Three Essential Accessories for Above Ground Winter Pool Covers

Posted: Oct 15, 2010 |Comments: 0 |

Winterizing your above ground swimming pool entails following a sequence of important steps such as giving the pool a thorough cleaning, making sure the water is chemically balanced, and lowering the water level to below the returns and skimmer.  After this point, there are any number of additional accessories that could be used to keep your pool in top condition until next season.  The sheer volume of products available can feel daunting and confusing.  In actuality, once the water has been prepared properly and you are ready to top it all off with a winter pool cover, there are really only three winterizing accessories about which you should be concerned.

Air Pillows

If you live in a climate where winter air temperatures drop below freezing, the first accessory you'll need is an air pillow.  Air pillows absorb the pressure created by freezing water and protect your pool's walls and liner. As pool water freezes and expands, it will freeze inward on the air pillow rather than outward on your pool walls. Air pillows are positioned in the center of the pool on the surface of the water and then the winter pool cover goes on top.  To keep the air pillow in place throughout the winter months, you'll want to use heavy-duty string or twine to tie it to two sides of your pool wall. 

Cover Pumps

Next, you'll want a pool cover pump to drain the water that collects on your pool cover throughout the winter months.   If accumulated water is not removed on a regular basis by a cover pump, that heavy excess water can damage your winter pool cover or pull the cover into the water below.  Either way, you'll have a messy situation to clean up.  Cover pumps are available in manual models and automatic models.  With manual cover pumps, you must supervise the pump's progress and unplug it when the water is drained.  Automatic cover pumps, usually preferred over the manual models, sense and automatically start when water is detected on the cover and turn off automatically once the water has been drained.

Bags, Seal, or Clips

Finally, you should think about effective ways to prevent your winter pool cover from being blown around on breezy days, exposing your pool to the elements and spoiling the work you put into winterizing.  There are many options available for keeping a winter pool cover in place, including pool cover wall bags, winter cover seal, and cover clips. Pool cover wall bags are designed especially for above ground pools and are placed around the inner perimeter of the pool, fastened to your pool cover's cable.  Wall bags should be filled only three quarters full with water to ensure enough room is available for the water if it should freeze and expand.  Winter cover seal is another way to keep your pool cover in place, and while it looks very much like a large roll of plastic wrap, it's really a tough poly blend film packed with UV inhibitors. Winter cover seal is wrapped around the covered pool several times to create a tight seal, which prevents wind as well as dirt from finding a way under the cover and causing damage and premature wear and tear.  Cover clips are a third option for securing your winter pool cover.  Cover clips are exactly that -- handy fasteners that hold your pool cover in place. They grip your top rail like a clothes pin and stay securely clipped throughout the winter months.

Keeping the winterizing of your above ground swimming pool as simple as possible will make the process less tedious and drawn out.  A good quality air pillow, a manual or automatic cover pump, and a means of securing your winter pool cover to the pool are really the only accessories you need to go along with your winter pool cover.  You'll find that you don't need any more than this to prepare your pool for winter and ensure that it stays in great shape until next season.

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