Inground Pool Cover Recommendations?

[Watermom]

I had considered Watermom's no cover approach, but the thought of maintenance during the winter doesn't appeal to me.

I'm not sure what you mean. I have no maintenance over the winter. Once we get the leaves out in the fall, we're done til spring.

[JimK]

I'm not sure what you mean. I have no maintenance over the winter. Once we get the leaves out in the fall, we're done til spring.

Here it seems like there's always something dropping in the pool year round (we're surrounded by a variety of trees). With the mesh cover there was quite a bit of fine dirt that had to be vacuumed up in the spring (took several vacuumings...a real pain IMO). I imagine uncovered there would be quite a bit more dirt.

Also, I would have to "close" much later in the season and "open" much earlier (I had to do this with the mesh cover to avoid algae blooms).

If I didn't like the maintenance involved using a mesh cover, I think it would be even worse with no cover, at least in my situation.

I'm guessing where you are the water stays cold enough all winter. Here can be pretty mild in the winter so water temp can fluctuate quite a bit, perhaps warming up enough for algae to start blooming, requiring regular testing, adding bleach to keep it in check. I'm other words, regular maint over the winter.

Maybe one winter I'll get the guts to give it a try and see how it goes.

PS - I agree, covers are a big PITA!

[Watermom]

Our winters typically aren't too cold and usually mild and not a lot of snow. (Of course last winter was a fluke -- terribly cold and snowy like the rest of the country!) I do close late. The pump doesn't come off til we start having freezing night time temps -- probably in November most years and I do start chlorinating pretty early in the spring. It gets hot early here and I dont want algae to have a chance to get started.

[Tom.B]

I am with the cover-haters here too. Not only is it more trouble than its worth, I just don't like the look of an ugly covered pool in the backyard. The "water front" look of a pool in the yard, even when the water is 40 degrees, is better than a covered.... monster. I will sometimes use one of those bubble wrap thermal covers during the heaviest leaf period, but even that is a huge PITA to deal with when using a net and leaf-vac for a couple of weeks is so much easier.

[CarlD]

My experience with a mesh safety cover is completely different. Like the OP, I live in a colder climate and RARELY have a problem with a mess in the water in the spring.

To me, it's all a matter of timing, when and how you close the pool, and when you open it.

I try to keep my pool open until the water reaches 60 deg, or, at maximum 65 degrees. At that point I've been working to keep it very clean, gotten my FC up to the shock level and kept it there. Once I've decided to close I take the following steps:
1) Ensure the water is below 65 degrees.
2) Adjust pH as needed and bring the FC to shock level
3) Add 1 quart of 60% Polyquat (two quarts isn't necessary for my size pool, I've found)
4) Wait 48 hours. FC will drop precipitously from the Polyquat.
5) Add chlorine to bring the FC back up to shock level.
6) Close the pool (lower water, plug drains and returns, disconnect all plumbing, filter, pump, remove ladder, stairs, purge solar panels)
7) Cover and forget till spring.

In the spring, usually April, ideally I wait until the ice in the pool is melted. At that point, it's still too cold for algae to grow, but warm enough to reconnect the plumbing, pump and filter without it freezing. Usually, at this point, while there's lots of junk on the bottom--dust, pollen, some leaves, whatever, the water is still clear because it's too cold for anything to grow. I test the water then immediately start vacuuming and dosing with bleach/liquid chlorine to get to shock level, and start adjusting pH and CYA (I usually don't have to worry about T/A or CH).

I do have to vacuum repeatedly, usually running my robotic about 4x to get the bottom clean, sometimes a time or two more. I only have problems if I wait too long--into mid-May--and THEN I've gotten algae blooms. This past season I had a lot of ice damage so I had to uncover the pool even earlier and repair it while there was still ice in it. That actually was good as I had to reset all the copings and when the liner would pop out of the worst ones, it would land on the ice, not sink to the bottom. Consequently, the actually opening had clean water before it got warm enough for algae to grow.

