You’ve invested good money in a winter pool cover to protect your pool, but how do you take care of the cover itself? The Winters can be harsh here in Canada and even your Winter cover needs some routine maintenance to keep working properly. If you spent money on a good cover, it’s smart to do the basics to keep your winter pool cover in the best shape for seasons to come.

Here are five tips that can help you do just that:

Try to keep the cover free of ice – this may sound like it’s a daunting task if you live in a frosty area, but there are warm days when the ice will melt. Don’t try to chip ice off the cover because it is sharp and can cut through your cover like a knife. Once the ice melts, you need to get the excess water off the cover. Leave about one inch of water on the cover to protect against wind.

Remove excess water – if your cover has a twigs and leaves on the top it removing the excess water is trickier, but not impossible. You can put a swimming pool cover pump into a 5 gallon bucket perforated with holes around the side near the bottom. Place the bucket in the water and pump as you would normally. This will prevent the bigger leaves from clogging up your pump impeller or filter.

Secure the Cover Against Wind – wind can easily damage your pool cover and even shred it into pieces. If you have an above-ground cover, make sure that the cable and winch are secure and the safety cover springs are tight. Next, tuck in the corners of the cover so that they are rounded and weigh them down with bleach bottles filled with sand. Then spread more sand-filled bleach bottles out over the pool cover or use commercially made pool clips. Finally, be sure that there is at least an inch of water on top of the cover.

Protect Your Cover From Tree Branches – dead tree limbs are the primary cause of holes in swimming pool covers during the course of the winter. Tree branches can puncture a pool cover easily, particularly when it is cold and brittle. Make sure that any overhanging tree limbs are trimmed away and buy a swimming pool leaf net that installs on top of your pool cover. Leaf nets are an extra later of mesh protection that allows water to drain while capturing the leaves. Once the leaves have all fallen off the trees, you can remove the net if you wish.

Keep the pool water level high enough – if you have too low of a water level in your pool the cover will stretch if it snows or ice collects. The water level should be kept a few inches below the skimmer. As you can see taking care of a winter pool cover is easy to do and does not cost a fortune. Once the winter is done, store the cover properly and make sure that it is free from mildew. A good quality cover can last for many seasons providing it is maintained properly. Have a question about buying a Winter pool cover for your swimming pool?  Discount Pool Supply carries a huge selection of Winter covers for every pool shape and size.  Shipping is always free so click here to get started!