Since 1987 - Visit Us at 5245 Elmwood Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46203
317.782.9956
It is very important that your pool cover remain dry and the water level in the pool full at ALL times to avoid damaging the cover and/or pool. It is the water in your in ground pool that keeps the structure of the pool safe from hydrostatic ground water pressure and also supports the cover fabric of your automatic pool cover keeping your pool cover safe. To ensure that your pool stays full of water you will need to make sure that your pool cover pump is placed out on the cover for the entire winter season and periodically monitor the water level in your pool.
Keeping your pool cover dry in the winter is the best way to ensure that your pool will remain full of water. Your cover pump with coverblaster nozzle should be plugged into a weather proof outlet and placed in the center of your pool by laying the pump on the side of the pool and pushing it to the center with your pool pole and brush. The blaster nozzle will shoot the water off of the pool 15 to 20 feet. Aim the nozzle out in the yard away from the pool and electrical outlets. Frequently check your; cover pump, G.F.C.I. outlets, and breakers during the winter to ensure that your cover pump is working (the cover pump has an internal float switch that activates when the water is 2 to 3 inches deep around the pump).
Leaves can clog up the vents on the underside of the cover pump and prevent the pump from working correctly or at all, which will allow water to accumulate on top of the pool and form a shallow water pool on top of the cover. It is very important that you do not allow a shallow water pool to form on top of your pool cover. A shallow water pool not only creates a drowning risk to small children and animals, but can also cause water displacement from your swimming pool and damage the pool and the cover!
Your pool cover will freeze in the tracks and will not open once we have had a few nights of temperatures below 32 degrees. This will
prevent you from opening the cover to check the water level. Water levels in the pool can be determined by looking at where the pool cover rest on top of water. To determine the water level with the cover closed you need to determine the distance between where the cover comes out of the track to where the cover rest on top of the water (pool professionals call this the drop to water). This distance will vary dependent upon which type of track you have. A cover system with top track (track that is mounted on top of concrete) or flush track (track that is mounted prior to concrete being poured and ends up being flush with the top of the concrete and both have a cover that rides over a small portion of the pool deck and then drops down to the water’s surface) will have a drop to water of about 9 to 10 inches when the pool is full of water. A cover system with under track (track that is mounted in the side wall of the pool between the bottom of the deck and the top of the pool wall) generally has a 6 to 7 inch drop to water. Minimum safe water level in your pool is 6 inches below the water level mentioned above for your type of cover track i.e. cover hanging 16 inches down in pool for top or flush track, cover hanging 13 inches down in the pool for under track. You must refill the pool to avoid damaging the cover system and/or pool. Please call our office to notify us and discuss refilling the pool (317)782-9956.
Frequently asked winter pool questions
Question: How do I remove leaves from the cover?
Answer: When the cover is dry a leaf blower can be used, if the cover is wet use your pool pole and brush to pull the leaves to the side of the cover to be hand removed.
Question: Should I worry about snow and ice building up on top of the cover?
Answer: Not if the water level in the pool is at normal levels. When the weather is cold the water under your cover will freeze which will support snow and ice on top of the cover. When the snow and ice melts your cover pump with blaster nozzle will pump the excessive water weight off of the cover, so long as your pump is on the pool all winter. Never try to break up the ice on top of the cover!
Question: Can I replace the cover blaster nozzle with a regular garden hose?
Answer: Perma Pools recommends replacing the cover blaster nozzle with another cover blaster nozzle in the event that your cover blaster nozzle were to break. Garden hoses can be attached to the cover pump, however a garden hose remains full of water near the pump once it has had some water pumped through it. The water in the hose freezes and often remains frozen when the snow and ice has started to melt on top of and beneath the pool cover. The frozen hose can cause the pump to over work itself and ruin the cover pump, which leads to excessive water building up on top of the cover and water displacement from the pool.
Question: How can I check my cover pump to make sure it is working?
Answer: Place your cover pump in a storage tote with 3 to 4 inches of water in it.
Question: How do I locate and test the G.F.C.I.’S and breakers for my cover pumps electrical outlet?
Answer: In some cases the cover pump may be plugged into an existing outlet from before the pool was built. This outlet itself may be a G.F.C.I. outlet (outlet with reset buttons) if so the outlet generally can just be reset by pushing the reset button on the face plate of the outlet. In some cases the breaker in the main panel box inside of your home may be tripped as well and may also need to be reset. Most all outlets installed by a Perma Pools sub-contractor will be wired into a breaker in the sub panel that will be installed by the pools pump and filter equipment. Breakers will not always be obviously tripped. Some may be tripped and still pretty close to the on position for the breaker. Flip the breaker off and then back on to reset the breaker.
Question: How do I refill my pool?
Answer: This depends on where your skimmers are and what type of cover tracks you have. The easiest way to refill a pool is to slide the hose up under the cover until it reaches the pool and turn the hose on. This can only be done with top track and flush track. Be sure to remove the hose from the pool when the pool is refilled. Garden hoses will syphon water from the pool if left in the pool and turned off and can majorly damage your pool! Under track pools are best filled by removing the lid for the skimmer on the pool deck and dropping a hose down in the skimmer well. If your skimmer is under the cover you will need to try to open the cover about one inch and slide the hose down in the pool between the covers leading edge bar and the shallow coping end of the pool. Again be sure to remove the hose from the pool when the pool is refilled. Garden hoses will syphon water from the pool if left in the pool and turned off and can majorly damage your pool!
Question: My pool cover always appears to be wet?
Answer: Your cover fabric may have been punctured by an animal or sharp debris on the cover. Inspect the cover the best you can for pin holes and patch any pin holes found with a cover patch kit.