Above ground pool covers is an essential tool for any pool owner to have in their arsenal. Although there are some people who try to cover their pools with tarps and other inappropriate materials, these projects often fail and leave the pool full of all kinds of debris. In order to fully protect the pool from leaves, dirt, and insects, it’s important to buy a pool cover that’s durable and made for your size pool.
Unfortunately, choosing one of these covers isn’t always as straight forward as it should be. When considering one of these covers there are a few things to think about including what the cover is made out of, if it’s size matches the pool and whether it is designed for covering the pool in the summer or winter. Below are our choices for the ten best pool covers for above ground pools.
Best Above Ground Pool Covers
10Sun 2 Solar Blue Rectangular Solar Cover
It may surprise some people that the best above ground pool cover is also one of the best solar heating blankets available, too. What makes this product so exceptional is that it does do a good job at covering the pool during the summer months and will keep debris out of the pool when it’s not being used for swimming. It will also help prevent the pool from losing water to evaporation, and it captures the radiant energy of the sun to elevate the temperature of the pool for a better swim experience. That makes this a great summer pool cover that everyone should consider.
9Blue Wave Gold 15×30-Foot Oval Cover
This 19×34-foot pool cover is designed to be installed on 15×30-foot pools and protect them against the elements. This cover is made from high-quality materials that protect against rain, sleet, wind, snow, hail, and comes with a 15-year manufacturer’s warranty. Since this cover comes with a 4-foot overlap and with a winch and cable, it’s easy to install on any appropriately sized pool and can be installed in a matter of minutes. That makes this high-quality cover one of the best ones available and definitely one that pool owners are going to want to take a look at.
8Blue Wave Silver 24-Foot Round Pool Cover
This mid-level pool cover is designed to keep sun, leaves, snow, ice, and rain out of the pool for the winter season. It’s made from a high-quality material that holds up well to wind and is backed by a 12-year manufacturer’s warranty. This product is 28-feet in size so that when it’s installed on 24-foot round pools there’s plenty of overlap to ensure that the cover doesn’t get ripped during installation. It also comes with a heavy-duty cable and winch that also makes installation a snap. Now just about anyone can shut down their pool for the winter season and remain confident debris will stay out of it.
7Robelle Super Winter Round 24-Foot Cover
This 28-foot cover is designed to be used with 24-foot round pools, so the user has a 4-foot overlap in which to secure the cover to the pool. This model is made from a high-quality material that is designed to keep out sunlight, rain, snow, sleet, and leaves, so it can be properly shut down for the winter season. It also features reinforced grommets which help make securing it a whole lot easier, especially with the included cable and winch. And to top it all off, this pool cover comes with a 10-year manufacturer’s rating that attests to its quality level.
6In The Swim 18-Foot Autumn Pool Cover
This leaf pool cover is designed to be used when the pool isn’t ready to be shut down quite yet, but leaves are beginning to fall from the trees. This cover is basically a net that’s made from durable polyethylene that’s been knitted together to keep leaves out but still allow rain and sunlight to get to the pool. Thanks to this cover, a homeowner can enjoy their pool longer without worrying about decomposing leaves ending up in their pool. This particular model is designed for 18-foot round above ground pools and comes not only with fastening loops, but also the metal winch and cable to secure it.
5Blue Wave Silver 16×32-Foot Oval Cover
This cover isn’t as inexpensive as the bronze model, but it isn’t as expensive as the Blue Wave gold model either. That makes it a budget cover that is designed to last for up to 12-years and is designed to cover pool 16×32-feet in size. The size of this cover is 20×36-feet, so there’s plenty of material for the homeowner to work with while they’re installing it. And once properly installed and secured, this product will keep a pool safe all winter long by keeping out insects, snow, ice, and rain. It also holds up fairly well against heavy bouts of wind and will also prevent sunlight from reaching the pool’s water.
4Blue Wave Bronze 24-Foot Round Winter Cover
Blue Wave tends to give some of their pools a rating which ranges from bronze to silver to gold and this is designed to allow for easy identification of the different cover models. However, we have also found out that it’s a good way to distinguish the quality of the covers from one another. For example, the silver ones are usually better than the bronze ones, and the gold ones tend to be the best. This model is a bronze model designed for 24-feet pools, and it’s designed to protect against snow, ice, wind, and rain. That makes this 28-feet cover suitable for use as a winter cover.
3Intex 15-Foot Easy-Set Round Pool Cover
This easy-to-use pool cover is specifically designed for Intex pools, but it can also be used on similar 15-foot round pools. This product has sides that cinch around the lip of the pool, and it’s constructed from a high-quality material that will keep most leaves out of the pool’s water. In the center of this cover, there are drain holes that allow water to pass through into the pool, so it doesn’t accumulate on top of it. Unfortunately, the holes in the center also do allow insects and some types of debris into the pool, so if that isn’t acceptable, then the homeowner may want to select a different cover.
2In The Swim Life Smart 28-Foot Round Leaf Net
Even though this leaf net cover can be used in several different ways, we like to think of it as an intermediary pool cover designed for autumn use. It’s a great pool cover to use in between the summer heating blankets and the winter pool covers. After the swim season, and before the leaves begin to fall, this net is installed on a 28-foot round pool. It will keep leaves from entering the pool but still allow water and air to get to the pool. Once all of the leaves have fallen, this cover can be removed, and the one designed for winter use can then be installed. All of which makes this a very handy cover to have around.