Ironically, it was the mesh cover that cause the ice damage--first time it happened. We had this crazy winter where a lot of snow would fall, then it would melt at the bottom, then refreeze. So the snow on the cover became ice, pulled it down, then melted at the bottom and re-froze with the ice floating on top of the pool. As more and more ice built up on the cover, never being able to drain away when it melted, it pulled harder and harder, bending several of the clamps, breaking a few, and pulling down the coping.

Had I put in the winter pillows as I used to, it probably never would have happened.

[JimK]

My experience with a mesh safety cover is completely different. Like the OP, I live in a colder climate and RARELY have a problem with a mess in the water in the spring.

To me, it's all a matter of timing, when and how you close the pool, and when you open it.

I try to keep my pool open until the water reaches 60 deg, or, at maximum 65 degrees. At that point I've been working to keep it very clean, gotten my FC up to the shock level and kept it there. Once I've decided to close I take the following steps:
1) Ensure the water is below 65 degrees.
2) Adjust pH as needed and bring the FC to shock level
3) Add 1 quart of 60% Polyquat (two quarts isn't necessary for my size pool, I've found)
4) Wait 48 hours. FC will drop precipitously from the Polyquat.
5) Add chlorine to bring the FC back up to shock level.
6) Close the pool (lower water, plug drains and returns, disconnect all plumbing, filter, pump, remove ladder, stairs, purge solar panels)
7) Cover and forget till spring.

In the spring, usually April, ideally I wait until the ice in the pool is melted. At that point, it's still too cold for algae to grow, but warm enough to reconnect the plumbing, pump and filter without it freezing. Usually, at this point, while there's lots of junk on the bottom--dust, pollen, some leaves, whatever, the water is still clear because it's too cold for anything to grow. I test the water then immediately start vacuuming and dosing with bleach/liquid chlorine to get to shock level, and start adjusting pH and CYA (I usually don't have to worry about T/A or CH).

I do have to vacuum repeatedly, usually running my robotic about 4x to get the bottom clean, sometimes a time or two more. I only have problems if I wait too long--into mid-May--and THEN I've gotten algae blooms. This past season I had a lot of ice damage so I had to uncover the pool even earlier and repair it while there was still ice in it. That actually was good as I had to reset all the copings and when the liner would pop out of the worst ones, it would land on the ice, not sink to the bottom. Consequently, the actually opening had clean water before it got warm enough for algae to grow.

Ironically, it was the mesh cover that cause the ice damage--first time it happened. We had this crazy winter where a lot of snow would fall, then it would melt at the bottom, then refreeze. So the snow on the cover became ice, pulled it down, then melted at the bottom and re-froze with the ice floating on top of the pool. As more and more ice built up on the cover, never being able to drain away when it melted, it pulled harder and harder, bending several of the clamps, breaking a few, and pulling down the coping.

Had I put in the winter pillows as I used to, it probably never would have happened.

What you describe pretty much matches my experience using a mesh cover, except that it's warmer here so I'd have to wait until late Nov to close and had to open by early March (even then it sometimes got warm enough to turn green).

Between all the required extra vacuuming and having to maintain the pool 4+ months during time where it's too cold to use, or even enjoy lounging by, I'd rather deal with the solid cover a couple days a year instead.

Yes, I have to pump water off the cover periodically, but using the mesh cover I'd have to pump water out of the pool periodically.....so on that point it's a wash.

[CarlD]

Actually, for me, until this last winter, my system worked extremely well and gave me less opening troubles than many here. The initial opening vacuuming of 4x in a row--well, my robot handles that!
Rarely, over the winter, have I ever had to siphon water out of the pool, and that didn't require a pump, just a length of hose.

But remember: I live in North Central NJ where we have real winters and sometimes lots of snow. The water gets cold enough to inhibit algae growth and stays that way from the beginning of October to mid-April. The 2013/14 winter was not the coldest nor snowiest winter we've had, but the snow/melt/freeze/snow cycles made it the toughest in many, many years. The repairs to the pool were a pain in the neck, but the clean up of the WATER was no big deal.

Therefore, my decision process about what type of cover to use is based on my local weather conditions, the amount of detritus I expect in my pool (no trees hang over it), and personal preference. IOW, it works for me, but that doesn't make it universal, by any means.