If you live in Europe or any other region that experiences long winter seasons, having a pool cover is something you can’t shy away from. After all, you need to keep the pool clean from leaves, pollen, dirt, and debris from falling inside. To do that, you need a winter cover, a leaf net, or a solar blanket. Now, one of the best options you can ever consider is a winter cover with a winch-styled cable tightener. Although this is the best solution, most people don’t know how to use a winch for a pool cover.
You see, sealing your pool, whether above ground or in-ground, comes with massive benefits that are unquestioned. Apart from just preventing debris from getting into the water, a tight cover prevents the build-up of algae and bacteria into the pool water. As a result, this reduces the amount of work you’ll have to do to clean up the pool upon re-opening.
So, with that said, it’s now clear how important a winter cover is to the health of your dear pool. The main problem, however, creeps in when it comes to fastening and securing your pool cover. For that reason, this short guide has come to the rescue to outline a step-by-step process on how to use a winch to cover your pool.
Why Should You Cover Your Pool?
Covering or closing your pool is very important, especially at the beginning of winter and through to the spring showers. This idea helps to turn the liquid surface of your pool into an impenetrable surface. Now, before we get to our main topic, let’s just highlight some of the reasons that make a pool cover essential.
- Keeps Debris Out: One of the fundamental use of a pool cover is to cover the pool from any solid or flying debris. By doing this, you won’t have to struggle to clean your pool once the winter season is over.
- Prevents Accidental Drowning: You see, if you’re a homeowner with young kids and pets as part of your large family, it’s absolutely impossible to rest comfortably knowing that your pool is uncovered. Since safety is a top priority than even protecting the pool, you need to cover it to prevent young kids from drowning accidentally.
- Blocking Sunlight: Lastly, covering your pool allows you to protect your investment against the harsh effects of the UV rays. In most cases, this happens during summer when the sun’s rays are extremely strong.
By blocking the sun’s rays, you’ll actually protect the pool from possible evaporation, growth of algae, fading and drying of the paint job, and lastly, potential cracks on the concrete wall.
So, How Do You Use a Winch for Pool Cover?
- Step One: Winterizing the Pool
So, first things first. The first step of using a winch to cover your pool is by winterizing the pool. This is a very essential step that involves making major preparations for the pool.
So, some of the things you’ll be doing in the winterizing stage include cleaning the pool thoroughly, adjusting the clamps and hoses, disconnecting the pumps, cleaning the return and skimmer fittings, lowering the water below the skimmer level, and finally, adding winterizing chemicals to the pool.
When lowering the water level, make sure it’s about 4-inches below the skimmer level. This will help to prevent the water from overflowing once the tightening process begins. About the winterizing chemicals, make sure they contain rust protectors, pool shock, and pool winterized.
- Step Two: Inflate the Air Pillow
So, before you install the pool cover, the first step you’ll need to do is to inflate the air pillows or the airbags. These air pillows or bags will float on top of the pool just before you place the cover on top. The air pillows should stretch throughout the pool and should be wrapped around the pool post to prevent shifting.
The reason why you need the air pillows is to prevent excess wind from getting under the pool. Remember, excess wind can cause the cover to billow or flap against itself causing a premature tear to the cover. Lastly, when inflating the air pillow or airbag, make sure that you inflate it halfway full to leave some allowance for ice expansion (in case it’s a winter season).
- Step Three: Inspect the Pool Cover
Once you’ve inflated the air pillows, the next step is to inspect the pool cover for any signs of wear and tear. To do that, you’ll need to spread the cover to inspect it keenly. In case everything is perfectly all right, then you can proceed to install it.
- Step Four: Spread the Cover Above the Pool
Once you’ve inspected the pool cover for any signs of rips and tears, the next step is to spread the cover over the top of the pool. Make sure that you cover the entire perimeter of the pool during this process. Now, when choosing a pool cover, you need to ensure that you pick a slightly oversized cover that will leave some space allowance around the perimeter of the pool.
With this extra material, the cover will manage to overlap or rather hug the sidewall of the pool (especially an above-ground pool) to make it easier to tighten the cover using a winch.
- Step Five: Insert the Leaf Net
To those living in regions that are populated with plenty of trees, there’s a great need of spreading a leaf net on top of the pool cover. The reason why a leaf net is important is that it helps to capture dry leaves during the autumn months when leaves are falling off the trees.
Once the autumn season is over, you can remove the leaf net slowly and gently to dispose of the leaves. By doing this, you’ll help to prolong the life of your dear pool cover which is a massive advantage.
- Step Six: Securing the Pool Cover With a Winch
Now that you’re through placing the cover and spicing it up with a leaf net, the next step, which is our main focus today, is securing the cover with the help of a winch. So, how do you use the winch? Well, the first step is to weave the winch’s cable around the edges or rather through the holes on the edges of the cover.
When tightening the pool cover, always make sure that you use the correct rope to guarantee the best results. Once you’ve weaved through the holes, the next step is to secure both ends of the rope to the winch. When you’re done, pull the winch in the clockwise direction to tighten the rope.
The reason why it’s important to tighten the pool cover is to prevent wind from getting in between the pool and the cover. Remember, if the wind gets in between the pool and the cover, it can easily cause the cover to flap, which can lead to damage.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. As you can see, securing your pool using a winch is not as hard as it sounds. Provided you follow the right steps, such as the ones outlined above, this process can be smooth and very efficient.
You see, one of the reasons why it’s important to tighten a pool cover using a winch is to secure the cover against the pool. This way, you’ll not leave any space between the cover and the pool for the wind to pass through.
With that said, we believe that this guide has offered tremendous value in this topic. So, in case someone asks you how to use a winch for the pool cover, then we believe you’re in a position to offer some advice.
