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Pool Covers & Reel Holders

We've got your pool covered - literally!

Like any wise investment, you’ll want to protect your swimming pool, keep it sparkling, and ensure it’s always ready for a dip, without draining your wallet on upkeep.

Enter the Pool Bros Cover Squad; your heroes in the quest for the perfect pool cover. 

The right cover will reduce evaporation, lower heating costs, reduce the demand on your filters, maintain better water quality and add an extra blanket of security and convenience to your pool.

Types Of Pool Cover

Solar Covers

Think of these as your pool’s personal sunbathers, soaking up the rays to keep the water toasty and your energy bills low.

Solar covers can cater for very specific requirements depending on your needs, or they can do a bit of everything. Benefits of solar covers include:

  • Heat Things Up: increase pool temperature by harnessing solar radiation, raising your water temperature by a couple of degrees without a spike in your bills.
  • Keep It Warm: an insulative air gap acts like a blanket, trapping in warmth
  • Cut down on chemicals and cleaning by inhibiting algae growth
  • Evaporation Control: Evaporation can be reduced by over 98%, saving water and reducing heating cold replacement water
  • Debris Control: prevents dirt, leaves, insects and other debris from entering the pool


Important:
 not all solar covers are created equally! We’ll advise and educate you on the best options for every level of budget. 

While solar covers are fantastic for temperature control and savings, they need to be handled with care to avoid damage and ensure longevity, therefore we strongly recommend pairing them with a reel holder.

Winter Covers

Debris-fighting warriors, ready to battle leaves, twigs, and whatever else the chilly winds blow in.

  1. Protects Your Pool from Debris: shield your pool from fallen leaves, twigs, dirt, and other debris that can damage your pool liner, clog your filter and strain the pump.

  2. Maintains Water Quality: By preventing debris from entering the water, we reduce the risk of algae growth and the need for extensive chemical treatments.

  3. Enhances Safety: acts as an additional safety barrier, especially important if you have small children or pets.

  4. Saves Water: reduces water evaporation, meaning lower water replacement costs when you reopen your pool.

  5. Less Chemical Usage: prevents UV light from breaking down winterising algaecides, resulting in fewer chemicals to maintain proper pool chemistry. This not only saves you money but also reduces the environmental impact.

Whilst these robust shields are not built for heating your pool, they pay for themselves by inhibiting algae growth and allowing your solar cover ‘time off” in winter, potentially doubling its lifespan.

Another winter debris cover fitted

Safety Covers

Safety covers are heavy-duty pool covers designed to prevent accidental entry into the pool, providing peace of mind for families, especially those with young children and pets.

There are three main types of safety cover:

  1. Mesh Safety Covers: Allows rainwater to seep through while blocking debris and sunlight, reducing algae growth. Think of a large trampoline-type cover stretched over your pool.
  2. Solid Fabric Safety Covers: These are usually on automatic reels and slide out along the underside of the coping stones. The fabric ‘sags’ and sits on top of the pool – which is the source of its immense ability to hold over a tonne of weight. They require a cover pump to remove rainwater.
  3. Solid Slat Safety Covers: Think of a roller garage door, and you get the idea. These covers are the pretty boys of safety covers, offering the best protection against algae and ensuring no standing water on the cover’s surface.


Safety covers are an item that needs to be professionally installed, and we will discuss important considerations to narrow down the best choice, such as the shape of your pool, local weather (e.g. snow vs rain can influence the choice between mesh and solid covers), colour, lifespan, maintenance, anchoring systems, warranty, etc. 

I have an indoor pool, do i need a pool cover?

Think indoor pools don’t need covers? Think again! Pool covers aren’t just for outdoor pools, indoor pools can really benefit by reducing evaporation, which in turn lowers the cost of then heating fresh (cold) water.

As an indoor pool owner, you don’t need to worry (as much) about losing the heat from your pool to the environment. Your main source of heat loss will be due to evaporation, and a well-fitted pool cover can reduce evaporation by over 98%

Maths Lesson: 🤓 Excuse the imperial measurements here (but hey, they’re easy to remember) it takes 1 Btu (British thermal unit) to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree, but for each 1 pound of 26ºC water that evaporates takes a whopping 1,048 Btu of heat out of the pool. 

