Why Quality Matters When It Comes to Pool Covers

Investing in a pool cover is only the first step to gaining all of its benefits—the type of cover, quality of materials, and keeping on top of maintenance are key.

At Pool Patrol, we often talk about the benefits of automatic pool covers—from safety to energy efficiency—but it’s important to note that not every pool cover can provide the same awesome advantages. 

The type of cover, quality of the materials, and expertise of the people installing your pool cover are what matters most. We’re going to explain why, but first, a brief overview of all the benefits that we’ll be referring to:

A quick refresher on automatic pool cover benefits 

A quality automatic pool cover that has been professionally installed provides a whole host of amazing benefits, including:

• Safety: Your family members, guests, and even wildlife will not be able to fall into a covered pool. The high-tensile fabric will be strong enough to stand on, averting disaster. 

• Low maintenance: A covered pool is easy to clean and keeps unsightly dirt, leaves, and debris from entering the water. 

• Energy efficient: Less heat and water are lost when a pool is covered. 

• Less chemical use: A covered pool requires less chemical usage. 

• Cost-effective: After the initial investment, a quality automatic pool cover will continue to save you money over time through lower utility bills, chemical use, and maintenance time. 

• Four-season protection: Auto covers can double as winter covers with proper preparation. 

Types of pool covers

Not all pool covers are created equal. The type of cover you choose will have an enormous impact on whether you gain all of the benefits of an automatic pool cover. 

Automatic pool covers 
Automatic pool covers open and close on a track like a garage door. Covers like those we carry at Pool Patrol are, in the words of our specialist Caleb, “the Lamborghini of pool covers.” That’s because you’ll get top-quality equipment and safety features for your investment. 

The strength of the fabric, combined with appropriate tension, water levels, and functioning machinery, creates a lid that covers your pool at the flip of a switch and is strong enough to stand on. 

On top of the safety and durability that comes with a high-quality auto cover, they’re also more aesthetically pleasing with fabrics available in various colours to accent or blend into your backyard. 

Auto covers can be installed on regular or infinity pools, new or existing builds. 

Properly installed automatic covers made with quality parts and materials are the only option that offers every single one of the pool cover benefits we mentioned above. 

Manual pool covers
If an auto cover isn’t an option for now, manual pool covers are an option that opens and closes with a hand crank. This system is much less popular but just as safe. 

Additional pool cover types
Aside from the full-value automatic and manual pool cover options like those provided by Pool Patrol, you may come across other types of pool covers in the industry, including: 

Mesh pool covers: These extremely basic covers are lightweight and allow water to pass through the pool but also keep out some larger debris. Mesh pool covers provide no safety benefits. 

Solid pool covers: Heavy, solid covers provide more of a barrier than their mesh counterparts but are heavy and often require two people to open and close. Solid covers do not provide adequate safety compared to an automatic cover and are not advised to be stood upon. 

Why quality matters

The quality of the materials, components, and pool cover specialist is another major consideration when selecting a pool cover, beyond just the cover and pool types. 

Safety
The number one reason to care about the quality of your pool cover is safety. Automatic pool covers are an invaluable tool to ensure the safety of your little ones, other family members, or guests. 

It’s the reason that we got into this business decades ago and remains one of our core values today.

The ability to hold hundreds and hundreds of pounds (we’re not exaggerating) means peace of mind at your fingertips. 

Fabric quality and safety
The quality of the pool cover fabric is one of the most important things when it comes to safety. 

Even the highest quality, tensile strength fabrics will eventually wear out, but the quality of the type of material, thickness, and manufacturing process can all play a role in how long the fabric will last and how well it will perform. 

Pool Patrol carries tensile strength fabric that can last up to nine years when properly installed and maintained. 

What is tensile strength? This measurement denotes the maximum stress a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before it breaks.

The risks of worn-out fabric
You might think “A cheaper fabric might fade a bit sooner, so what?” Worn-out pool cover fabric is much worse than an eyesore. 

When pool cover fabric is worn it no longer performs correctly, making it unreliable and unsafe. It will no longer be able to bear the same amount of weight as you expect. 

That’s not something you want to discover when a deer—or worse—stumbles onto the pool. 

On top of the safety benefits, upgrading worn-out pool cover fabric will remove stress from the mechanical components of your pool cover system. 

The bottom line: skimping on quality also means skimping on safety. 

Longevity
Just like a cheap pair of shoes, a “bargain” quality pool cover will not last as long as one made of higher quality materials with the help of pool cover specialists. 

An automatic pool cover, just like the inground pool itself, is an investment in your home—protect it for the long term.  

Service
When you go with better quality, get better customer care. 

Have you ever had a product malfunction or break and when you go to contact the manufacturer you can’t find any contact information, let alone get anyone on the phone? The best you can hope for in those scenarios is an AI chatbot that will send you in canned response circles. 

Investing in a quality product means that the people behind it care about what they deliver and your satisfaction. 

A local company like Pool Patrol that’s committed to your family’s safety and the quality of their products will be on the phone when you need them, and never far away if maintenance is required. 

Installation
Wrapped up with quality service, investing in a quality pool cover means having it installed by technicians who know what they’re doing. 

An expert installation means:

• Increased safety 

• Proper fit

• Customization for different pool shapes

• Aesthetically pleasing fabric installation with no slack or snags

• A hands-on expert to answer any of your questions

• Minimal disturbance to your backyard

Value

Again, a high-quality automatic pool cover is the only way to get all of the benefits of using a cover, including:

• Safety

• Maintenance

• Energy-efficiency

• Reduced operational costs

• Four season protection

• Durability

Ease of use
The simpler something is to use, the more likely you are to use it. An automatic pool cover opens and closes your pool securely with only the flip of a switch or the push of a button. 

Questions when investing in a pool cover

When you’re ready to take the plunge but still deciding which type of cover is best for you, here are some simple questions to consider:

Do I have young children in my home?
If you have young children, people who can’t swim, elderly folks or frequent guests of all ages living with you or visiting frequently, an automatic pool cover is the highest form of safety and peace of mind for your pool. 

Is my pool surrounded by trees or other vegetation?
Trees, plants, and other greenery are beautiful to have close by, but frustrating to clean out of your pool. Quickly open and close your pool with an automatic pool cover to keep unwanted debris out between dips.  

How frequently will I use my pool?
For those who intend to make a lot of use of their pool, the ease of automatically opening and closing it will save you time, headaches, and potentially even back pain compared to manually removing and replacing a heavy cover every swim.  

What kind of wildlife lives nearby?
I’m sure you want to keep all wildlife out of your pool, but small critters like squirrels are much lighter and less likely to sink into lower-strength covers. Here in the Okanagan, however, we’re lucky enough to have deer and black bears as our neighbours. Tensile strength fabric and auto cover functionality are a must to prevent big, furry visitors from falling in. 

Am I going to use my property as a vacation rental?
If you plan to loan your home as a vacation rental, the safety and aesthetics of a high-quality automatic pool cover is a huge mark in favour of your property. Families with children will feel safe and everyone will enjoy the streamlined look of your backyard. 

Pool Patrol has been keeping families safe by installing automatic pool covers in British Columbia since 1995. If you’re curious about a pool cover installation in your backyard, contact Pool Patrol today.