So a solar cover, do I need one?

[Bowlin]

So, I read on here about solar covers, and just curious, my pool for the most part doesn't get used much during the week, but at weekend let the play begin. If I have a solar cover will that cut down on how much bleach I have to use? Are they a hassle? Yada, Yada, Yada.

[Sherra]

I love my solar cover. I don't know if you have an in ground or above ground, but either way a good reel will take 95% of the hassle out of having the cover. I've noticed it does make quite a difference in the water temp...especially because we go several days at a time without using the pool (mostly used on the weekends). The 3rd when we uncovered our pool the water temp was 101...we left the cover off that night and the 4th it was 96. Not exactly refreshing. Our air temps haven't been above 96. I also notice that the chlorine loss with the cover on is about half of what is lost when the cover is off for an extended period of time.

[Bowlin]

Is that a solar cover or is that a pool cover in your pic

[Sherra]

The picture labled "First Person to Jump In"? That's my solar cover rolled up on it's reel.

[Simmons99]

I'm worried to use a solar cover - afraid of kids falling in - won't it wrap around a person and sufficate them? - hard to swim with a bunch of plastic wrapped around your body. Maybe I am just a paranoid mommy :)

[cleancloths]

Don't take this the wrong way - but you need to educate your kids. If your kids are old enough to go near a pool alone, then they are old enough to deal with a solar cover.

[bbb]

I'm worried to use a solar cover - afraid of kids falling in - won't it wrap around a person and sufficate them? - hard to swim with a bunch of plastic wrapped around your body. Maybe I am just a paranoid mommy :)

What shape is your (soon to be) pool? Since you are just installing it you could install a sliding electrical safety cover. I have no idea how much they cost, but it is an option you can look into. Here is one example (http://www.aquamaticcovers.com/hydramatic.html). I personally use a solar cover, and instruct kids to be away from the pool whether a cover is on or not. Solar covers save on heating costs, chemical costs (Yes, Bowlin, that means less bleach), and water costs - so they are a huge environmental asset to pool ownership. If I was building a new pool and could afford one, though, I would seriously consider an automatic safety cover.

However, since you are in NC (and also Simmons99, Florida] you have less of a need for one than those of us who live further north or in dryer climates (where there is lots of evaporation!)

[elsie]

I had an automatic (electric version) pool cover installed last spring, and a month later had it uninstalled. The sales material on the cover touted "less work, more swimming," but I found just the opposite. Yes, it did act as a solar cover, keeping the water temps higher and as well cutting down on the amount of bleach used, and it would be great to use when tropical winds from coastal hurricanes are in the area (I'm a couple hundred miles from the gulf coast), obviating the need to have a 2nd hand to put the manual cover on when these huge storms roll in.

After it was installed last year, we had a very rainy period, getting some rain every day. It is much more time consuming to clear the cover of debris and water than doing so in the pool directly. Anything not cleared from the cover gets dumped back into the pool when you re-cover it. Since the cover pump cannot pump out all of the water (can only evacuate down to a certain level), you have to use a bucket to bail the water out or, alternatively, wait for it to evaporate. If you get a bit of rain on an ongoing daily basis, of course it never evaporates.

I got my money back, except the $2,000 that it cost to run the underground electrical, so now I have a $2,000 spare electrical outlet.

Total cost was about $7,000. It would've cost another $1,000 to have a nice cedar box built to cover the unsightly reel. Honestly, the exposed reel, at least in my application (beautifully landscaped, lots and lots of trees, etc.) very much detracted from the beauty of the pool.

My two cents worth!