The holiday season is upon us. Here in Atlanta, that means winter is here, and it’s time to close your swimming pool for the season. This may seem optional to some pool owners. But properly closing your pool with a pool cover is crucial to your pool’s long-term health. It will keep your pool or spa damage-free and ready for the swimming season to begin in the spring. Many novice pool owners will mistakenly attempt to close their pool on their own. But this is one area where professional help really comes in handy.
Unfortunately, if you don’t close your pool correctly, you’re setting yourself up for a host of issues. And when it comes time to open your pool again, you may find yourself with a heap of trouble. These problems can include damage to your pool equipment (including your filter and pump) and your pool itself.
Most of these issues stem from the improper installation of a pool cover. Your pool cover is what keeps your pool clean and free of debris during the winter months. An improperly installed pool cover allows leaves and other debris to accumulate and make their way into the pool’s water. Over time this can cause stains and clogs.
To avoid these issues, we’ve compiled a few helpful tips on keeping your pool cover clear of leaves and debris this season:
Exploring a Pool Cover’s Purpose
Before we dive into our tips for keeping your cover free of debris this winter, it’s essential to understand why you need a cover in the first place.
Your pool cover doesn’t just protect your swimming pool from the elements. During the winter months, it acts as a barrier to keep leaves, twigs, branches, insects, and other debris out. If these substances infiltrate your water, they can cause stains or damage.
However, debris should never simply be left to accumulate on top of your cover. Besides being unsightly, accumulated debris puts added weight on your pool cover. A weighed-down cover may become ineffective because the weight creates gaps where debris can enter your pool.
Clearing your cover of debris may seem like an easy task. But it’s a bit more complicated than you might expect. After all, doing it wrong could force debris into your pool or make a mess of your yard. Here’s how pool cleaning and maintenance experts approach clearing a pool cover of debris.
Sweeping Debris Off Your Swimming Pool Cover
The first approach to clearing your pool cover of debris is to use a good old fashioned broom to sweep it away.
Using your broom, carefully try to collect as much dirt and debris as possible at the edge of the pool. Once it’s all at the pool’s edge, you can scoop the debris up using your hands or a specialized tool. Be extremely careful to avoid dropping any debris back into your pool.
Hosing Debris Off the Cover
Once your pool cover has been thoroughly swept, you can slowly remove the cover, ensuring no leftover debris makes its way into your pool.
Once removed, spread the pool cover out on your deck or lawn, grab your water hose and thoroughly hose the cover down. Use the hose to remove any debris you missed during sweeping. Keep in mind that this may make a mess, and you may need to follow it up by scooping the debris off your lawn or patio.
Thoroughly Skimming Your Swimming Pool
Once the debris has been completely removed from your cover, you’re still not ready to put it back on the pool. During the cleaning and removal process, debris may have found its way into your pool. So it’s best to give your swimming pool a thorough skimming after the cover has been cleaned. Afterward, you can then place your cover back onto your swimming pool. These steps should be repeated periodically throughout the season to ensure the cover remains clean.
Hiring a Professional
Now that you know how tedious and time-consuming the task of keeping your pool cover clear of debris can be, you may doubt your ability to handle the job.
After all, with a full schedule and busy lifestyle, who has time to consistently check and clean a pool cover? Luckily, with The Pool Butler on your side, you won’t have to worry about keeping debris off of your pool cover ever again.
Our technicians come fully equipped to handle the job of cleaning your swimming pool cover. We can also handle the rest of your swimming pool maintenance throughout the winter season. With The Pool Butler, you get an experienced and trained group of professionals working to ensure your swimming pool looks fantastic once spring rolls around.
Why Choose The Pool Butler?
The Pool Butler has been serving Atlanta and surrounding communities for many years, with the best swimming pool maintenance, cleaning, and repair.
Our reputation for excellence is built on our commitment to provide the best, most wide-ranging pool services, and our dedication to customer satisfaction. We make it our mission to handle all of your swimming pool or spa needs. We want to give you peace of mind and to allow you to focus only on enjoying your swimming pool with your family and friends.
Our team of experienced professionals arrives at your home with all the proper equipment, knowledge, and experience. We can detect and fix any swimming pool issue and keep your pool looking and running at peak performance throughout its lifespan. This allows you to get the most out of your swimming pool while you rest assured that a group of professionals is attending to all of your swimming pool maintenance.
To learn more about any of the swimming pool services we offer, contact The Pool Butler today or click here to view our entire list of services, including our eco-friendly solutions.