Having made the decision to buy a pool cover, the next question is which type will best suit your needs. The best way to decide this is to simply identify what is the prime reason for getting one, for example is it to keep the pool warmer for longer and stop water evaporation, or is it to keep the pool clean.
Solar Blanket Pool Covers – keep your pool warmer and stop evaporation
If your purpose is to stop evaporation and also make the pool warmer, then a solar blanket pool cover is the correct choice. A solar blanket cover looks very similar to thick bubble wrap and lays flat on the surface of the water and has the ability to magnify the sun's rays to introduce heat into the pool as well as retaining the heat that already exists there.
Depending on how much sunshine the pool receives, a solar blanket pool cover can increase water temperature by as much as 8 degrees celsius, adding weeks to the owner's swimming season.
In addition, these covers are extremely effective at stopping water loss through evaporation, by up to 97%. They are usually attached to a pool cover roller which makes them very easy to put on and take off the pool.
Other additional benefits are that they help keep the pool clean by keeping a good percentage of leaves and rubbish out of the pool, and they cut down on the amount of chemicals required. This is because much of the chemical loss in a pool is via evaporation which these pool covers put an end to.
Leaf and debris Pool Covers – keep your pool clean
If your purpose is to keep the pool clean, then a leaf and debris cover will be the correct choice, These covers are made of a weave fabric and are made larger than the pool to create an overlap. They are then fixed in position at regular intervals around the pool to ensure that nothing gets into the pool at all.