5 Benefits of Automatic Swimming Pool Covers

A swimming pool provides endless hours of enjoyment and exercise, but along with those come costs measured in time and money. An automatic pool cover reduces the amount of time it takes to keep it clean and lowers the cost of chemicals that keep it safe. These covers add a layer of safety, especially for children, or if you live in the outskirts of an urban area.

1. Enhances Safety
Although many communities across the U.S. have adopted fencing ordinances for swimming pools to keep children safe, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death for children between 1 and 5 years. A covered pool adds another layer of protection to prevent accidental drowning. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 75 percent of deaths occurred in residences, and 58 percent of those happened in in-ground swimming pools.

An automatic pool cover reduces the attractiveness of the pool to young children, which lowers their inclination to visit the pool on their own. Sometimes children gain access to the pool area not to swim, but to retrieve a favorite toy they’ve left behind, and slip soundlessly into the water.

2. Cuts Down on Water Evaporation
Swimming pools lose water to evaporation that a pool cover prevents. Experts in the Phoenix, Arizona area have found that swimming pools in that desert city lose their entire volume of water over the course of a year. Although Phoenix is one of the driest cities in the U.S., pool water evaporates readily in more humid locations depending on the wind speed, solar exposure, water temperature and surface area of the pool. Covering a pool stops those losses, lowers water bills and conserves this natural resource, according to Poolsafe.

3. Maintains Its Chemical Balance
Preserving the chemical balance in a pool keeps bacterial and microbial growth in check. The chemicals, particularly chlorine, evaporate faster in an uncovered pool, which adds to the money and time it takes to maintain it. The chemical load in a pool is affected by the water’s pH, chlorine level and water hardness. As the water evaporates, water hardness increases, since the remaining water has a higher concentration of the minerals that contribute to hard water. Faster rates of evaporation require more monitoring and application of specific chemicals to restore the balance.

4. Keeps the Pool Cleaner
Covering the pool shelters it from blowing dust and leaves, along with keeping insects out of the water. Both dust and leaves increase pool maintenance and leaves, especially, can stress the swimming pool pump or increase its running time. The standard swimming pool pump is the second largest energy user in homes with in-ground pools, falling just behind central air conditioners.

A pool free of debris needs less water filtration and circulation, lowering its energy consumption. The pool cover also eliminates the need to skim the pool’s surface before using it to remove the bugs attracted to the water, like wasps, midges, water bugs and flies.

5. Prevents Unauthorized Use
Even a fenced yard with a locked gate can’t keep some interlopers out of a pool, especially hungry or thirsty four-legged kinds. Some dogs are attracted to water and may use your pool to cool off. Even people in suburban areas report seeing wild animals in or near their pools during periods of extreme heat or drought.

Bear, deer, wild cats, moose and alligators have all been sighted by homeowners in or near their pools, creating a serious safety hazard for the neighborhood. If the animal contaminates the water, you’ll have to either drain the pool or have it tested for the presence of contaminants like crypto or e-coli, and treat it chemically to make the water safe for human contact.