What NOT to do with Ice on the Pool Cover!

by John, March 5, 2009 

It is the time of year that many pools have frozen.

If you have a mesh cover, solid cover or any other cover, and if the water on top has frozen, the only thing to do is wait until a thaw.

If you try to remove ice from your cover, you will damage the pool cover. Just a small sliver of ice can damage your pool cover - ruining it or causing an expensive repair job. So, if there is ice on the cover, just wait it out, Let it thaw, and then pump off the water.

If the water level in your pool is low, and the pool needs water, you can safely add water to the pool by sticking the hose in the skimmer, or under the cover and turning it on, and bring the water level up to the proper winter level.

The water level in the pool helps to support a pool cover. If the water falls too low under the cover, a solid cover can fall into the pool, and  a mesh cover can be stressed to the point of damaging straps and springs. 

If the water in the pool is too high, as is often the case  with mesh pool covers, again wait until the water inside the pool thaws before lowering the water level. If you poke through the ice sheet to pump some water out, the falling sheet of ice can damage vinyl liners as the sharp edges of the ice sheet scrape along the walls, or fall suddenly at the wrong angle.

Lesson of the Day ~ wait for the snow and ice to melt, then once it does: go get your cover pump and gently, slowly pump off the rain and snow melt. Using your pool brush on the telescopic pool pole can help push the water towards the pump. Another tip is to "tighten up" the cover, removing wrinkles, so that the water on the pool cover will "pool" effectively. Switching from pool brush to leaf rake, you can make easy work of removing leaves and debris from the cover, which may clog the pump.
