Why are the pool blankets (covers) not used in the winter?
Most people do not use their pools during the colder winter months. Because the pools are not being used, pool owners prefer a more stable and long term method to cover the pool. Winter covers, leaf nets, and pool safety covers are all popular choices during the winter months and are almost always used over solar blankets. Winter covers are used mainly to protect the pool from winter weather and to keep tree limbs, leaves, dirt, and other debris from falling into the pool. Leaf nets are lightweight covers made of an open weave material that fits over your winter cover or solar cover and helps you avoid accumulations of wet, heavy, saturated leaves and twigs on top of your cover. They can be used in summer and winter. A safety cover is a maintenance cover as well as a safety barrier over your pool. It is the most effective kind of winter cover becuase it prevents drowning accidents from occuring in your pool while you are not regularly monitoring it.
The manufacturers of the pool blankets recommend not doing so. Using the pool covers during the winter would expose them to freezing temperatures, long periods of ultraviolet light, and extended exposure to the pool chemicals, greatly reducing their life. They would also tend to collect a large amount of debris, and be susceptible to vandalism (glass, metal, and rocks thrown over the fence) if unattended for long periods. The primary purpose of the blankets is to save energy (by reducing heat loss when the pool is heated to full temperature), to save water (from evaporation during summer), and to save time in daily cleaning (when the pool is in daily operation). Yes, the pool gets pretty dirty during the winter, but a good cleaning and running of the filters for a week in the spring gets it ready for summer use. The pool filters have been being run weekly during the winter to reduce algae formation and odor, and the heaters have been run during cold spells to avoid damage to pipes unde
