Inground Pool Covers

Can you feel it, winter is coming! A dry pumpkin spice flavor, tints the air as the crisp fall winds creep through the trees looming above your once warm and pleasant poolside paradise. The memories of cannonballs and gainers that you thought about so fondly and with such warmth are beginning to fade with the season. Summer has come and gone. This can only mean one thing…..THE LEAVES ARE COMING! THE LEAVES ARE COMING!!!!

It’s that time of year again folks. With fall already upon us, and winter closing in fast, Pool Warehouse is here to help you decide which Inground pool cover will best help you withstand the leaves, snow, and everything else that the season has to offer for your pool. In this article, we will first highlight what a pool cover is, the differences in pool covers and what those differences mean. Then, we will offer you two of our top manufacturers, and the covers they produce that have been proven to combat the fall/winter elements and win!

Now, before we get into the fine details on pool covers, there are a lot of the questions you might ask like, “How large of a cover will I need?, “Where will my straps will be located?, “What strap spacing will I have”, and “What kind of anchors will I use?”, will be fully dependent on your situation–and we suggest calling our offices at 800-515-1747 to speak with one of our specialists who can walk you through options that might best fit your situation. However, if you are a DIYer and want to figure it out for yourself, we suggest that you watch our video on how to measure your pool for a new swimming pool cover here. Once done, you will be prompted to download the measuring form, fill it out, and send it to [email protected] so that one of our specialists can send it off for a quote!

So, what is a safety/winter cover? Well, a safety/winter cover is a cover that acts as a barrier to prevent children, adults and animals from falling into the pool when the pool is not in use for either the winter season or other extended periods of time during the swim season. These covers utilize a unique anchoring system that will be built into your surrounding deck area–firmly holding the cover in place. Additionally, Mesh Inground Pool Covers are made out of polypropylene. Which is a material that is produced to make the cover 50% lighter than your traditional solid cover. These covers are meant to be a large drain–allowing some rain and snow to pass through, but keeping bugs, debris, and leaves from getting into the pool. Now, this would mean you would have a higher chance for algae and bacteria come springtime, but your winter season will be much easier in terms of maintenance and upkeep. During the winter, your cover will not need to be drained or pumped and you might have to occasionally sweep off the debris on the cover’s surface. And when spring arrives, you will have a couple of labor intensive days cleaning/sanitizing the pool. Lastly, Mesh Inground Pool Covers tend to be the more budget friendly option of the two standard covers.

Comparatively, Solid Inground Pool Covers are made out of a PVC coated polyester fabric–which causes them to be the heavier of the two standard options–averaging at about 100-200 lbs depending on the pool’s size and shape. However, they are 50% more puncture resistant and offer a 100% sunlight blockage rating–preventing algae and bacteria growth over the winter months.

Additionally, these hefty covers have an average break strength of over 200lbs! So, if you live in a region with severe winters, or are even worried about kids, pets, and family members interacting with your solid cover, rest assured it will offer you the security you are looking for! However, as with the mesh covers, there are a couple of cons. Solid cover’s are the higher priced option of the two. Secondly, because of the weight that these covers have, they can be more difficult to deal with in the spring when taking them off the pool. And lastly, your winter time maintenance will increase. Whether that be, removing debris, clearing snow/ice off the cover, or draining and pumping the water off the cover.

Now, depending on your pool area, the kind of anchors that you’ll use for your pool might differ from the traditional anchors used for the common concrete pool deck. For instance, if you decided to have some landscaping done around the pool, and the cover strap reaches into that landscaping, you will probably need lawn tubes or paver tubes that you can push into the ground to stake the cover in place. Additionally, you could also have a wooden deck–which would of course, require wood deck anchors as well for the cover. Below is a list of the different types of anchors and descriptions of what they are!

• Screw-type anchors: These are the industry standard when it comes to pool cover anchors. They are made of solid brass and are designed to twist open with a hex key. (Works for concrete, slate, stone, or other solid, non-wood decking)
• Pop-up anchors: Are structurally the same as the screw type anchor, but have a spring loaded into them that allows for the anchor to either rise from the hole, or be completely flush with the concrete surface. They also utilize a hex key as well (Works for concrete and stone surfaces)
• Wood Deck Anchors: These anchors are specifically designed for wood and composite pool decks. They have a wide flange located at the top of the anchor so that it stays secure in the wood as the deck softens with time.
• Lawn tubes or Paver tubes: Are used for the anchor-in-method of installing pool deck anchors. They’re meant for grass or paver pool deck areas. This process involves inserting the anchor into an aluminum tube that has already been drilled into the surface.

With all of these options in mind, it is safe to say that regardless of which cover you go with, or the type of decking you have, there will be an anchor that can be used to secure and hold your cover in place!

Now that we have gotten the basics out of the way, it’s time to highlight the top two competitors that we offer who are at the forefront of cover design and integrity!

The MainStay! Hydra pools has been manufacturing pool products since 1984! With proven quality and adaptive designs, Hydra Pools has stayed at the cutting edge of pool product manufacturing for nearly 40 years! That also means that they have helped their customers through nearly 40 years of winter’s as well. So, with this experience in mind, it is safe to say that Hydra Pools is well equipped to do it again this year!

Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the options Hydra Pools has to offer!

HOT! HOT! HOT! GLI stays hot during the winter season so that your pool can escape the cold! Ever evolving is the supply and quality of GLI’s cover stock. And for this reason, they have achieved the status of the number #1 selling Inground Pool Cover manufacturer that we offer!

Below, we will list GLI’s top cover options from the most basic model, to the most advanced!

Okay! So there you have it. Hopefully we covered everything you guys would need to know about Inground Pool Covers and which ones to choose for your situation. And, maybe by the time you guys have finished reading this, the sun will be shining and spring time will have arrived! But, if not, feel free to call our offices at 800-515-1747 and speak with one of our specialists who can walk you through options that might best fit your situation.

Pool Warehouse

America's Favorite Pool Store, building backyard dreams since 1996!