What is the Best Pool Cover Available

What is the Best Pool Cover available?

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What makes the best pool cover?

We take time out to explain why our Premium Leaf & Debris Cover is the best pool cover available on the Australian market today.

Pool covers fit into 3 basic categories:-

  • Floating Covers (Solar Blankets)
  • Solid Covers (Shutdown Covers)
  • Leaf & Debris Covers (Mesh Covers)

Solar Blankets
It is very important to realize that Solar Blankets are used for pool heating and are not for keeping the pool clean.

Solar blankets are made of thick bubble wrap style material and are available in various grades and qualities.  Solar covers float on the surface of the water and are cut to the shape of the pool during installation.  The material is bulky and heavy, so the cover is generally installed on a roller which is best situated at the widest end of the pool. This roller position allows the cover to glide across the water without friction or chaffing which would be present, for instance, if the cover had to be retracted across a section of pavement.

A properly fitted Solar blanket will reduce evaporation by at least 95% and will warm your pool by 5 – 7 degrees during the summer swimming season. See full details of Solar Blankets here.

Warmer water may be pleasant, however, there are many downsides of the Solar Blanket:-

  • The cover is unattractive, especially on salt pools where it collects chalky salt residue.
  • The roller creates a massive obstruction in your pool area.
  • Frequently there is no suitable location to place the roller where it can operate properly (square to the longitudinal axis of the pool). This severely compromises the ease of use of a solar blanket.
  • The Solar Blanket floats on the surface of the water. Leaf litter will gather in the depression and will be difficult to remove.  The Solar Blanket does not overlap the pool surround and will do little to prevent leaves & debris from getting into your pool.
  • Essentially the solar blanket serves the single purpose of WARMING your pool.
  • The Solar Blanket is translucent, allowing light to enter the pool and promoting algae growth.
  • A Solar Blanket is like a giant floating lily leaf and is a safety hazard for children, enticing them onto the cover, but then giving way and trapping them underneath.

Solid Covers
Solid Covers, such as our Winter Shutdown Cover will enable complete pool shutdown during the non swimming season.  This cover also provides a Child Safety benefit during times when the cover is fitted to the pool – predominantly during the cooler months.

Pool Shutdown is a great cost saving and a fabulous feature, however, the Shutdown Cover also has considerable downsides.

  • Solid Covers are heavy, typically weighing 30 – 40Kg depending upon the dimensions of the pool.
  • The cover will require 2 people to remove and re-fit.
  • Care must be taken to ensure that the cover overlaps the sides when removing and re-fitting or it will sink underwater.
  • A Shutdown Cover is pulled taught, but rests upon the surface of the water for support.  Leaf litter may gather in the depression.
  • The Shutdown Cover cannot be fitted to an empty pool.
  • A Shutdown Cover pools water during rain.  This is easily managed with a simple siphon, but it does need to be managed!
  • With repeated pooling of rainwater, the cover will ultimately become soiled and grubby, detracting from your pool area,

Leaf & Debris Covers
Leaf & Debris Covers are constructed of mesh material and do not pool rainwater.  A properly constructed leaf cover should remain taught across the pool to keep leaves & debris high and dry above the surface of the water. The cover should be self-supporting and flotation devices under the cover should not be necessary.

The effectiveness of a leaf cover is governed by the fineness of the weave where finer is better to keep out small particles,  A good leaf cover should also significantly reduce the amount of light entering the pool to deter algae growth.  Another crucial factor is that the cover must be woven because a knitted (shade cloth style) material is very unstable. Knitted material will stretch when under tension and shrink when released.  During use, a knitted cover will sag into the pool and during storage, this type of cover will commonly shrink to the extent that it will no longer fit the pool!

The best quality leaf covers will have welded seams because stitching is prone to premature failure.  Reinforced straps and buckles are also of paramount importance so that the cover can be properly tensioned.  The buckles should securely retain tension but also be easily released.

“Our Leaf & Debris Cover is versatile, lightweight and effective, making it the most popular choice.  It is the best Pool Cover available in Australia.”

The Premium Leaf & Debris Cover is our most popular and versatile pool cover.  Extremely attractive, this cover is very light-weight and incredibly easy to remove and re-fit to your pool.  Being an open mesh material, the leaf & debris cover does not collect rainwater, is neutrally buoyant and will not become water-logged should it fall into the water.

