The decision to buy a swimming pool is taken with the idea of providing more opportunities to enjoy time at home spent swimming with family and friends.
However while a swimming pool can provide hours of entertainment over the swimming season months, it also calls for continued maintenance and upkeep all year round.
A pool cover can help reduce this maintenance and upkeep both in time and monetary outlay.
1.
A pool cover will save many hours cleaning the pool Pool covers are very effective at keeping leaves and rubbish from entering the pool, some more so than others.
Some types of covers are specifically designed for this purpose, such as the "leaf and debris"cover.
These are a weave type of fabric and are made larger than the pool surface so as to overlap the pool around its circumference.
They are fixed at regular intervals around the pool, and even though the fabric is porous, the weave is so fine that it even provides good protection against dust entering the pool.
These covers can be put in place at the end of the swimming season and remain there over the colder months, constantly keeping the pool clean and saving the owner hours of cleaning time.
Solar pool covers by comparison are very much like thick bubble wrap and also assist with keeping rubbish out of the pool.
While their primary advantage is stopping evaporation and increasing water temperature, if they are correctly fitted they can also greatly contribute to keeping the pool clean as well.
In both cases the amount of time saved in keeping the pool clean is significant.
2.
A pool cover can extend the swimming season by warming up the pool Solar blanket covers are also very good at providing and preserving warmth in the swimming pool.
Depending on how much sunshine the pool receives during the day, a solar blanket cover can increase the pool temperature by up to 8 degrees celsius.
A good habit to have is to make sure the cover is on the pool each night so that it captures the warmth provided during the day.
By doing this the pool starts the next day at a higher base temperature than it would have had if there was no cover.
3.
Pool covers are good for the environment Solar pool covers can save up to 97% of water evaporation loss.
This then greatly reduces the need to top up the pool during the course of the year.
This means that the pool owner is not drawing water from the city supply or harvested rain water stored in tanks to top up water lost through evaporation.
A leaf and debris cover's ability to reduce evaporation is less than that of a solar blanket but still significant.
In both cases, the cover's ability to stop or greatly reduce evaporation is a great benefit to the environment and preserving our natural water asset.
4.
Pool covers also save the owner money While almost eliminating water evaporation, a pool cover also reduces the amount of chlorine required to keep the pool in balance.
If there is an automatic salt water chlorinator in use, the amount of time this has to run is also reduced, saving power.
This is because; a pool loses a large amount of its chlorine through the action of evaporation.
With the evaporation almost eliminated, the loss of chlorine is also reduced along with the cost of replenishment.
The cost savings also extend to the replenishment of the water lost through evaporation which if replaced via the city supply will come at a monetary cost.
A further cost saving is where a solar heating system is employed; pool covers are often used to support the effort of the solar heating system.
A pool cover's heat retention ability usually means that the solar heating system does not have to be run as long and so saves power.
The purchase of a swimming pool is a large monetary outlay for any home.
The return on investment might be measured in the amount of enjoyment the pool provides compared with the amount of maintenance and upkeep the pool requires measured in money and labour hours.
A pool cover can reduce the owners maintenance and upkeep commitment and for that reason; is a sound investment.