Read this before buying Meyco Rugged mesh pool cover

[Homebrewale]

I advocate for solid covers over mesh. Managing the weight and cover pumps is less of a hassle to me then the SLAM Process at opening.

YMMV.

In my 18 years of pool ownership, I've never opened to a green pool and have never done a SLAM.

 

[ajw22]

In my 18 years of pool ownership, I've never opened to a green pool and have never done a SLAM.

Glad it work for you. It does not work for many. And we hear a lot less of green openings from solid pool cover users.

 

[Newdude]

It does not work for many

It does when following TFP recommendations.

Some people can't wait to put the pool away, and I get that. But they create a problem, where it doesn't need to be. And I agree that they need every last possible advantage and should use a solid cover, which still may not be enough.

 

[Homebrewale]

Glad it work for you. It does not work for many. And we hear a lot less of green openings from solid pool cover users.

My neighbor had the same pool as me - same size and shape - built by the same pool company. Probably only 20 feet separated our pools. We both had mesh safety covers. Each year he had the pool company close his pool around the second week in September. The pool company would dump a winterizer kit which consisted of two bags of shock and a bottle of algecide. At that time, my pool water was still around 80F. In the spring, he had the pool opened in mid-May so it would be ready for Memorial Day weekend. Every year, it looked greener than split pea soup when the cover came off.

In contrast, I didn't close my pool until early to mid November when the water temperature reached 60F. I did not dump any closing kit into the pool. I would raise the chlorine to around 15 ppm. In the spring, I would start the opening process around mid-April when the water temperature reached 60F. I never had a green pool.

Two different results for near identical pools only 20 feet apart. I believe it was due to the neighbor closing his pool when the water was too warm and opening when the water was again too warm. I agree with newdude that it does work for people following TFP recommendations.

 

[ajw22]

It does when following TFP recommendations.

You got a link to that?

 

[PoolStored]

You got a link to that?

Close about Nov1, open April 15. Mesh cover. Open to a clear pool and 2-2.5FC every year.

Link-->Closing an In Ground Pool

 

[ajw22]

Close about Nov1, open April 15. Mesh cover. Open to a clear pool and 2-2.5FC every year.

Link-->Closing an In Ground Pool

Glad to see that was recently updated, unfortunately after most people closed their pool last Fall. We will need to send folks there more often come September.

 

[aggiejet]

Fine dirt will go through my Loop-Loc mesh cover. That is expected since it's mesh. I had a solid Loop-Loc cover previously. It was heavy to put on and take off. I hated having to run a cover pump. So I have gone back to mesh. I don't wait until Memorial Day weekend to remove the cover. If I did, it would be a green swamp. I pull back a corner on the cover. When the water hits 60F, I start up the equipment. That is usually in April. Since it is still pollen and other spring debris season, I leave the cover in place while running the equipment. It's called a soft open. By keeping the chemicals at their proper level, I have a clear pool when I finally remove the cover.

So your Loop-Loc mesh keeps all the spring debris out except for fine dirt? Do you have a robot vacuum year round?

I got triple whammied, imo. I got dirt, spring debris (pollen fur), and warm water launched the algae. As I mentioned earlier, I pulled solid tarp off on Father’s Day last year and there was no algae. This is first year I’ve had to SLAM. Which works good. Thank gravy I found TFP otherwise I would be getting in line for a pool cleaning.

 

[PoolStored]

So your Loop-Loc mesh keeps all the spring debris out except for fine dirt? Do you have a robot vacuum year round?

I get dirt, leaves, some sticks, LOTS of woms and mulch in the pool. April 15 (NEOhio) I soft open (fill with water and start the pump filtering). Take two springs off the corner and dump the robot in the pool. Run it daily (or more)...Remove cover April 15 to a spotless pool. I dose with liquid chlorine until the water is warm enough for the SWCG to work. Nothing has gotten under the mesh the robot couldn't handle.

 

[Lake Placid]

My personal pool - loop loc mesh cover. Closed late Oct, opened the day after Memorial Day. (Yeah pool man is last to open his). Fine dirt on the bottom but otherwise clearish with some light algae. 0 Fc. Fired up equipment and raised to slam levels. It’s clear today and will be perfect tomorrow. No heavy debris and I’m surrounded by tons of trees. You must get your straps tensioned right and they have to be tight at closing. I don’t babysit the pool at all over winter.

