- closing it down - and keeping it sweet

Once you have finished closing your pool for the off-season you should fit a winter cover

• Fixed to the surround with heavy-duty elastic bungee straps, a winter covers keep leaves, dirt, debris, light and wildlife out of the pool

• Winter Covers do not need a roller but removal and replacement is a physical, time-consuming job; therefore they are put on at the end of the season and left in-situ until spring

• A child or dog can walk across the cover but this is definitely not recommended

Image courtesy of www.toldosalchemy.com     

• Winter Covers are fixed to the area around the pool by means of springs, buckles, elastic bungees or by heavy-duty webbing straps and brass/stainless-steel, toe-friendly anchors

• Once again, make sure the installers teach you how to fit your winter cover and how to make it last as long as possible

• A winter cover that holds rainwater is a drowning hazard - please read this article from WHAG Hews

• Therefore, ensure that there is a drainage panel in the centre of a winter cover to allow rainwater to drain into the pool

• If no drainage panel is installed you can punch a couple of holes in the cover to facilitate drainage or, alternatively, install a small pump to clear rainwater from the cover. Drainage of rainwater is preferred to reliance on a pump - if the power goes off the pump cannot work!

• Please note that a winter cover is NOT A SAFETY COVER unless it is specifically described as such

Winter Pool Cover Storage

When you are ready to open the pool for the season it is crucially important to clean, dry and store your Winter Cover.  Failure to do so will mean that the cover will not last as long as it is designed to and as they are not cheap this will cost you money

Winter Cover preparation for storage: -

• Remove the cover from the pool in accordance with the installers instructions

• If they didn't give you instructions ask them how or follow these general guidelines. This very often needs 2 people, and this is what you do

1. Release all the straps/bungees from one end of the pool
2. Take one corner each and release straps/bungees one at a time, pulling the cover back on itself as you go
3. Be careful not to lose control of the cover because it will sink and can be problematic to fish out of the pool
4. Release the straps/bungees and continue to pull the cover over itself until it is completely free of the pool

• Lay the cover out flat and clean it with a solution of  Sodium Hypochlorite (diluted with water at a ratio of 1:9 = a 10% solution) applied by soft broom

• Use a pressure-washer or hosepipe to thoroughly clean all traces of the cleaning solution from the cover and especially from the bungees/straps

• Dry this side of the cover completely

• Turn the cover over and repeat the cleaning/drying procedure on the other side

• When the second side is dry, fold the cover and store it in the shade (and off the floor)

• Remember to screw down the strap/bungee anchor points around the pool so you don't lose the screws and you don't stub your toes!

We supply all plant and equipment featured on this website. All our work is Guaranteed; Parts and Labour

For free and unbiased advice, a site visit or no-obligation Quotation*, please make initial enquiries by email. Tell us a little about your pool problem and include a daytime phone number. Thanks, we look forward to meeting you soon

Note: - Please contact our recommended pool professionals for supply and installation of all pool-related services: - 

Andalusia and the Costa del Sol - Pool Safety Spain

Nerja area - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*We only offer Quotations: - a fixed, agreed price that cannot, and will not, be increased. We do not give 'estimates', as an estimate offers the client no guarantee of final price

Share this website with other Pool Owners and Users,  encourage them to read about Pool Safety, learn CPR and help them to save lives, time and money. Please help us to make every pool a safer place - by sharing this information we can cut the number of pool accidents and deaths.  Please also see our Facebook page

Ken Walker - MyPoolGuru©

Keeping the heat in the pool

Floating Solar Covers are, in effect, heavy-duty, UV-stabilised, plastic bubble-wrap

Like all plastics they are affected by UV and Chlorine and eventually they will break down.  There are several types and qualities but our advice is to install the best quality that you can afford - it works out far cheaper in the long run

Solar pool covers work with or without a pool-heater and will warm a pool earlier in the season, by prevention of evaporation, and keep it warm long after the non-covered pools of envious friends and neighbours have been put to bed for the winter

One type that we have personally installed hundreds of - Geobubble from Germany - have a warranty of 5 years but most other Solar covers will last around 3 years before they need to be replaced

Ensure that the installers demonstrate how to operate it correctly to get the maximum life-span from your cover and roller

Using the Cover

Positioning of the roller during removal or replacement of the floating pool-cover is critically important. The roller must be located over the end of the pool, directly above the water so that there is no chance that the underside of the bubble-wrap comes into contact with the pool coping (pool surround) when you are winding the cover in or out,

If the cover drags over the edge of the coping it will become scratched. The cells of the bubble cover eventually get punctured and then the cover is liable to suffer a complete breakdown  - because chlorine is able to attack the thin plastic underside of the cover from both sides.  Breakdown of the cover is inevitable and incurable

