How to Buy In-Ground Pool Covers

An in-ground swimming pool is a major investment that involves constant maintenance and consistent costs, definitely benefiting from an in-ground pool cover. By using a swimming pool cover, however, you can avoid many of those costs and save some time as well. Keep reading for tips on how to buy your new pool cover.

Why You Need a Pool Cover

There are basically two main reasons to have a pool cover. The first is to reduce maintenance. By covering up your pool, you will be protecting it from leaves, dirt, bugs, and many other things that cause more work for you and your pool system. They can also protect your pool from extremely cold weather and retain heat from the sun. The other main reason to have a pool cover is for safety. Many pool covers are designed specifically to hold the weight of a child or small animal. These covers also keep maintenance to a minimum.

Choosing a Style

Think about and discuss the reasons you need a pool cover. Solar covers are designed to receive the heat from the sun in the day time and retain that heat within the pool during the night time. If you have a pool heater, using a solar pool cover will require less work from it and will save you money and maintenance in that regard as well.

These covers also reduce the evaporation of the water and chemicals in your pool and keep the general debris out of it. A winter cover, best for locations that receive very cold winters, will give you basic protection from the weather. Another interesting part of winter covers is the way they protect the pool water from the sun, therefore keeping algae to a minimum. A winter cover will save you money and maintenance time when it’s time to make your pool summer-ready once again. Finally, if you are choosing to use a cover as protection for your child or pet, go with a safety cover. These covers are designed specifically to withhold the weight of a child or small animal in order to avoid any serious accidents. As mentioned above, this type of cover will also reduce general maintenance.

Buying Your Pool Cover

You will need to measure your pool size before you actually purchase a cover. Using a tape measure, make sure you have a partner to help you hold the tape measure, and measure the pool in feet and inches. If you have curves in your pool, figure out the radius of the curve. Although some pool covers are custom made, many will simply stretch completely over the pool. Before you measure your pool, decide what style you want so you know how much detail of measurement you will need.

Leaf Nets

You can also purchase a leaf net for your pool cover. This is a net that will rest over your pool cover in order to catch most of the debris. Then, you can simply lift off and clean the net instead of needing to clean the cover. This will prolong the lifetime of your pool cover.