Pool Covers near you

EPA's guidance separates covers by what they are effective at, which is a more useful sorting than by what they are made of. The headline numbers for reducing evaporation while in use are: solid, mesh and hybrid covers up to 95 percent; solar covers, meaning bubble covers, solar rings and thermal blankets, between 50 and 95 percent depending on shape and coverage; and liquid evaporation suppressants around 15 percent. Only the first group can serve as a safety cover.

The standard that turns a cover into a safety cover is ASTM F1346, the Standard Performance Specification for Safety Covers and Labeling Requirements for All Covers for Swimming Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs. EPA describes its test methodology as including tests for load bearing and surface water drainage, and as ensuring no openings are present between the cover and the pool. Those three things are precisely what separates a cover a child can be pulled out from under from one that holds weight and drains.

That standard is what several states build their law on. California's statute names ASTM International F1346-23 for a manually operated or power-operated safety pool cover, and treats it as one of seven features of which a new or remodeled pool must have at least two. Florida's chapter 515 accepts an approved safety pool cover complying with ASTM F1346-91 among its list of pool safety features, alongside a barrier at least four feet high on the outside, exit alarms on doors and windows with a minimum sound pressure rating of 85 decibels at 10 feet, self-closing self-latching doors with a release mechanism no lower than 54 inches above the floor, and a pool alarm certified to ASTM F2208.

New York uses the standard as an exemption rather than an option: a pool installed, constructed or substantially modified after December 14, 2006 must have an approved pool alarm unless it has an automatic safety cover complying with ASTM F1346, and spas with an ASTM F1346-compliant safety cover are exempt from the permanent barrier requirement. EPA also notes generally that many states and local jurisdictions have established safety requirements for residential pools and in some cases require a safety cover if fencing and locked gates are not installed. Buy a certified cover and keep the documentation, because in these states the paperwork is the compliance.

Covers fail for two reasons: they are put away wet, and they are left under standing water. Both are avoidable with a routine rather than a product. Pump or sweep water and debris off a solid cover before it is moved, let it dry before folding, and store it out of direct sunlight, which degrades cover material faster than use does.

Ease of use is not a luxury feature, it is the whole point. EPA makes the argument directly: pool covers are only effective when applied to the surface of the pool, so owners should consider ease of use when making a purchase so that any time the pool is not in use, the cover is. Where an automatic cover is not practical, EPA suggests a motor-driven reel or hand crank to help guide the cover over the surface. A cover that takes two adults 15 minutes to deploy will not be deployed.

Check the hardware as often as the fabric. Anchors work loose in concrete, springs lose tension, tracks on automatic covers collect grit, and the fixings around steps and diving boards are always the first to go. On a safety cover, that hardware is what the certification was testing.

Most pools end up needing two covers doing two jobs, and buying one to do both usually disappoints. A daily cover exists to stop evaporation and heat loss, so the criterion is how quickly and easily it goes on and comes off. A winter cover exists to keep the pool intact and closed through months of weather, so the criteria are anchoring, load and drainage. EPA describes winter covers as more secure and typically doubling as safety covers, but not practical to be used on a daily basis for evaporation reduction, which is the trade-off in one sentence.

In hot, dry regions the daily cover is the one that pays for itself, since evaporation is highest where the humidity is lowest and the wind is up. In cold-winter states the winter cover is the one that matters most, because it is doing five months of unsupervised work and because a cover that fails in February means an opening that costs several times what the cover did.

Wherever you are, EPA notes that any pool can be retrofitted with a cover, so if your pool does not have one, that is the most effective first step you can take to reduce evaporation. It also mentions that some utilities offer rebates for qualified covers and suggests checking with your local water utility, which is worth a phone call in drought-prone states.

Compared with any other pool purchase, a cover is unusual in that it saves on three bills at once. It reduces water loss, which EPA quantifies at up to 95 percent of evaporation for solid, mesh and hybrid covers; it reduces heating cost, which EPA puts at 50 to 70 percent for a heated pool; and it reduces chemical consumption and cleaning simply because less debris and less sunlight reach the water. EPA also lists providing a measure of safety to prevent animals and children from drowning among the benefits.

Against a new heater, a cover often produces more comfort per dollar spent, because it keeps the heat the existing heater already made. Against a new pump, it does not compete directly, but it reduces the load the pump and filter are handling. And unlike either, its performance depends entirely on human behavior, which is why the practical advice is to buy the cover you will actually put on rather than the one with the best specification.

The price depends on cover type, the pool's size and shape, whether the shape is a simple rectangle or has steps, a spa, a diving board or curves to be templated around, whether it is anchored into a concrete deck or into pavers or a lawn, whether you want a reel or a motorized system, and whether you need it certified as a safety cover for compliance. An automatic cover is a construction project with a track, a housing and often an electrical connection, which puts it in a different category from a cover you unroll.

You can use LokalMatch to describe your pool once, including the shape, the deck material and whether you need a certified safety cover, and cover suppliers and installers in your area will respond to you. They pay for the requests they receive, and homeowners use LokalMatch free. LokalMatch does not supply or install covers, does not quote prices and does not check, rank or recommend suppliers, so confirming the certification and the warranty is yours to do.