Is a Winter Pool Cover Necessary?

For most of us with swimming pools, there comes a sad time of the year when we must shut down our pools for the season until winter is over. Learning how to properly winterize your pool is an important aspect in not only extending the life of your pool, but also in ensuring your spring start-up is as quick and painless as possible.

One question many people have when it comes to winterizing their pool is: Is it necessary to cover my pool in winter? Swimming Pool Health

The short answer is no, it's not necessary.

But it's not necessary just like brushing your teeth is not necessary and you'll survive if you don't.

You could not cover it, but you probably won't like the results.

Once you shut down your pool for the season, particularly in fall and into early Winter, your pool is going to start gathering a lot of dirt and debris. Leaves, twigs, dust, and other things will start to fall into your pool, and if your pool is shut down, your filter isn't going to clean any of that out. This means all that "stuff" is going to accumulate and turn into a gross, mucky mess.

Do I need a winter cover for my swimming pool?

On top of this, an uncovered pool with no filtration or chemicals will be prime breeding ground for all kinds of nasty things, like algae, bacteria, and insects. Plus it will look like something fit for Swamp Thing if it gets too out of hand.

Through the simple act of adding a pool cover, you'll be able to avoid most of these issues altogether. The cover acts as a barrier for debris, as well as a barrier for sunlight. Properly installed, a winter cover will protect your pool in a form of "stasis" throughout the winter, making Spring opening potentially as simple as just adding water, start-up chemicals, and turning your filtration system back on.

This is important because all that nastiness we mentioned before that can grow in an uncovered, unused swimming pool can do more than just cause a headache when it comes to spring opening. It can also cause damage to your pool, particularly the liner and filtration system.

Adding a winter pool cover will help your pool not only stay beautiful, but remain easy to take care of, and last a much longer time.

If you're wanting to add an extra layer of safety or even daily protection from debris and overall yuckiness making its way into your swimming pool, check out our article comparing the pros and cons of different cover types.

And finally if you're looking into this option because your pool has already begun to transform into the Hulk... read about Revive here for a fast solution!