A pool I service about 5 minutes from my house - I closed it probably late September or early October. Solid cover. No heavy debris, but pulled the cover and it was split pea soup - greener than the pic @wireform showed. Opened it 3 days before mine. It’s now clear green.

To me the cover makes little difference. If heavy debris is entering the pool over winter with either style cover, it’s not installed/adjusted/tensioned properly. Timing of the close and meticulous maintenance in season makes a definitive difference.

 

[wireform]

One other factor is the grounds crew doing fall cleanup. You can leave the pool pristine but then they use the powerfull backpacks and you end up with lots of debris.

 

[Homebrewale]

So your Loop-Loc mesh keeps all the spring debris out except for fine dirt? Do you have a robot vacuum year round?

I got triple whammied, imo. I got dirt, spring debris (pollen fur), and warm water launched the algae. As I mentioned earlier, I pulled solid tarp off on Father’s Day last year and there was no algae. This is first year I’ve had to SLAM. Which works good. Thank gravy I found TFP otherwise I would be getting in line for a pool cleaning.

My mesh cover keeps most of the spring debris out. Fine dirt goes through the mesh. Pollen goes through the mesh. Worms get under the cover. I don't use the robot vacuum until the cover comes off. Very few leaves get under the cover. That's because I'm the landscaper for my house. I make sure when I'm blowing leaves to not blow them towards the cover edge where they could find their way under the cover. Also during spring pollen season, I will occasionally blow the top of the cover to get the pollen off. Otherwise, a rain will get the pollen wet and it ends up going through the cover.

There is always a fine layer of dirt when I remove the cover. I manually vacuum the pool because I can move the vacuum head really slowly across the bottom so the dirt isn't stirred up.

 

[aggiejet]

My assumption was that since the company that sold me the cover installed it, the tension would have been set properly at that point.

Attached is a picture of how much organic debris I netted and vacuumed out. I know the dry green/tan leaves don’t count to total, as those were pool deck sweep up additions. But I had, in my opinion, a lot of that dark black stuff which obviously had been in water a while. This doesn’t include several “nets” that I was emptying over the top of pool deck wall and into the yard. I can’t believe this is “normal”

 

[Newdude]

My assumption was that since the company that sold me the cover installed it, the tension would have been set properly at that point.

It needs to be adjusted as it ages/stretches.

Pretty much if you can see it, it went under the cover and not through it. Had a solid cover not had water on it holding it down, the same would have blown in either way.

IMO a thorough fall yard clean up helps a ton.

 

[SJPoe]

My mesh cover keeps most of the spring debris out. Fine dirt goes through the mesh. Pollen goes through the mesh. Worms get under the cover. I don't use the robot vacuum until the cover comes off. Very few leaves get under the cover. That's because I'm the landscaper for my house. I make sure when I'm blowing leaves to not blow them towards the cover edge where they could find their way under the cover. Also during spring pollen season, I will occasionally blow the top of the cover to get the pollen off. Otherwise, a rain will get the pollen wet and it ends up going through the cover.

There is always a fine layer of dirt when I remove the cover. I manually vacuum the pool because I can move the vacuum head really slowly across the bottom so the dirt isn't stirred up.

Mesh cover here, but also Michigan winter - We shut the heaters off in Late September/early October when the reality of the winter coming is no longer able to be resisted by the expenditure of funds on natural gas.

We then close when the pool is drops below 60, FC up to SLAM level, then open before the water hits 60, once again, trading dollars for the illusion that spring is finally here....next week...for sure...

 

[aggiejet]

Here’s an update and follow on cleaning question.

SLAM complete, water looks good after 5 days.

There is a lot of stain on my 20 year old plaster. Everyday when I brush I see little clouds come up around brush head and I interpret that as stain residue being loosened. Then I manual vacuum. But after five days I’m starting to see diminishing returns. I thought I read somewhere that keeping chlorine at 60% of SLAM will eventually get it clean. So will a higher concentration of chlorine help? Additionally, I use a tradition flat roller manual vacuum. Should I use a head with brushes on it? Lastly, I’ve placed a trichlor puck on the bottom in the heavy stained areas. It doesn’t bleach the area clean even if left overnight ( don’t dogpile me about that, if it isn’t cleaning the stain I’m not too concerned it’s hurting my plaster)

Thanks for all the guidance and input

 

[PoolStored]

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