recommended type of cover???

[midtngal]

Hello all! I am now facing the issue of what type of cover to get for my pool. The PB has recommended the safety net. I have no children or animals, so safety isn't really an issue. Friends say to do it right from the get-go and get this one so I will not have a nasty mess in the spring to clear up. I'm kind of leaning towards something simple for now and save a few dollars for elsewhere. At the same time, I don't want to have a "you-get-what-you-pay-for" kind of experience in the spring. If I do something along the lines of the water bags, is there a water treatment I could do during the winter to keep it from being nasty in the spring? All experienced opinions welcome! TIA

 

[ric]

Hi midtngal
I have the safety cover and i like it. There Will be a positive and negative to what ever you choose. The safety cover is all I can comment on so here is what I think. I think it is probably lighter. I can install and remove it buy myself. I have never found anything bigger then a worm or spider in the pool in the spring. In the fall I can still install the cover before the leaves fall and still run the pump. I can run a robotic cleaner under the cover in the winter. I have never opened to nasty water, there will be a lot of small silk dirt on the bottom in the spring but I never had algy but you are farther south with warmer water and this might change for you I don't know. I would recommend the safety cover but that is all I have had. I think Jason Lion has the other type I hope to see his thoughts.
What ever you choose good luck.
Merry Christmas
Ric W.

 

[midtngal]

Duly noted Ric! Thanks. Pretty much what my friends were telling me and I probably will go that route, but now that it's down to actual decision time, I'm waivering! I will be interested to see what others have to say as well.

Merry Christmas to you as well!

 

[waste]

Midtngal, WELCOME to TFP!!

Very quickly, cause I've been 'not- sleeping' in an uncomfortable bed for 4 days and NEED some real sleep, you can get a solid cover, held down by water tubes, fairly cheap. The cover should keep most of the nasties at bay if you give the pool a good shock dose and use polyquat.

I'll be back tomorrow to more fully explain but I've gotta go to bed now 8)

 

[midtngal]

Thanks Waste! I can trully relate to your situation! I have been there in the past myself. Don't let the bed bugs bite!! I look forward to hearing more about this...you've peaked my interest. Night, night now.....

 

[JasonLion]

A solid cover with water bags is a fair bit of work to put on and take off. Filling, placing, replacing, emptying, cleaning and storing the water bags takes time. And a solid cover fills up with leaves and water, which can make quite a mess when some of the soggy leaves get into the pool while you are taking the cover off (which happens as often as not). The solid cover with water bags is far less expensive and it does improve the odds of opening to clean water. However, that odds improvement isn't huge. A mesh cover usually works out and even a solid cover can open to a swamp sometimes.

We have the solid cover with water bags right now and are planning to switch to a mesh safety cover when we finally get around to doing our pool rebuild. On the other hand, if you can't afford the safety cover right now, it is simple enough to add later.

 

[midtngal]

Thanks Jason! That does sound a lot like work for the waterbags. Adult language might end up being used! :lol: I can afford the safety cover now, but was just thinking it might overkill for my situation. I won't have too many leaf issues, but I will have major pine needle issues. I think the solid cover versus the mesh would be best for me. This is all so exasperating! I've spent more time on this cover than I did the liner! Thanks for your input!

 

[Riles_J]

midtngal,

Another option you may or may not have considerred is not covering it at all. I live in Nashville as well, and many around these parts do not cover their pool in the winter. The advantages are you don't have to go through the closing/opening process, you don't have to purchase additional polyquat or other closing chemicals, you can look out at your sparkling water throughout the winter, you don't have to purchase a cover/bags/etc. and you can sneak in some late season swims if you have an unexpected warm snap.

With that being said there are a few negatives as well. You do have to be diligent about preventing your pipes from freezing. The easiest way to do this is to purchase a freeze timer ($150-$200) which turns your pump on when temps. drop below a predetermined level. We do not have one, but may invest in one in the future. We simply keep an eye on the weather and run the pump during freezing temps. Depending on your setup you may have some additional work keeping your pool clean during the fall as the leaves drop. For us this take a bit of work as we have a lot of trees around our pool. And you have the additional cost of electricity to run your pump over the winter. I'm not sure the exact cost of that, but it seems fairly negligible for us.

I'm sure there are more advantages and disadvanages that I have not thought.

Food for thought.

Riles

 

[midtngal]

Riles, thanks for the input! I actually had thought of this early on, but decided that at least for this year I would close it. See in my world, Murphy is on my shoulder at all times! My luck, we would have the worst ice storm we have had in 20 years and I would end up repairing it before I can even swim in it! Also, being a new pool owner I'm kinda clueless at this point on all this. Maybe next year when I know a little more about what I'm doing. I'm thinking green and red lights in the pool for Christmas would be really cool!!

