7 Hazards That Can Affect Pool Covers
Pool covers eliminate water loss from your pool and keep debris from finding its way into your pool. In fact, a properly functioning pool cover can translate to immense savings over time. However, damage to the pool cover can quickly water down your gains. What kind of hazards can impair the enjoyment of your pool? Here are 7 things that could damage pool covers, and how you can avert their effects.
1. Trees
Although trees provide some natural character to the environment, falling twigs and branches can quickly ruin your pool cover. In fact, trees (or falling branches) are a primary contributor to pool cover failure. Also, note that strong winds can break branches from trees that seem harmless and drop them on your pool cover. Therefore, periodically pruning the trees around the pool can help address this concern.
2. Animals
Have you ever seen a spooked animal in full flight? Normally, such an animal would run in any direction and unfortunately, they may make a beeline for the pool area, leading to destruction of your pool cover. Worse still, wild animals can damage your cover, but this is dependent on where your home pool is located. Maintaining a sturdy fence such as a mesh pool fence at an appropriate height, say 6 feet or so, can be a safeguard against damage.
3. Wind
Stormy weather and high winds can damage most things in their path. Pool covers are not an exception and could easily be ripped off by such elements. To avert damage to your pool cover, consider investing in wall bags. By filling these vinyl bags with water and placing them on the pool cover, you can keep the pool cover in place. In relation to aboveground pool covers, cover seals can keep the wind from damaging your cover.
4. Water
Rainwater can settle on you pool cover and weaken it over time, regardless of how solid it is. The water could even cause the cover to topple into the pool. Consider investing in a cover pump to get rid of water that accumulates on the cover’s surface. Similarly, safety covers are prone to caving in when the water level in the pool reduces, especially during winter, when leaks may occur. Keeping the water in the pool to a manageable level, usually a foot and a half below the cover can avert the risk of damage to the cover.
5. Fire
The sparks from a flame could easily damage pool covers. An unattended fire located close to the cover could easily spiral out of control and ruin the pool cover. To avert this, keep fire pits distanced from the pool’s edge. Moreover, if you are considering a fireworks display to commemorate a special event, then removing your pool cover in advance would keep it safe from damage.
6. Ice
Wintry conditions can be a cause for concern to a pool owner. However, the ice that accumulates on your pool cover during such times is unlikely to ruin the cover. Leave the ice intact and avoid the urge to shovel or melt it, as this could poke holes into your cover or the weight of the melted water could cause the pool cover to cave in. Over time, the ice will melt, restoring your safety cover to its original state. A pool pump can also be very handy in getting rid of thawed ice.
7. Vehicles
In case your pool is located close to a busy road, then motorized equipment-cars, bikes or ATV’s could crash into your pool. Such accidents are likely to damage your cover and in the process pose danger to other people. Thus, invest in bollard poles or boulders that could minimize the risk of cars landing in your pool.
By addressing these hazards, you can eliminate or lower the risk of damage to your pool cover. In so doing, you would be on your way to a more fulfilling pool experience. For further guidance on pool covers, contact your local All-Safe dealer for a free, no-obligation quote.