Liquid Pool Covers
A liquid pool cover is an invisible barrier that reduces heat loss and evaporation from pool water. An alternative to traditional plastic pool covers, liquid pool covers provide pool protection 100 percent of the time, conserving the maximum amount of water possible.
Liquid pool covers help pool owners save water, heat, and money. They’re also safe for swimmers, pool equipment, and the environment.
What Is A Liquid Pool Cover?
A liquid solar pool cover is an alcohol-based chemical that’s unable to be felt or seen while it’s in your pool.
Being less dense than water, the chemical floats on your pool’s surface and acts as an evaporation suppressant. It creates a microscopically-thin film on the pool surface that helps retain the warmth from the sun and prevents evaporation.
Liquid pool covers keep the pool water warmer for longer and can sometimes even increase the pool temperature.
Why Use A Liquid Solar Pool Cover
One of the most significant benefits of liquid solar pool covers is the reduction in energy costs for gas or electric heaters. A liquid solar cover can also help extend the swimming season.
Since they conserve 30-50 percent of the water usually lost to evaporation, you won’t have to refill your pool as frequently or use as much water.
Liquid solar covers contain minimal chemical contents, making them safe for swimming. The chemical contents are usually biodegradable and environmentally friendly.
Liquid Solar Blanket Versus Solar Pool Cover
Benefits of Liquid Solar Blankets
Liquid pool covers can decrease the rate of heat loss by between 50-70 percent. By helping to retain heat, liquid solar blankets help keep your pool warmer for longer, leading to cost savings. They’re also usually more affordable than blanket covers. Over an average summer, liquid pool covers cost half the price of a plastic pool cover.
You can continue using your pool when a liquid solar pool cover is applied. This specially formulated liquid parts when someone enters the pool and joins together again when the water is still.
They contain only a small amount of chemical and are safe for humans and animals – even if a small amount is accidentally ingested while swimming. Being invisible, there’s no risk of humans or animals becoming trapped underneath. For families with small children and pets, this is especially appealing.
They’re also safe to use with any sanitizing system. Designed to pass through pool filter elements, they eliminate the potential for any pool filter clogs or damage to occur.
Liquid pool covers are available in bottle form, are easy to store, and don’t degrade from one season to another. They’re also convenient to use and only need to be poured into pool water.
Unlike plastic pool covers, liquid solar blankets automatically fit themselves to any size or shape of pool.
Pools with liquid solar blankets have less chance of developing bacteria and algae than pools using plastic pool covers.
Drawbacks of Liquid Solar Blankets
Although they offer some heat retention and heat gain, liquid solar blankets are overall less effective than regular plastic pool covers. To reap maximum benefit, the liquid cover must be added on a regular schedule. An additional dose may be necessary after heavy pool use. For pools that consistently experience heavy usage, a liquid solar cover may not be enough to maintain warm pool water.
High wind or heavy rainfall can cause the coverage from a liquid solar blanket to be temporarily disturbed. Once the wind or rain dies down, the product will redistribute itself over the entire pool surface.
Pools containing several water features are unsuitable for liquid solar blankets. The constant water movement breaks up the surface barrier, leading to ineffectiveness.
Unlike plastic pool covers, liquid solar blankets won’t prevent debris from entering your pool, resulting in additional pool cleaning.
Like using any pool chemical, there’s always the potential for skin, eye, or lung irritation. Applying a liquid solar blanket for a short period of time at first can help you determine if you and your family can tolerate the chemical.
Benefits of Solar Pool Covers
Similar to liquid pool covers, pool solar blankets can decrease the rate of heat loss by 50-70 percent. Besides minimizing the heat loss from the pool, solar pool covers will also reduce the water’s heat gain from the sun. If you’re trying to keep your pool at a specific temperature, a plastic pool cover is better.
Plastic pool covers also prevent debris such as leaves, grass, and bird droppings from contaminating your pool water. This is especially beneficial for pool owners with limited time for regular pool maintenance.
Drawbacks of Solar Pool Covers
When applying a solar pool cover, it must be physically unrolled and spread out across the pool. Without a reel, this is usually a two-person task. If your pool is large or uniquely shaped, using a plastic pool cover can be even more difficult. Some pool owners can start to dread this task, affecting how often the pool (or its cover) is used.
Although traditional plastic pool covers can substantially decrease heat loss rates, they can only do so when they’re covering the pool. At the same time, they also reduce the amount of possible solar heat gain by 5-15 percent. When they’re in use, swimming cannot occur.
The physical appearance of a pool solar blanket can be an eyesore, both when it’s covering the pool and not in use. Ample storage is also required to house the solar blanket.
Eventually, a plastic pool cover will display signs of wear and need replacing, costing $50-300.
Covering your pool can create a breeding ground for algae and bacteria to form. It also presents a significant safety hazard: if children or pets fall into the pool, they can become trapped underneath the cover.
Solar pool covers must be properly fitted and secured to your pool to work effectively. Finding a suitable solar blanket isn’t an issue for most rectangular, oval, or round pools. However, uniquely shaped pools will need a custom cover.
How To Use A Liquid Solar Cover
Liquid solar covers are relatively straightforward to use. The following steps outline how to use liquid pool covers:
1. Purchase enough liquid solar cover to last a swimming season. The amount will depend on the size of your pool, so consult the manufacturer’s instructions.
2. Shake the bottle of liquid pool cover to mix the ingredients thoroughly.
3. Start your pool pump so that the liquid solar cover gets appropriately distributed.
4. Read the manufacturer’s instructions to determine how much liquid to release into your pool. Many liquid pool covers come in a single-use bottle.
5. Add the liquid pool cover by either pouring it directly into the pool or adding it to the skimmer.
6. Set a schedule to add more liquid solar cover at least once per month. Maintaining a regular schedule will help ensure the liquid pool cover is effective.
Consider using both a plastic pool cover and a liquid pool cover to double the heat loss protection.
When To Use A Liquid Solar Cover
You should use a liquid solar cover at least one time a month. If your pool has heavy use or if there’s severe weather, you’ll need to reapply the liquid solar pool cover more often.