 

[waste]

Hi, I'm back -- it was great!! to sleep in my own bed that's actually large enough for me :-D

The others have expressed the pros and cons very well, but I'll throw in my $.02

Any cover is more easily installed/ removed with 2 or more people (exception being automatic covers - but the moral support while hitting the switch to open/ close it never hurts :lol: ) Things are made easier if the cover is properly folded before trying to put it on - 'fan fold' (or 'sailor fold') the cover [to fan fold the cover, have it spread out and the 2 people folding it start from either the deep or shallow end of the cover, each person places a foot on the cover ~ 3' from the back edge and pull the cover so that the fold created is even with the back edge, put foot on the top of the fold you just created and repeat, until you have a ~3' cover. Now, starting at both ends, make ~3' folds towards the center, when you hit the middle, fold one side over the other and you should have a ~ 3' X 3' cover, ready for storage (to make life easier in the fall, put a piece of tape on it on which you write which end of the pool to start at and an arrow pointing to the opposite end )] Folding the cover this way makes it much, much easier to get on in the fall - if you have a new cover, you can do a 'quick and sloppy' fan fold before putting it on the pool.

The water tubes can be more easily filled if you are using a garden hose by purchasing a "Y" connector (like you'd use to run 2 hoses off 1 spigot) with on/ off valves. At the end of a hose long enough to reach all the way around your pool and attach 2 one foot pieces of hose so that you can fill both sides of a double water tube at the same time. If it's cold and the caps don't want to close on the water tubes, you can gently heat them up with a hairdryer to make them easier to play with. (I've got a few more tips/ tricks if anyone's interested )

The solid covers will collect rain and leaves. A leafnet will let you remove the leaves more easily and a small submersible pump can help keep the water to a minimum - or, if your backyard permits, you can simply siphon off the water.

AGAIN -- I'm cut short on time! I have to go to the dentist (thank goodness wife is here to remind me of these things :!: ) I'll come back later and see if I left out anything major.

Hope that this is at least a little 'food 4 thought' :lol:

 

[midtngal]

Waste, yet another one my favorite things to do (dentist)!! Mine got to refurb his whole building off what I've had done!! :lol: Thanks for the instructions...I'll probably need them! Unless I can talk the PB into doing it, this will be a one-woman job. It's my understanding that a sump pump comes with the safety cover to keep water to a minimum :?: . I may just be right back at where I started here...going with the safety cover if for no other reason than simplicity. Once it's on, it's on and no "issues" to deal with until Spring. At least that's what I'm being told. Anyone with a safety cover know differently??

 

[waste]

Let me take a different approach on this-

Having heard what the nice folk here have to say on the different covers (or non covers) choose what you feel will be best for you/ your situation - we'll be here to help with any questions you have, regardless as to the cover you get :-D

However, as you may decide to keep the pool open year round, as per Riles - getting the 'safety cover' could be a 'waste ' of $$. The cost of getting a solid cover & watertubes & a pump to keep the water to a minimum & a leafrake (my apologies, I meant the leafrake, not leaf leafnet [though those are great too and you may want to invest in one if you decide to keep the pool open all year]) would be a lot le$$ than the cost of a safety cover you'll only use 1 season! You could probably find a teen that would be willing to help you install the cover for $10 - $20, or I can tell you how to put the cover on, and take it off, 'solo' - but it's a LOT of running back and forth

I think that it's great that you're here to learn how to properly care for your investment :!: WE are here to help and advise on anything you may encounter with your new pool -- above all, we only want you to have a TROUBLE FREE POOL!

Again, welcome!! and congratulations on taking your new pool into your own hands

ps, all 26 teeth are doing well

Luv & luck - Ted [a/k/a - waste]

 

[midtngal]

Waste, glad to hear your pearlies are perfect! The waste (got it...hehe) of money was kinda where I was on this. It's a lot of $$ that I would rather put elsewhere (like on a tiki bar or Margaritaville mixer!! :lol: ). So, if I were to go the water bags route (another friend of mine has these and he says they work just fine), is maybe having nasty water in the spring basically the only difference? Otherwise, the pool would be closed and everything taken care of, right? And what's this polyquat stuff you were talking about? Will that keep the nasties away??? I'm seeing covers online on sale right now, so I could just order one and do this myself right? No PB needed? I'm liking this solution better and better because I really do think I would like to keep it open, but this year just doesn't seem to be an intelligent choice. Most especially since I could always do the solid cover down the line if I decide to.

I VERY much appreciate all you (and all the others!) help and advice. :bowdown: I am absolutely a DIYer (control freak maybe??), sometimes more so than I should be. I have a hard time paying people to do simple things! Kind of like picking your battles... I pick my spending!!