By screening out all debris, and blocking 85% of sunlight, your pool maintenance is essentially eliminated with this cover in place.  In fact, the cover is so effective, that filtration and salt-chlorination must be reduced to about an hour per day, to prevent over-chlorination.  Evaporation will also be reduced by about 75% with our Leaf & Debris cover fitted to your pool.

The Premium Leaf & Debris Cover is very simple to manage.  It will effectively keep out all leaves and debris, yet does not pool water on top of the cover after rain.  The cover is pulled up tight by the straps and stays dry above the water level.  Leaves and debris falling on the cover will remain dry and generally just blow off.  You can assist this process with a blower if required.  The leaf cover will effortlessly support ducks and small animals, keeping them high and dry above the water.  Our Leaf & Debris Cover is not intended as a safety cover, however, it is firmly secured to the pool surround and does not detract from child safety.

Our Premium Leaf & Debris Cover is made of virgin woven polyethylene fabric.  The fabric is specially formulated for pool cover use and is stabilized against the damaging effects of normal Chlorine levels and Ultra Violet light.  The cover is extremely durable and carries a full 5 year warranty against faulty material, parts and workmanship.  With proper care, a life span in excess of 10 years can normally be expected.  Refer to our Leaf Cover Use & Care Instructions

The Premium Leaf & Debris Cover will totally solve even the most extreme leaf problem.  Our pool cover experts will design and custom build your cover to fit neatly and accurately around rocks, waterfalls and other features.  In fact, we regularly fit covers to pools that our competitors have dismissed as impossible!

Our Leaf & Debris Cover is the best available, featuring:-

  • Guaranteed perfect fit to keep leaves & debris out of your pool.
  • Prevents ducks from accessing the pool.
  • Extremely lightweight & durable, polyethylene trampoline mesh which is manufactured in the USA.
  • Does not puddle rainwater.
  • Fade Resistant straps & material.
  • No deck roller is required. Simply place the lightweight cover in the generous storage bag provided.
  • Self Cleansing – Rainwater passes through the Leaf & Debris Cover, gently cleansing it.
  • Full 5 year warranty against faulty material, parts and workmanship – not the inferior pro rata warranty which is offered by our competitors!
  • ‍Fully welded seams which run width-wise across the cover for stronger construction & better support*.   Unlike our competitors sewn seams that are prone to failure, our welded seams are the strongest part of the cover!
  • Reinforced straps, buckles and pavement anchors are aligned with each seam to provide a strong matrix of extra support. This keeps the cover high and dry above the water line.
  • The Premium Leaf & Debris Cover is NOT a safety cover, but is secured to the pavement. It will effortlessly support small pets and animals.
  • Stylish (316) Marine Grade Stainless Steel anchor pins which secure the cover with only a discreet 5mm drill hole in the pavement.  The inconspicuous attachments are the same diameter as the hole in a cocktail drinking straw and are positioned almost a metre apart. The attachments do not damage the pool surround or affect the aesthetics of your pool. The cover is tensioned by pulling on the straps after fitting.  When the cover is removed, all that remains are a few tiny holes in the pavement!
  • Our Leaf & Debris Cover is fully hemmed and fitted with reinforced straps & buckles.  Also, the strap ends are sewn over to prevent the anchor hooks from falling off and becoming lost.
  • A full selection of special anchors are available which are specifically designed for the complex cover installations on pools with rocks, water features, fountains and retaining walls.
  • The Premium Leaf & Debris Cover can be fitted to an empty pool.
  • Our fully automated manufacturing process from CAD to completion ensures accurate & consistent, high quality production.
  • DIY self-measure / self-installation is available outside our service areas or to suit your budget.

* Seams may run length-ways on long, narrow pools.

We would be delighted to provide our expert advice to create your perfect pool cover which is guaranteed to fit seamlessly to all the features of your pool.

Please complete our On-Line Quotation Request or call us on 1300 COVERS (1300 268377) to arrange your no-obligation free quote.

Deb MVic, Australia
From first contacting Just Covers to installation was fast, efficient and professional. The cover is exactly as described in the product description and serves it purpose perfectly. I would unreservedly recommend Just Covers and would definitely use them again in the future.