WINTER COVER: A cover that is only used by those pools whose region and climate changes mandate that the pool must be winterized. Once all plumbing lines are cleared of any water and flushed with antifreeze, and the pool is properly winterized, the pool is covered by a winter cover. These are the primary types of winter covers:
SAFETY COVER: Can either be mesh or solid. Poolmanual.com prefers the mesh safety cover over any type of winter cover on the market; every pool that requires a winterize should be covered with a mesh safety cover. The reason is the safety factor plus the ease at which they are installed and removed.
When your local pool professionals install the safety cover, they will drill anchors that are submerged into your pool deck. When you want to install the safety cover during a winterize, use your allen-wrench that comes with the safety cover, or better yet, a cordless drill, and unscrew the heads of all of the anchors out of the deck. The springs that are attached to the cover are connected to all the anchors to secure the cover. Once secured, the safety cover is very safe-one manufacturer markets the safety of their cover by showing an elephant standing on the cover. When you want to remove the safety cover during an opening, use your removal tool that comes with the safety cover and detach every spring from its anchor. Then use your allen-wrench, or better yet, a cordless drill, to submerge the heads of all of the anchors back into the deck.
NOTE: If you use your allen-wrench, it is time-consuming to either unscrew the heads of the anchors out of the deck (to winterize the pool) or to screw them into the deck (to open the pool). If you own a cordless drill and the appropriate bit to fit into the head of the anchor, you can maneuver all of your anchors within minutes.
WATERBAG COVER: A solid tarp that lays on the pool deck and is secured with waterbags (or sandbags, flower pots, bricks, boulders, or anything else that is heavy enough to secure this winter cover over the pool). Since waterbag cover are solid tarps, when it rains or snows, additional weight is added to the waterbag cover. If you own a waterbag cover, you will need to drain the rain water and melted snow off of the cover from time to time in order to eliminate the additional weight. If you own a waterbag cover, you better also own a submersible pump to remove this water off of the cover. Most pool professionals, as well as hardware stores, sell submersible pumps.
"FOXX" COVER: The winter cover that comes with "Foxx" Pools; "Foxx" is a manufacturer of inground pools. When a "Foxx" pool is constructed, a special track is installed on the top of the pool wall, just below the pool deck. The "Foxx" winter cover will snap into this track. These covers are extremely heavy and extremely difficult to install. Since "Foxx" covers are a solid tarp, rain and snow will sit on the cover, adding weight. If you own a "Foxx" cover, you will need to drain the rain water and melted snow off of the cover from time to time in order to eliminate the additional weight. If you own a "Foxx" cover, you better also own a submersible pump to remove this water off of the cover. Most pool professionals, as well as hardware stores, sell submersible pumps.
ABOVEGROUND WINTER COVER: The winter cover that covers an aboveground pool. The typical aboveground pool is a solid tarp that is secured to the pool by a cable and a winch (which tightens the cable).