Winter Closing With a Mesh Safety Cover
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Winter safety covers are now the most popular type of cover for closing season swimming pools, and for good reason. Safety covers are a substantial upgrade from other cover options available to pool owners, but many pool owners who go on to get one of these winter covers will fail to understand that they (should) change the way that you close and winterize your pool. Or more accurately when when you close and winterize your pool. With an isolation cover like a tarp, for example, you have the ability to close and winterize the pool whenever you want essentially without any penalty. This is made possible from the cover blocking all of the sunlight from reaching the water.
A mesh winter (safety) cover is not an isolation cover. It is designed to allow water (and sunlight) to pass through it. In the case of physical debris like leaves this works well to allow the leaves to dry up and blow away eventually eliminating the need to scoop endless bags of rotten leaf sludge in the spring. However, the light which is able to access the water plays a significant role in the timing of when you should close and winterize your pool with one of these mesh covers. The small amount of light that reaches the pool is enough to continue to promote algae growth in the water. When you buy and install a mesh winter cover, which I definitely endorse that pool owners do, you do need to augment your normal closing and opening schedule for the pool.
Problems with mesh winter pool covers - It is not uncommon to hear that some pool people do not endorse mesh covers because they cause the pool to turn green over the winter. While this is definitely a possibility, in most cases the pool switched to a mesh winter cover but continued to close and winterize the pool in the same way, and at the same time. If you close your pool the when kids go back to school at the beginning of September then you would likely have green water before spring. Possibly very green. However, if you change your closing schedule to be later (and open earlier) then you can avoid the green water entirely. I do not consider mesh winter covers to really have any problems at all and when used properly can allow you to maintain clear water through the winter season.
Most seasonal pool owners lament the winter season where the pool is closed and covered, and in general an eyesore versus the beautiful and inviting pool that you get to look at all summer. While closing the pool later (and opening earlier) might seem inconvenient since the pool is not being used, many pool owners see this as an advantage in that the pool is open longer, and you spend less time looking at a closed pool. With a variable speed pump and relatively cold water in the pool the additional cost for maintenance each year is very minimal. The benefit is that your pool is open and looking good longer, and since you will open the pool early in the year also, you spend more time looking at the best version of your pool. This might not be a good solution for every pool, as many pools with heavy organic debris loads in the fall (lots of large / old growth trees) can make the pool a lot of work. In this case an isolation cover in the form of a solid pool cover, or even a tarp cover under your mesh winter cover, which will prevent the sunlight from reaching your pool water and encouraging plant matter growth.
There is more to closing a pool and opening to clear water but the timing with a mesh winter safety cover is probably the most important factor. If the water in the pool is still warm, plus some light is able to get through the cover, then you will likely have advanced algae growth no matter what the chemistry values were like when you closed the pool. By closing late and opening early the idea is that the water in the pool will be much cooler, and the colder the water the less organic matter and algae growth you will experience. If you close late enough and open early enough, you should have no green water problems at all.
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