Safety covers are becoming more popular every year. The ease of opening and closing a pool with a safety cover is hard to argue against, even with a bit of a cost up-front for the fancy cover.
Though the covers have become more popular, common knowledge hasn't spread quite yet regarding the best ways to open a pool with a safety cover. In some ways, it is very different from a tarp cover.
Since the cover itself is porous, allowing small bits of silt and liquid to pass through, the water level will be higher (than with tarp covers) and the pool will have much more organic material in the water. This can mean a lot of algae if you open your pool a number of weeks after the water has thawed.
There are two common ways to treat the water to make opening day easier...
The first way is to pour liquid chlorine into the pool a few weeks before you plan on opening it. Starting with one corner, remove a few springs from their mounts and pour a jug of chlorine into that corner. Re-attach the springs, and wait a week. The next week, do the same thing with a different corner. Repeat the process weekly until you open your pool.
The second way is to treat the water with algaecide. Adding half a bottle before the water freezes in the fall, and another half of a bottle after it thaws in the spring will limit the amount of algae on opening day.
Neither method guarantees a crystal-clear pool, but it helps to limit the one and only draw-back from opening a pool with a safety cover.
As always, if you would rather have your pool opened professionally, call (519.857.5069) or email us. We'd be happy to help you out.
Safety Cover Advice