Pool Covers Compared: Solar, Safety, Automated or Net?

A pool cover is one of the few pool purchases that can save water, chemicals and heating all at once. But "pool cover" covers a lot of very different products, from a floating bubble blanket to a motorised cover that disappears into the deck. They do different jobs, and the one that suits your neighbour may be the wrong one for you. This guide compares the main types on the things that matter to a Gauteng household: heat, evaporation, chemicals, leaves, child safety, effort and cost.

What a cover can do for a Highveld pool

Before comparing types, it helps to know what you want the cover to achieve, because no single cover does everything equally well.

  • Hold heat in. Most heat leaves a pool through its surface, especially overnight. If you heat the pool, a cover is close to essential.
  • Cut evaporation. The dry, sunny Highveld climate evaporates water every day, most of all on hot, windy afternoons. Every litre topped up is fresh water that then needs chlorine and pH correction.
  • Reduce chemical use. Sunlight burns chlorine off an open pool. A covered pool holds its chlorine longer.
  • Keep leaves and debris out. Useful in leafy suburbs and in autumn, and it reduces the load on the filter.
  • Keep children and pets out. Only some covers are designed for this.

Solar blankets

A solar blanket is a floating sheet of bubble material laid on the water. It is the most common cover on residential pools.

  • Heat and evaporation: good. It sits directly on the water, which stops most evaporation while it is on and holds heat in overnight. It also gains a little heat from the sun.
  • Chemicals: good. It shields the water from sunlight, so chlorine lasts longer.
  • Leaves: fair. It catches leaves, but they can slide into the water when the blanket is rolled off unless you brush them off first.
  • Child safety: none. A floating blanket is not a safety device, and someone who falls onto one can become trapped underneath it.
  • Effort: moderate without a roller, easy with one. Wrestling a large wet blanket off the pool by hand is the reason many blankets end up unused.
  • Lifespan factors: sun exposure, very high chlorine or low pH, and how it is stored when off the pool.
  • Relative price: the least expensive per metre of the covers we supply.

Rollers

A roller is not a cover on its own but a reel that the blanket winds onto. It makes a solar blanket quick to take off and put back, and it stores the blanket neatly, ideally in the shade. If you are buying a blanket and have the space, a roller is what makes it a daily habit rather than a weekend chore.

Safety covers

A safety cover is a strong cover tensioned across the pool and anchored into the surrounding paving or coping, so it does not sink into the water if a child or pet walks onto it.

  • Heat and evaporation: helpful, though it sits above the water rather than on it, so it is less direct than a blanket.
  • Chemicals: reduces sunlight on the water and keeps debris out.
  • Leaves: good. Leaves and dust stay on top of the cover.
  • Child safety: this is what it is designed for, as an extra layer of protection when fitted and fastened correctly every time.
  • Effort: moderate. The cover has to be unhooked and refastened at each anchor point.
  • Lifespan factors: sun, keeping the anchors and straps in good order, and keeping it clean.
  • Relative price: higher than a blanket, because of the material and the anchoring.

Automated covers

An automated cover runs on a motor and opens or closes at the press of a button or turn of a key.

  • Heat and evaporation: very good, because it is easy enough to use every single day.
  • Chemicals: reduces sunlight and debris.
  • Leaves: good.
  • Child safety: depends on the system and how it is installed and used. Check the manufacturer's specification before treating any cover as a safety device.
  • Effort: minimal.
  • Lifespan factors: the motor and mechanism, the cover material, and keeping the tracks clear.
  • Relative price: at the top end, with more planning at the edges and for the motor housing.

Hidden or in-deck covers

A hidden cover is an automated cover housed in a recess, box or under a bench, so nothing shows when the pool is open. It shares the strengths of an automated cover and adds the look many people want. It is usually easiest to plan when paving or coping work is being done anyway. Relative price: at the top end of the range.

Two other types you will come across

These are types that exist on the market and are worth knowing about when you compare options, although they are not among the cover types we supply.

Leaf nets are a fine mesh stretched over the pool and pegged or weighted around the edge. They are good at catching leaves in autumn and generally inexpensive. Because water and air pass through them, they do little for heat or evaporation. They are not safety devices.

Slatted covers are made of interlocking hollow slats, usually on a roller, often motorised. They sit on the water and can look neat in a modern design. Their performance on heat, evaporation and safety depends entirely on the specific product, so read the manufacturer's specification.

Which cover suits which household

  • You want to save water and chemicals and keep heat in: a solar blanket on a roller is the practical choice.
  • You have a heat pump or solar heating: use a cover every night. It changes the size of heater you need and the hours it runs, as our pool heat pump sizing guide explains, and it is why our heat pump service always asks about covers.
  • You have young children or pets: look at a safety cover as an added layer of protection.
  • You want all the benefits without the effort: an automated or hidden cover.
  • Your main problem is leaves in autumn: a net or a safety cover keeps most of them out of the water.

Safety: what no cover replaces

No cover replaces a fence around the pool, a gate that self-latches, and an adult actively watching whenever children are near the water. A safety cover adds protection only when it is closed and fastened, and a floating blanket adds none. Check your municipality's by-laws on pool fencing, because requirements differ between municipalities. Our article on pool safety tips for Gauteng families covers the wider picture.

Why every cover is measured before it is priced

Pools are rarely the exact size on the plan, and many are not rectangles. A cover that is too small leaves gaps for heat and leaves; one that is too large bunches up and wears. Safety and automated covers also need anchor points, rails or housing that depend on your coping and paving.

So we do not price covers online. Covers are priced per metre: we come out, measure your pool and its surrounds, then quote in writing for the cover you have chosen. Fitting is R500 in labour, with the cover itself priced on your quote. You can see pictures of each type in the Pool Covers department of our online shop, and our pool covers service page explains measuring and fitting in more detail.

Looking after any cover

  • Keep the water balanced. High chlorine and low pH shorten the life of cover materials.
  • Take a solar blanket off during a heavy shock dose.
  • Roll or store a blanket in the shade rather than leaving it baking on the paving.
  • Brush leaves off before rolling or opening a cover so they do not end up in the pool.
  • Keep running the pump and checking the water. A covered pool left alone for months can still turn green underneath.

Getting help

If you are not sure which cover suits your pool, WhatsApp us on 081 577 5051 with a photo of the pool and its surrounds, its rough size, and what you mainly want the cover to do. We will suggest the type that fits and arrange to measure.

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