Do I need to use a cover in the winter?

[rdefino]

I'm getting an AG pool this summer and was told by the installer that there is no need for a cover unless you had a lot of trees around and wanted to keep the leaves out. Is this true? I'm going to be building a deck on one side and the decking will come right up to the edge of the pools top deck, so it would hard to get the cover to wrap around.

Thanks for any thoughts.
Ron

[BigDave]

Last winter, I didn't use the cover because I was distracted by Superstorm Sandy. I had a lot of leaves and junk to clean out and had an algae bloom before I got the circulation set up but I had it all clean before it was warm enough to swim. When I used the cover, I opened to clear water - much easier.

[JimK]

I'm getting an AG pool this summer and was told by the installer that there is no need for a cover unless you had a lot of trees around and wanted to keep the leaves out. Is this true? I'm going to be building a deck on one side and the decking will come right up to the edge of the pools top deck, so it would hard to get the cover to wrap around.

Thanks for any thoughts.
Ron

I know there are others here who do not cover their pools in the winter. Hopefully one of them will chime in about any maintenance you need to do over the winter (I'm guessing you'll have to add chlorine occasionally to avoid algae problems).

[Watermom]

I never use a cover in the winter, and I have trees around my pool. I just stay on top of the leaves in the fall and get them all out. When I start up in the spring, I do have some dirt on the bottom but the water is clean. I start my pump up pretty early so the water has no chance to turn green. In fact, my pump is already hooked up though we won't be able to swim for awhile yet.