1In The Swim 24-Foot Round Winter Pool Cover
This above ground pool cover is designed to be used when the pool is shut down at the end of the swim season. This winter pool cover is approximately 27-feet in diameter so that when it’s fit on 24-inch round pools, there’s a little bit of extra material to work with while the pool is being covered. This model also comes with a steel cable and winch for securing the cover to the pool. And since it’s a blue solid pool cover, this model will do an excellent job of keeping out not only debris but also water as well. This allows the homeowner to keep their pool safe and pristine all winter long.
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A Guide To Above Ground Pool Covers
Above ground pool covers work like a charm, but only if the pool owner purchases the best one for their pool and takes the time to use it correctly. If they don’t, then they will end up with leaves, insects, acorns, and all types of debris getting into their pool’s water. To help our readers avoid that unpleasant scenario, we’ve decided to write this guide on the subject. Hopefully, this guide will help consumers buy the best above ground pool cover for their needs and use it in a way that keeps debris out of the pool’s water and ensures the integrity of the cover over its lifetime.
Choosing The Best Above Ground Pool Cover
Okay, we’re going to start this guide with a section on choosing the above ground pool cover that best suits your needs. In each of the steps below, we explain just what the pool owner needs to think about to ensure that they purchase a model that will work well for them.
Step One: Decide On A Type Of Pool Cover
The first thing that the pool owner is going to want to think about is what type of pool cover they need. In other words, what season are they going to need to keep the pool covered through? Is this cover for closing the pool for the winter, is it to keep leaves off of the regular cover during the fall months, or is it just to keep the pool covered during the swim season? Each of these different circumstances requires a different pool cover.
For example, winter pool covers are designed to keep everything out of the pool. They keep out not only snow and rain but leaves and debris, too. Fall mesh covers are designed to keep leaves from piling up on the regular pool cover and causing it to sink into the water. And regular season covers are designed to be lightweight and easy to remove since they’re placed on and off the pool on a regular basis.
Step Two: Consider The Thickness Of The Cover
The next thing that the pool owner is going to want to think about is the thickness of the pool cover. Some pool cover companies grade their covers according to thickness and warranty, so the consumer knows exactly what they’re purchasing. For example, one company grades their covers from bronze, through silver and gold. Generally speaking, the thicker the cover, the longer it will last, but the more expensive it will be. Therefore, the consumer is going to want to make sure that they balance durability with their budget to come up with the perfect cover for their needs.
Step Three: Consider The Cover’s Shape
In this section, we want to emphasize the importance of placing the right shape cover for your pool. This might seem like obvious advice, but you wouldn’t even believe how many people we’ve seen trying to put square pool covers on round pools. They end up having to do a bunch of makeshift engineering to keep the pool cover in place and in the end, it just never works. The cover just ends up falling into the pool, so be sure to match the shape of your pool cover with the shape of your pool for the best results.
Step Four: Use The Right Size Pool Cover
Another thing that we’d like to discuss is the size of the pool cover. Below are some suggestions for measuring your above ground pool.
- Measure the size of the pool, making sure to include the top rails in your measurements.
- Consider the water drop level. Pool covers can usually compensate for a 12-inch drop in water level.
- If you drop your water level by more than 12-inches, you may need a larger pool cover.
- Compare the pool size to the cover size. Pool covers need to be larger to ensure a proper overhang with which to secure the cover to the pool.
For example, if you measure your pool and find out that it’s a 15×30-foot oval pool, then you’re going to need a 19×34 foot cover. If you have a 24-foot round pool, then you will probably need a 28-foot pool cover.
Step Five: Consider Any Accessories That Might Come With It
It’s also a good idea to find out what accessories come with the pool cover. Some pool covers come with no accessories, while others have quite a few. Find out which accessories the pool comes with and which ones you’ll need to purchase separately. This can determine if a pool cover is a good deal, or if that cheaper cover with no accessories costs more than the premium one that comes with everything it needs. Some of the accessories that a person might need for a pool cover include:
- Cover clips
- Wall bags
- Air pillows
- Heavy-duty cable
- Winch
Step Six: Consider Cost & Warranty
The last thing that you’re going to want to consider is the cost of the pool cover and whether it comes with a warranty. This will ultimately determine just how good of a deal a particular model of pool cover actually is. A more expensive pool cover might be a better deal if it has a longer lifespan than a cheaper one that only lasts a season or two. All of these things need to be taken into consideration before purchasing a new pool cover.
Tips For Installing A Pool Cover
The last thing that we’d like to do before ending this guide is to give our readers some advice on properly installing their new pool cover. Although there are plenty of videos on the subject, we would like to give a few basic tips that we thing pool owners should keep in mind.
- Be sure the cover is properly positioned.
- Two people can more easily install a pool cover than one person.
- Make sure that the cable is tight around the edge of the pool.
- Install a leaf cover to keep leaves off of the main winter cover.
- Use wall bags in areas with high-wind speeds to protect the pool from wind damage.