Pool Covers near you

Australian pool safety law is barrier law. Part H7 of the National Construction Code requires compliance with AS 1926.1 and AS 1926.2 where the water is more than 300 millimetres deep, with Queensland and the Northern Territory replacing the provision with their own legislation and other states varying it. Western Australia's Building and Energy states the barrier requirement for private pools, spa pools and portable pools with water more than 30 centimetres deep. None of these regimes recognises a cover in place of a barrier.

The physical reasons are just as important as the legal one. A floating cover looks like a solid surface to a small child and is not. Water collecting on top of a solid cover is a drowning hazard on its own and, being still, is exactly the kind of standing water NSW Health identifies as mosquito breeding habitat. A partly retracted cover creates a gap that is harder to see than open water.

The safe position is simple: the cover is equipment, the fence and the self-closing gate are the safety system, and the cover changes nothing about the owner's barrier obligations.

The most common failure is simply disuse. A blanket that is awkward to handle gets left off through the windy months and then blamed for not saving water. The fix is almost always a roller rather than a different blanket.

The second is chemical damage. A cover sitting on a pool immediately after a heavy chlorine dose, or on water that has been run at a very low pH, breaks down quickly and unevenly. Covers that go brittle or shed bubbles in their first couple of seasons have usually been chemically cooked rather than worn out.

The third is mechanical. Automatic systems fail at tracks, slat ends and the drive, particularly where salt water and sunscreen residue build up in the track. Because these components are often recessed into the coping, a repair that would be minor on an exposed system can mean lifting pavers.

Through summer the cover is doing water conservation and chemical work more than heating work. Overnight covering cuts evaporation and reduces the ultraviolet load on the sanitiser, while daytime use on a very hot pool can push the water past comfortable, so many households cover at night and uncover during the day.

Through the cooler months the priority reverses. Holding overnight heat is what extends the usable season in the temperate south, and a cover left on for days at a time is doing exactly what it should. Keep circulation running underneath it rather than treating a covered pool as a closed one.

In fire season and in the tropical wet, a cover is mostly a debris shield, keeping ash, bark and runoff out of the water. Clear it rather than letting the load sit, and remember that the material underneath is still being asked to work.