We won’t mince words on this topic. Every pool owner in Australia should have a quality pool cover. Whether they're ground pools of above ground pools, pool covers are an essential for all Australian home pools. That’s right, straight from Mr Pool Man’s mouth, a pool cover is essential for all swimming pools, period.
Now that that’s out of the way, we’d like to add that buying a pool cover isn’t a decision that should be rushed. In this article, we’ll be covering (pun intended!) the best pool covers in Australia, the best pool covers for heat retention, and the different types of pool covers available in online stores.
If you're looking to purchase pool covers be sure to check out our custom-cut pool covers collection.
Types of Pool Covers
Not all pool covers are built alike. Some pool covers are built for heat retention, others for water conservation, others for just safety purposes, and there are others that can actually do it all! Let’s go through the different types of pool covers so that you can make the best decision for your pool. Don’t like reading through the different types? Click here to jump down to Mr Pool Man’s Recommended Pool Cover.
Net Pool Covers or Leaf Catchers
Net pool covers serve one purpose only and that’s to keep leaves out of the pool. It’s no coincidence as well that these are one of the cheapest types of pool covers around. As the name implies, this type of pool cover is only used to catch leaves and prevent debris from reaching your pool surface.
- Pros: Fairly cheap. Ultra-lightweight, easy to remove and install. Catches leaves.
- Cons: Prone to tearing if not handled carefully. Doesn’t keep out bugs and other small things that can get through the gaps. Doesn’t prevent evaporation or rainwater from entering your pool.
Standard Tarps or Generic Pool Covers
Made from tarps, this is another affordable option for covering your pool. This does everything a mesh pool cover does and at the same time, shields your pool from sunlight, lessening the effect of UV rays on your pool chemicals. This also offers a little bit of protection from water evaporation as well as rainwater contamination. In a nutshell, here are the pros and cons of a tarp for a pool cover.
- Pros: A little bit cheaper than solar pool covers. Catches leaves, prevents evaporation, prevents water from entering the pool, shields the pool from UV rays.
- Cons: Water can pool on the cover and cause it to sag/will require water to be pumped or siphoned out from the top of the cover after heavy rains or you’ll run the risk of the tarp collapsing into your pool. Will require replacing after a couple of years no matter what the warranty says, a tarp is a tarp. It doesn't retain heat the way a specialty cover does and they’re not the most aesthetically pleasing pool covers, I mean, it’s a tarp on your pool held down by water bags or bricks, need I say more?
Swimming Pool Safety Covers
There are a few different types of pool safety covers but they all serve one primary purpose and that is to keep people (specifically kids) and animals from falling into the pool. Everything else, like debris protection and shielding the pool from UV rays (depending on the type) are just happy incidentals. Here are the different types of pool safety covers that are available in Australia.
- Mesh pool safety covers - while they may look similar to net pool covers, mesh pool safety covers are not meant to be taken on and off at a whim since they need to be securely anchored with anchor pegs. Their mesh design allows the water to drain into the pool, and keeping the leaves dry, allowing the wind to blow them away. Of course, while this can help with the debris problem from reaching your pool surface, this doesn’t prevent water from entering your pool.
- Solid Safety pool covers - Solid safety pool covers are usually made from a solid piece of vinyl that’s stretched over the surface of your pool. They offer all of the advantages of mesh safety pool covers plus the added benefit of preventing water from entering the pool. The only downside is that if installed incorrectly, water and debris may flow into the pool.
Solar Pool Covers
Solar pool covers or solar blankets from Daisy like the Daisy Titanium 525B, 350 illusion, 250B and others are Mr Pool Man’s recommended type of pool cover for home swimming pools in Australia. They offer all of the benefits of other types of pool covers like preventing debris from entering the pool, preventing water from entering the pool (cut at the skimmer area part so that any water pooling will flow to your skimmers), they also prevents UV rays from destroying your pool chemicals. Solar pool covers also prevent up to 95% of pool water evaporation which means more savings on your part!
Another thing Mr Pool Man absolutely loves about the solar pool covers or solar blankets from Daisy is that they warm up your pool anywhere from 5 degrees to 8 degrees. Doesn’t sound like much? Well, remember that the difference between normal body temperature and a high fever is only 2 degrees!
There are a lot of benefits to getting a solar pool cover, much more than what we can list on this page but we’ve covered quite a bit of it in this article where we talked about how to keep your pool water level during Australian water restrictions. Although water restrictions aren’t in place or they aren’t the whole year round, the advantages of getting a Daisy solar pool cover from Mr Pool Man are the same.
Not only are daisy solar pool covers and pool blankets the best pool cover to retain heat in your pool, but they’re designed for that exact purpose. The cost for getting a solar pool cover will greatly offset the costs of heating your pool or if you live in an area where you have relatively mild winters then you can even get away with have a year-round swimming season with a good daisy solar cover and a Madimack Heat Pump!
Thermal Pool Covers
Thermal pool covers are specially designed pool covers for indoor use. Basically an insulator for your pool, thermal pool covers are the best bang-for-your-buck pool cover for Australian home pools that don't get exposed to the elements! They're best for keeping warmth in your pool overnight or when not in use.
If you're asking why it's necessary to use a pool cover if you have an indoor pool then the answer might surprise you! It costs absolutely NOTHING to cover your pool up and keep the heat in versus running a heater just to maintain the perfect temperature for your pool water! Sounds good right?
Bonus: Pool Cover Rollers
A chief complaint that many people have with Daisy solar covers is that it it takes about 15-20 minutes to cover and uncover your pool. This is easily countered by having a pool cover roller installed! Pool rollers cut down to rolling and unrolling your solar pool cover to under a minute! Don’t like looking at unwieldy pool cover rollers? Pool rollers come in many different designs like an underbench version where you hide the cover roller underneath a bench and even an in-ground version where you completely hide the pool cover underground, freeing up even more space! Daisy has even made it easier by creating solar powered versions that will roll the cover for you!
Conclusion
As you can see, Mr Pool Man is partial to Daisy when it comes to pool covers for heat retention and overall pool protection. There's a simple reason for this. Daisy pool covers are built to last and while many cheap pool covers break within a couple of of years, pool covers form Daisy will still be there a decade later! If you add up all of the time saves, water saved, chemicals saved, and expenses avoided replacing broken or damaged pool covers, you'll see that an investment in a good pool cover and pool rollers will go a long way!
Ready to get a pool cover? Check out our guide on how to fit a pool cover and how to install a pool cover here.
Do you have any questions about this topic or the featured products? No worries, we're here to help! Drop us a question down below and we'll get back to you ASAP.
Happy swimming :)