any reason not to use just a pool leaf cover?

[tenax]

in my city, there is no issue in regards to catching the biggest chunk of leaves in the fall. we do get snow in the winter, but it's not a ton and wouldn't it slip through the leaf cover anyway? i'm figuring even if i simply use a leaf cover in the fall to catch all the leaves..then leave pool uncovered for the winter otherwise, that would work alright? i really don't understand why people bother with the expense of winter covers.

thoughts?

[The Raddish]

Chlorine dissipates in the sun. Covering the pool helps to keep some chlorine in the pool over the winter months. If the temperatures get below freezing in your area, then you don't want to run your equipment during the winter, so you can't turn your water over.

If you don't cover your pool, you'll have an awfully green/brown mucky mess to deal with in the spring.

[tenax]

thanks raddish..that's my greatest issue is the amount of muck in the spring to cleanup. aside from chlorine lost over winter, any other issue you see. put it this way, if you had a choice of using only a leaf cover for the fall..or nothing..what would you do? i find that post the fall leaf burst, there is very little stuff dropped in the pool over the winter otherwise.

[Watermom]

I live in WV - with millions of trees and falling leaves. And, my backyard has lots of trees near my pool. I typically cover my pool before all the leaves start to fall and leave the pool covered. But, this year, the cover came off - with some help from my two golden retrievers. Since the leaves had already fallen by the time it happened, I left it uncovered through the winter. I did not have a green/brown mess to deal with. Yes, I did have some dirt on the bottom to vaccum up but that was it. My water remained clear and it was not big deal to vaccum and we were good to go.

[tenax]

thanks watermom..and greetings from a former supermod of a u.s. computer site to another supermod:) you do a great job here..

after discussion with a good pool supply store i finally tracked down online in canada, (the online sales rep, doug, was great) i decided to go with the pool leaf cover and dual waterbags system.

my 2 concerns were wind and weight of material. doug and another fellow at the store are using leaf catchers only in winnipeg manitoba..one of the coldest cities in canada, with heavy and lots of snow..and wind gusts seasonally compareable to what we get in lethbridge which barely gets any snow and only for a short period (about january, february). he said the leaf catchers work like a charm for both of them..he uses waterbags, the other guy uses a bungie type anchoring system. doug says neither have had an issue. he says they attach the nets tight and they will stretch a bit if there is a lot of material on them. i the amount of leaves i get here i would say is equivalent to about a wheelbarrow heaped full of material so it's pretty minor, but enough of a mess that i hate having to empty the basket in the pump about a dozen times and all the "flush to waste" required as the sand filter clogs up.

thanks for your help..i have a plan and the will!

[matt4x4]

I live in canada, pools freeze solid over the 3 months of cold we get, I don't use a winter cover since it does nothing other than try and wreck my pool when the winds get a hold of it, don't have many trees close by though, but the nice thing is my pool is easy to open and allways clear since i start it up before the warmth gets to it.
Those neighbours with winter covers seem to delay their openings because of all the extra work involved, they always have the swamp going.

[Davenj]

I get alot of answers to things I am wondering about by constantly reading this forum. My pool was installed the end of last year and no winter cover. We kept most of the leaves out, and yes it was a swamp in the spring. A few days of bleach and bang clean pool. We have been discussing a winter cover, but didn't want the hassle or alot of anchors installed in the deck. Going to try the leaf net this fall.

[tenax]

exactly our situation, gents. i am going the leaf cover only route for winter. aside from the leaves, all i have to deal with is silt so....

[NWMNMom]

So suppose I (not too far south of Winnipeg into the States) decided to go with a leaf net instead of the winter cover.....leaves are a definite issue for me, but we also get a lot of snow. Once those leaves drop, there won't be anything but snow going there. Perhaps the leaf net alone? The snow would in theory drop into the pool as it melts, but in the meantime, wouldn't the weight of the snow unravel/pull loose the mesh on the leafnet? I can certainly drain my pool low enough to handle most snowfall melts, but I would hate to have that leafnet get ruined/ripped/sagged all to heck from the weight. Some years we get little snow and some years we have had up to 148" of snow!! Yikes!

[ChuckD]

I decided to just cover with the leaf net last winter and I'll probably do it again.

I've got two mature maple trees within 20 feet of the pool and mucho leaves in the fall. We also get harsh winters in Upstate NY and even tho the net was frozen solid it didn't appear to be any worse for wear when I took it off this spring.

One thing I think I'll add to the mix is a basket of some kind inverted over the main drain. The net wasn't perfect and the water was not clear when it came time to open. When it finally did clear to where I could see the drain I found alot of debris clogging it and restricting the flow. I"d like to know it's sucking efficiently when I start it back up.

[NWMNMom]

Anyone have recommendations on brand of leaf net to go with? Any one better than the other? (Edit) Also, anyone have any thoughts on those mesh covers vs. a leaf net? If using a leaf net, will the weight of snow on it pull on the pool walls like with a regular cover or is this less due to the openings in the net? I really think I want to go with a leaf net or something along those lines rather than deal with a swamp on a solid cover AND trying to keep it from pulling the walls in with the weight. Any input??? I think now is the time to order one....I see mesh covers at $151, leaf nets around $99 - $120....Thanks!

[mohawk]

That's what I would like to know. The pool store said not to cover the pool because the snow it might cave in the pool sides. What has worked for others with above ground pools?

[NWMNMom]

Mohawk, I am quite a few miles north of you, but do appreciate that you can get as much snow and ice down there in the cities as we do up here. Another post/thread indicated that some folks in Winnipeg (even further north of my neck of the woods) are using the micro mesh and leaf nets with no issues other than the normal wear that they experience having ice in the fibers, etc, but no adverse effects on the pool. If I did not have to worry about debris landing in the pool with the ice and snow, I would not cover, but since I do, the micro mesh will be the way I go. It looks like both the Arctic Armor and another (brand escapes me) with the silver embedded threads are both good brands with decent warranties. Good luck -