month reprieve where I dont need to spend any time or money on the pool.

 

[Oly]

I have a leaf net cover and used it last fall when a big wind was in the forecast. I used it on top of the water and anchored it around the pool edge with bricks. After the wind stopped I pulled it off and shook the leaves out. One issue with leaving it on the water surface is the skimmer cannot function normally. Many small bits of debris will make it to the water surface and not move into the skimmer. Also some of the small debris that make it through the 1/4" netting will sink to the bottom but the robot will get those. My robot will probably get the leaves too so not sure if I will use the leaf net this season or not.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I’m pretty new to pool ownership, too, but one of the priorities when we moved in was figuring out a safety net (four children) and a leaf cover. Our backyard is very wooded, and the location is windy. It was not easy in our area to find something to fit our pool, but we went with Katchakid brand and have been very pleased. We use the safety net all the time and the leaf cover when necessary. I remember one day in March when the live oaks were dropping, I vacuumed up fourteen bags of leaves from the pool area in one afternoon. (In the fall before we had the net, I also remember days when I had to clear the skimmers every few hours.)

Our Leaf net is installed over our safety net but it could be done independently (we need the safety factor first and foremost). Ours hooks into anchors and is a very tight fit. It is fine mesh, so water drains through. Fine sediment will get in, but our skimmers work just fine since the net is inches above the water. In fact it’s been on this weekend since we’ve had a couple of storms blow through.

I don’t know what’s available in your area. It took me numerous inquiries to find someone, but such products as independent leaf nets that cover non-winterized pools do exist. You might research Katchakid. Even if they’re not in your area, they might be able to refer you to someone else. I found what I needed safety-wise on the internet, called the owner even though his company was hours away, and he referred me to Katchakid. I know I talked to several companies with similar products who didn’t service our area. I just don’t remember the names now as this was last November.

 

[mariane]

We had a leaf net and only used it one year. It has been sitting folded up for years and we move it from one storage spot to another.

I found it was not effective to stop the smaller debris from slipping thru the openings and then landing on the bottom of the pool, or if over a winter cover landing on the winter cover anyways. Having to pull it off the pool to shake out the soggy leaves that it did catch was quite a bother. For us it was not worth all the extra work.

 

[RayB]

Here in Atlanta the weather can vary. Sure some winters we have had crazy cold weather, but its a toss up... The HOt Tub is "connected" to our pool, and will definately use that in the winter... I have some friends that close thier pool and others that keep it going but don't run the pool filters as often... if we have "warm" winter then would probably use the pool several times with the full pool being capable of being heated...

 

[Shirker]

I'm somewhat in your area and stopped covering my above ground pool. The winter maintenance was less without a cover than it was with a cover. I felt like I was spending a lot of time draining water (maybe unnecessarily) off the cover. Then it was always a huge pain in the spring to get the cover off without spilling sludge into the pool. Maybe a leaf-net instead of a solid cover would make this easier? Once the water temp dropped below 60 degrees F, there was little that needed to be done except the occasional vacuum and making sure the pump was on when the temp dropped below freezing.