Whatever flavor pool cover you have, its purpose is simple: to protect your pool from debris, weather, people, and pets.

When shopping for a pool cover, don’t just focus on one of the above aspects. A cheap, flimsy cover might keep debris out of your pool, but it won’t protect a child or pet that runs onto the cover and falls through. A mesh safety pool cover might protect your children and pets, but it won’t keep debris from getting into your pool.

Once you settle on the pool cover you like, pick a size that is a bit larger than your pool, so that you have enough overlap to securely anchor the pool cover. Yes, you’ll pay a bit more for bigger covers, but trying to force a cover that’s too small to fit your pool is not only an unnecessary hassle, but it’s a hassle you’ll face each and every time you cover and uncover your swimming pool.

Pay attention to warranties, too, when buying a swimming pool cover. Most pool covers come with at least a two year warranty, so that’s a good baseline to shoot for. Make sure it’s an all-inclusive warranty that covers any and all defects, too.

1) Brine system generators: These utilize a tank or chamber filled with salt, so there’s no need to add salt to the pool. In brine systems one must be periodically refilled with water and salt, while the second chamber must be periodically drained of caustic soda and refilled with fresh water. Some systems use electronic indicators that alert the pool owner that maintenance is required, while others use simpler mechanical alarms. Brine systems are less common as many feel they are too much trouble to maintain.

2) Salt chlorinating generators: These typically have the chlorine-producing generator (basically the chlorine generating cell and related electronics) installed as part of the water recirculation system. Because there’s no chamber to add salt as in a brine system, you’ll need to periodically add salt directly to the pool water itself in order to maintain the correct salt content for the generator to work.

Erosion Chemical Feeders: In erosion chemical feeders, sticks or tablets of compressed chlorine or bromine are placed in the feeder for release into the pool.

Erosion chemical feeders come in two types: floating chemical feeders and ones that are installed in the filter system.
Floating feeders are filled with chemicals and simply float on the surface of the water, releasing chlorine until they are empty and need to be refilled. These work well for above-ground pools and spas.

Unlike the floating feeders, the installed feeders need a certain amount of pressure to work and have a control dial that controls how much chlorine is released. The chlorine or bromine tablets or sticks are added to a canister where water flows over them, dissolving and spreading chlorine into the pool.

Liquid Chlorine Feeders: The other major type of pool chemical feeders are liquid chlorine feeders (often called liquid chlorinators). These are typically mounted over a vat filled with liquid chlorine, and have their own pump which sends liquid chlorine from the vat into the pool’s plumbing. These feeders have control dials and clocks that are used to set how much chlorine is released into the pool.

Liquid chlorinators are primarily used in commercial pools and are rarely found in residential pools.

• What is a Salt Water Swimming Pool?

Salt water swimming pools use special chlorine generators that produce the chlorine your pools need, which means that you never have to buy, store, or add chlorine to your pool. In order for the chlorine generator to work, the water must have a salt content of 2500-6000 ppm, with an optimal range of 2500-3500 for comfortable swimming.

In a nutshell, a salt water pool is one with a chlorine generator, so the salty water is actually a secondary effect. You could just as easily call them chlorine generator pools but that sounds impersonal and far too technical.

• How Do Salt Water Pools Work?

I won’t go into all the chemistry involved, but the chlorine generator basically works by electrolysis to produce chlorine, which then turns into hypochlorous acid. That’s the sanitizer that kills algae and other nasty stuff in the water.

Keep in mind, though, that the hypochlorus acid only works as a sanitizer when the pool is balanced and at the proper pH, so you still have to maintain your pool chemistry in order for a chlorine generator to work.

• What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of a Salt Water Pool?

As as pros and cons of salt water pools, many people prefer the swimming experience in a salt water pool, as the water is often clearer and free of algae or chloramines that can cause burning red eyes. Many people also feel that the water in a salt water pool feels softer and smoother on their skin.

On the maintenace side, you’ll never have to handle or buy chlorine again, as the generator produces all you’ll ever need. While you will have to periodically add salt to the water to enable the generator to function, that’s a lot easier and less expensive than adding chlorine.

• How Much Do Salt Water Pools Cost?

As far as cost, expect to pay something in the range of $1,000-$2,000 for a quality chlorine generator unit and other equipment to enable you to switch over to a salt water pool.

When most people talk about pool vacuums, they’re really talking about different types of automatic vacuums, as it’s taken for granted that you can always vacuum your pool manually by hand. Pool vacuuming is an important part of pool maintenance and needs to be done regularly, so automatic pool vacuums can save pool owners a huge amount of time and effort.

• How Do Pool Vacuums Work?

Most automatic pool vacuums use suction to attach themselves to the bottom and sides of the pool, and are usually attached to hoses that suck water and debris through them to be filtered out by your equipment. They typically bump around in a fairly random fashion, sucking up dirt, leaves, bugs, and other debris.

• Features of Pool Vacuums

Automatic pool vacuums can either be pre-programmed to follow a certain route or simply left to clean in a random fashion. Both methods work as you typically drop them into the pool, forget about them, and let them clean, so it’s not important that they work efficiently.

Some models also can dispense other necessary pool chemicals while they clean, tackling two jobs at once.

• Limitations of Pool Vacuums

Due to their size and nature, pool vacuums can’t do everything on their own, especially when it comes to cleaning behind ladders and other hard to reach places. You’ll still have to clean some spots by hand, just not the bulk of the pool that the pool vacuum can get to on its own.

• Cost of Pool Vacuums

Automatic pool vacuums vary in price depending on your needs and any extra features but most range from $150 to up to $500 dollars. While it may seem an expensive luxury at first glance, they do pay for themselves in just a few seasons as far as all the hours of pool cleaning they save you from having to do.