Floating pool-covers should be removed during Superchlorination and not replaced until the Chlorine level has returned to normal; 1-3ppm. I you are using Non-chlorine Shock to Superchlorinate this is not the case and the cover can be put back on the pool immediately

Please note that a Floating Solar Cover is NOT a SAFETY COVER

Floating 'Solar' Pool Cover and AstralPool Roller

The Roller is required to remove, store and re-apply the cover.  The width of a floating pool-cover is usually limited to 6.5 m / 20 ft. as this is the maximum width spanned by a domestic-pool telescopic roller.  Longer rollers are available but they are commercial-pool equipment and are very expensive

Rollers are made from Stainless Steel, Rubber, Aluminium and Brass and will last for many years

One or both ends of the roller are usually fitted with wheels to enable the roller and cover to be moved away whilst the cover is off the pool

Care of Floating Covers

Remove the cover, at least once a year, and clean it thoroughly to remove dirt, dust and any limescale that has built up.

• Lay the cover out somewhere flat (not on a lawn as the chemicals will damage the grass) and clean it with a solution of Hydrochloric Acid mixed with water at a ratio of 1:9 (10% solution) in a process similar to acid-washing but with a much weaker solution of acid and water

• Remember to add acid to the water, never the other way round

• Apply the mixture with a soft broom and allow it to dissolve dirt, lime-scale and dust

• Rinse thoroughly with fresh water

• Turn the cover over and repeat the procedure

• Rinse thoroughly with fresh water and also rinse the broom of any residual acid:water mix

Next we need to deal with any pathogens that might still be hiding on the cover

• Wash the cover with a diluted solution of Sodium Hypochlorite (Liquid Chlorine) at a ratio on 1:9 (10%)

• Apply with a soft broom and allow the solution to remain in contact with the cover for no more than a few seconds before rinsing well. This is best achieved with two pairs of hands and a garden hose

• Dry the cover thoroughly if it is to be stored for the winter, otherwise it can go back on the pool immediately

The treatment above, plus proper usage will increase the life of the cover considerably

We supply all plant and equipment featured on this website. All our work is Guaranteed; Parts and Labour

For free and unbiased advice, a site visit or no-obligation Quotation*, please make initial enquiries by email. Tell us a little about your pool problem and include a daytime phone number. Thanks, we look forward to meeting you soon

Note: - Please contact our recommended pool professionals for supply and installation of all pool-related services: - 

Andalusia and the Costa del Sol - Pool Safety Spain

Nerja area - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*We only offer Quotations: - a fixed, agreed price that cannot, and will not, be increased. We do not give 'estimates', as an estimate offers the client no guarantee of final price

Share this website with other Pool Owners and Users,  encourage them to read about Pool Safety, learn CPR and help them to save lives, time and money. Please help us to make every pool a safer place - by sharing this information we can cut the number of pool accidents and deaths.  Please also see our Facebook page

Ken Walker - MyPoolGuru©

For absolute peace of mind a Safety Cover is the answer to the accidental drowning aspects of Pool Safety

The custom safety cover was invented in 1957 by Fred Meyer Jr. of Meyco Pool Covers when he found a dead animal in his pool

We've come across this also and I can personally attest that fishing the remains of a badly decomposed goat out of a pool is not a pleasant way to spend a hot afternoon. Ten years later, if I think about it I can still smell it.  (I'm just going to the bathroom for a few moments - I'll be right back!)

Covers for the USA market are made to meet The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) Safety Barrier standards, and to similar standards in many other countries, and are very, very strong

Safety Covers have kept animals, people, fallen trees and even large vehicles out of pools

Very few are inexpensive but what price peace-of-mind?  

A  Safety Cover or a Safety Net is about as safe as you can get without filling your pool in

Safety pool-covers are typically attached to the pool deck by bungee cords, straps or springs, and are made in a variety of materials including coated or laminated vinyl or polypropylene mesh

They are custom designed to stop anything from entering the pool and they provide a vital 'layer' of safety for animals and small children when designed and installed correctly

We supply all plant and equipment featured on this website. All our work is Guaranteed; Parts and Labour

For free and unbiased advice, a site visit or no-obligation Quotation*, please make initial enquiries by email. Tell us a little about your pool problem and include a daytime phone number. Thanks, we look forward to meeting you soon

Note: - Please contact our recommended pool professionals for supply and installation of all pool-related services: - 

Andalusia and the Costa del Sol - Pool Safety Spain

Nerja area - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*We only offer Quotations: - a fixed, agreed price that cannot, and will not, be increased. We do not give 'estimates', as an estimate offers the client no guarantee of final price

Share this website with other Pool Owners and Users,  encourage them to read about Pool Safety, learn CPR and help them to save lives, time and money. Please help us to make every pool a safer place - by sharing this information we can cut the number of pool accidents and deaths.  Please also see our Facebook page

Ken Walker - MyPoolGuru©