As winter approaches, many pool owners are starting to think about closing down their pools for the season. however having pool pillows for winter will assure your pool is protected from the elements and make re-opening easier in the spring. While a standard safety cover gets the basic job done, adding pool pillows for winter underneath can provide a host of benefits that will make your life easier and extend the lifespan of your pool. Let’s dive into the top reasons you should use air pillows under your winter pool cover.

1. Protection from the Elements

The winter weather can really take a toll on an uncovered pool with rain, snow, ice, wind, and debris constantly pounding away. A standard safety cover goes a long way in shielding the pool, but it leaves a large gap of dead air space between the water and the cover. This allows any precipitation that falls on top of the cover to put a lot of weight and pressure directly on the cover material. Over time, this weight and pressure can stretch and damage the cover.

Pool pillows for winter fill up that dead space and actually lift under the pool cover, creating an air gap that helps disperse the pressure. The pillows help buffer the cover from the brunt of the elements, significantly reducing strain. This gives your cover a much longer lifespan before it needs to be replaced. Some studies have found that using air pillows can extend a cover’s lifetime by 25-40%!

2. Prevention of Cover Collapse

Along the same lines, that dead air space under a standard cover can allow ice, snow and water to accumulate in one area, causing the cover to collapse inward. This leads to the cover sagging down into the pool, potentially tearing or ripping. It also means you’ll have to deal with removing all that extra water and debris when it comes time to remove the cover in the spring having pool pillows for winter under the cover minimize this.

Air pillows prevent this from happening by creating an air buffer below the cover. Any snow, ice or water simply slides off the sloped surface instead of pooling in one spot. The pool pillows for winter lift and suspend the cover across the whole pool so there is no place for it to collapse inwards. This will keep your cover looking tight, smooth and damage-free all winter long.

3. Easy Water Removal

Speaking of removing water in the spring – this is another key area where pool pillows for winter will make life dramatically easier. With a standard cover, all the water, snow, leaves and debris that have accumulated on top stay there and have to be siphoned or pushed off before you can even think about removing the cover itself. This is a wet, messy, back-breaking job that no one enjoys.

pool pillows for winter create slope across the whole cover surface so any melting snow and ice can easily run off towards the edges and drains. When spring rolls around there will be minimal standing water, so all you have to do is remove the cover without having to deal with pumping out tons of water first. Talk about a time and labor saver!

4. Pool Pillows For Winter Prevention of Algae Growth

Algae needs light to grow, and a winter cover blocks most of the sunlight from entering the pool. However, any gaps or holes in a winter cover will allow sunlight to pass through, creating prime conditions for algae to start blooming. Traditional covers have a tendency to wrinkle and fold in a way that makes them more likely to leak light through over time.

On the other hand, pool pillows for winter hold the cover taut and smooth so there are no wrinkles or looseness that can let light penetrate through. This eliminates any paths for sunlight to enter the pool and discourages algae growth. Combine that with the fact that you won’t have nearly as much groundwater leaking through thanks to the pillows preventing cover collapse, and you have a recipe for a sparkling clean, algae-free pool come spring.

5. Energy Savings

While we’re on the topic of heat entering the pool – pool pillows for winter can also provide some energy savings in the winter. By preventing cover collapse, pillows maintain that nice air gap under the cover. This creates an insulation layer of warmer air that helps reduce heat loss from the pool surface to the icy air above. Your pool will stay warmer for longer and require less heating if you decide to keep the pool open part of the winter.

Even for those completely shutting down their pools, this air buffer will help retain heat from groundwater and chemical processes. This slightly warmer water will be easier and cheaper to reheat when it’s time to open the pool back up. Anything you can do to retain even a bit of residual heat will save you money when firing up those heaters in the spring.

6. Easy Cover Installation and Removal

Finally, using pool pillows for winter makes the process of installing and removing the winter cover itself a breeze compared to doing it without any pillows. The weight of the pillows holds the cover nice and taut, so it goes on and comes off smoothly without folds, wrinkles or snags. Some extra hands might be required to maneuver the pillows, but the rigid support prevents the cover from flopping around in the wind or collapsing under its own weight.

For removal, you just deflate the pillows and they’ll float up so you can easily pull them out from under the cover. With the support gone, the cover will then lay flat on the water making it super simple to pull off. Contrast this with having to wrestle with a heavy, water-logged standard cover to get it to detach from the perimeter. Pillows make the whole job safer, faster and a lot less stressful.

So in summary, pool pillows for winter provide protection from the elements, prevent cover collapse, make water removal easy, hinder algae growth, help retain heat, and streamline installation and removal. They may seem like a minor addition, but they can really take your pool’s winter protection and your own sanity to the next level. Do yourself a favor and pick up a set of pillows to use under your cover this winter – your future self will thank you! If you have any further questions you can contact Clear Swim Pools and we would be glad to help you !!!!