15 Mar How to Look After Your Solar Pool Cover

In order to obtain the greatest benefits of your solar pool cover (also called solar pool blanket) – and to prolong the life of the solar cover there several things that need to be done.

If you leave the pool covered in water or even just with pools of water on it the effectiveness of your solar pool blanket will be compromised. The rainwater, once the sun shines again will evaporate from the water on top of the blanket and this takes heat through the blanket, thus causing the pool water to cool.

Keep Water off your Solar Pool Cover

After rain you will need to remove your solar blanket from your pool in order to drain off the rain water.

Continue Regular Pool Maintenance

A mistake that is often made by pool owners is to put the solar pool blanket on top of the pool and then forget that they still need to regularly clean and sanitise the pool.

Warm water with insufficient chemicals in it is a great breeding ground for algae. Please don’t let this happen to you, prevention is much better than cure in this instance. Not only will you have to get rid of the algae in your pool, but you will also need to thoroughly clean the solar pool cover itself.

If you don’t clean the solar pool cover very thoroughly then you will just re-introduce the algae into the pool once again when you roll out the solar pool cover.

Remove your Solar Pool Blanket on Really Hot Days

Generally speaking you should remove your pool cover and place it in the shade when the outside temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius. If you solar pool blanket is on a roller it is a good idea to move the roller out of direct sunlight on really hot days.

Keep your Solar Pool Blanket Clean

Leaves and debris now land on your solar pool cover rather than in the swimming pool. Most of the time the leaves and debris get blown off your solar pool blanket by wind. Sometime the wind blows the debris and dirt into one area of your pool cover. In this case you may be able to scoop up the dirt with your hands or use a dustpan and brush to remove it.

If this is not possible another effective way to keep your solar pool blanket clean is to hose the dirt towards your skimmer box once you have turned your pump on.

Keep your pool at the Correct Chlorine Level

If the chlorine level is too high in your pool this will increase the corrosive effect on the solar pool cover and reduce the live of the cover. We recommend that the chlorine level is never greater than three parts chlorine to one million parts of water.

Your test kit will show you the normal chlorine level that you should keep you pool at. Higher levels not only reduce the life of your solar pool cover but can also be potentially damaging to your families health.

It is also a good idea to keep your solar pool blanket off the pool after you have added chlorine to your pool – just for a couple of hours or so.

Store your Solar Pool Blanket

If you do not need to use your solar pool blanket during the summer months then we highly recommend that you remove the cover and store in a covered or shaded area, preferably in a garage or shed. The high summer temperatures and direct sunlight together with the chlorine in your pool will eventually mean that your cover becomes brittle, flakes and can also peel.

Thus if you don’t need the pool cover to heat your pool during the months of hot weather, store it away to extend the life of the solar pool cover.

Cleaning your Solar Pool Cover

Before storing your solar pool cover you should clean it using a solar pool cleaner, a disinfectant, a soft brush and fresh clean cold water. Hosing off your pool blanket will remove the chlorine. Algae or mildew can also be easily removed by lightly scrubbing the solar pool blanket. Finally make sure that the solar pool blanket is dry before folding or rolling it away for storage.

You should also clean and deodorise your solar pool cover periodically. You can do this while the cover is on your pool. Alternatively you could spread the solar pool cover out on the lawn, ideally on a slope so as to make it easy to remove the water.

Operate the filter during the hottest part of the day

It is best for your solar pool cover and solar pool swimming pool that you run the filter during the hottest part of the day.

By running your pool pump during the hottest period of the day it spreads the chlorine throughout the pool and prevents it from building up under the cover. So by operating the pool pump during the hottest period of the day you are not only extending the life of your solar pool blanket but also obtaining the best benefits that you can from having the solar pool cover.

If you would like to talk to us about Swimming pool covers or Solar pool blankets please contact us today.