Winter pool covers are recommended for all pool owners. After winterizing your pool, you will still need a cover to ensure that your pool is ready for use after winter.
If you decide that you do not need a cover, your pool will survive the winter, but you might have a lot of cleaning to do to.
A winter pool cover keeps your pool clean when you are not using it and ensures that the pool water remains balanced at all times.
The good thing is that, these covers are affordable and they will last for many years.
Keep Your Pool Clean
Keeping a pool clean and balanced during winter is challenging, and it will cost you a lot of money and time.
When your pool is located near large trees, it is only advisable to buy a winter cover as you will have a lot of cleaning to do.
Now that the pipes and the pumps have been winterized, you do not have a way to vacuum your pool and cleaning becomes more challenging.
If you decide not to cover your pool, you will need to use a leaf rake or any other device to remove leaves and other debris daily.
Besides, an uncovered pool will need to be brushed every week with a good pool brush to keep it free from stains.
Brushing the pool every week also ensures that the water circulates and any algae and bacteria forming on the side walls are broken.
Keep Your Water Balanced
You need to run tests on your water often if you decide not to cover, at least once or twice each month.
You can get a good test kit that will help you keep your water balance in check if you decide to have it uncovered.
However, you can always have a cover and escape all that. The winter rain, snow, and air unbalances the pH and alkalinity of your pool.
The cyanuric and chlorine levels in the pool should also be balanced. For an uncovered pool, maintaining this balance takes a lot of work. It also involves dealing with a number of chemicals.
Chlorine and Algaecide
Covering your pool will keep the chlorine levels monitored. Leaving it uncovered will mean that you have to fill up chlorine floaters with tablets and to place them on the pool.
You need to keep the floaters filled up all winter keeping the chlorine level up to 1.0 ppm.
To keep algae from growing on the side walls of your pool, add about one qt of algaecide per 10000 gallons of pool water.
If algae start growing early, you can shock the pool with a good pool shock.
Buy Winter Pool Covers
You can maintain your pool and save yourself from a lot of work by having a pool cover in place, especially over winter.
The cover will ensure that your pool and the water in it stay clean and balanced and this, in turn, saves you money and time.
Start taking care of your pool today by buying a cover to be used during winter.