By putting a cover on your indoor pool, you have the ability to make your pool one of the warmest, most welcoming environments possible – don’t miss out on that for the sake of a cover! 

Reel holders

Cover reel holders store your summer solar cover when you’re enjoying your pool, and are designed to make the task of rolling in/out your cover as effortless as possible. A reel holder is practically a must-have for any pool owner.

Reel holders make the process a cinch and help extend the life of your cover by preventing tears and wear during the removal/covering of your pool. 

Swimming Pool Reel holders are made from tough materials like aluminium or stainless steel, and can come on wheels for that easy-peasy mobility around the pool area. Alternatively, they can be fixed in place (up high, or down low).

You should always opt for a reel holder that locks in place to dodge any unexpected poolside surprises. Aesthetically speaking, a sleek reel holder can do wonders for keeping your pool area looking sharp and uncluttered, proving that functional can also be stylish.

These time-saving and back-saving buddies come in two main flavours: manual and automatic.

Manual:

Manual reel holders are your straightforward, hand-operated friends. They’re cost-effective and get the job done without fuss.

Pros:

  • Cost-Effective: Manual reel holders are generally less expensive upfront compared to their electric counterparts, making them a budget-friendly option.
  • Simplicity: With no need for electrical power, these reel holders are straightforward to use and maintain. They’re ideal for smaller pools or for those who don’t mind a bit of manual work.


Cons:

  • Safety Issues: As the reel is portable, there is a risk it can fall into the pool when unwinding the cover. Additionally, the reel can be a trip hazard.
  • Space: The reel will need somewhere to live on the poolside, which is not always an option in smaller pools.
  • Physical Effort Required: Might not be suitable for everyone, especially with larger pools.
  • Time-Consuming: It can take more time to manually handle the cover, especially if doing so frequently.

Automatic:

Automatic or electric reel holders are the tech-savvy cousins to manual reels, bringing convenience at the push of a button.

Pros:

  • Ease of Use: Electric reel holders offer the convenience of covering and uncovering your pool with the push of a button.
  • Speed: The pool cover can be wound in/out very quickly, making it more likely to be used by pool users.
  • Accommodate Large Pools: The assist from the motor is a massive help on larger pools, compared to dragging a cover from a manual reel. This also allows for much thicker commercial-grade covers.
  • Frequent Use: Electric reel holders provide a practical solution that makes daily use hassle-free for pools that are covered and uncovered often.


Cons:

  • Higher Cost: Electric reel holders are more expensive to purchase and incur additional costs for installation and maintenance.
  • Power Requirement: Being electric, they require a power source, which could limit placement options.

Don't forget a Winter Cover for your Reel Holder!

Winter covers for reel holders are basically a jacket you put around your solar cover when hibernating your pool for the winter season. 

It keeps the sun off your solar cover and protects it from the elements, extending the life of your solar cover.

These specially designed covers protect the summer solar cover from the harsh winter weather, including snow, ice, and relentless UV rays, which can cause significant wear and tear over time.

By shielding the summer cover from these elements, winter reel covers can significantly increase your solar cover lifespan, ensuring that your investment remains protected year after year.

Not only do winter covers safeguard your solar cover, but they also protect the reel holder itself.

Investing in a winter cover for your reel holder is a smart decision that pays off by prolonging the life of your summer cover, saving you money and hassle in the long run.

Ordering is as easy as 1...2...3!

We’re not going to try and sell you the most expensive option; we’re about providing solutions that make pool ownership a joy and swiping right to find you the perfect match.

From selecting the perfect cover to installation and maintenance, we’re here every step of the way. 

Ready to cover up with confidence? Here’s the ordering process:

  1. Meet & Measure: We pop over, tape measure in hand, to get the perfect fit for your pool and chat about what you’re envisioning. We’ll discuss what’s important to you, including considering the following:
    • The unique size and shape of your pool
    • Solar gains
    • Heat retention 
    • Evaporation control
    • Durability 
    • Lifespan
    • Winter/Summer use
    • Algae inhibition
    • Debris reduction
  2. Craft & Quote: We hustle, working with top-notch cover crafters to snag the best materials at sweet prices, then lay it all out in an easy-peasy quote, complete with all the details you need.
  3. Deliver & Install: We swoop in, cover in tow, to get it snugly fitted without a fuss, transforming your pool into the envy of the neighbourhood.